Knights win the game — and the day
What we witnessed Saturday night may have been the most important day (and night) in the history of UCF football.
Never before in the annals of the program has UCF generated so much exposure on a national basis and so much energy and excitement on a local level.
On this surreal Saturday with ESPN GameDay in town for unbeaten UCF’s 38-13 blowout of No. 24-ranked Cincinnati and with the game being televised in ABC’s prime 8 o’clock time slot, the entire nation got a chance to witness what those of us in Orlando have known for quite some time: That the Knights are truly one of the most dominant teams in the country and UCF is one of the most dynamic universities in the nation.
Said UCF coach Josh Heupel: “Everybody [from ESPN] being on campus this weekend is really the first time most of them got an opportunity to see what our university is all about — the size of it; the energy and passion from our fan base; what a game-day atmosphere feels like inside of our stadium; the great players we put on the field. This is big-time football. I think we put ourselves in good spot in showcasing who and what we are.”
The Knights didn’t just win the game; they won the entire day. From the break of dawn until the clock struck midnight, this was a UCF lovefest like we’ve never before seen nationally or locally. The sellout crowd of 47,795 at the Bounce House was so loud that Cincinnati’s offensive line couldn’t hear the signals at the beginning of game, resulting in two consecutive penalties before the Bearcats could even get off their first snap.
Earlier in the day, the crowd on hand at the GameDay set was equally raucous and came en masse with so many signs that ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit called it a record.
The madness actually started late Friday night when hundreds, if not thousands, of fans began camping out at Memory Mall on UCF’s campus to get a prime location for the GameDay telecast. The GameDay crew of Rece Davis, Herbstreit, Desmond Howard and Lee Corso were beaming at a crowd that Davis estimated at 20,000.
Corso, a fellow Orlandoan, was so pumped up he didn’t just don the traditional mascot head when he picked UCF to win; he put on the entire Knightro outfit and declared, “I think UCF deserves a chance to play for the national championship.”
With each win, it’s getting harder and harder for UCF’s critics to argue that point. Who knows, maybe the Knights even made a believer out of Herbstreit, one of the most vocal critics of UCF’s dubious strength of schedule.
“You have to play somebody to be able to climb up,” Herbstreit
said on GameDay Saturday morning while fans booed in the background. “... I don’t care if you win 50 in a row.”
But on Saturday night, Herbstreit called the game on ABC and saw first-hand that the Knights not only played somebody, they clobbered the Bearcats by 25 to clinch their division and the host spot for the AAC championship game in two weeks.
UCF put up 38 points and 402 yards on a Cincinnati defense that was ranked No. 6 in the country and had been yielding only 15 points and 279 yards per game. UCF’s oft-maligned defense more than did its share as well, holding the Bearcats to only one offensive touchdown (when the game already had been decided) and forcing three turnovers.
And even Herbstreit would have to agree that Pitt — an ACC team that UCF destroyed 45-14 six weeks ago — has suddenly turned into a massive positive for UCF’s strength of schedule. The Panthers, 6-1 in conference play, clinched a spot in the ACC Championship Game against No. 2 Clemson with Saturday’s 34-13 victory over Wake Forest. Since getting buried by UCF, Pitt has won five of its last six, with the only loss coming 19-14 to No. 3 Notre Dame after the Irish scored on a long touchdown pass late in the fourth quarter.
“You look at the [Pitt] film against us and Notre Dame,” UCF quarterback McKenzie Milton told the Bleacher Report earlier this week. “You can’t tell me Notre Dame is a better team than us.”
When the Bleacher Report writer asked Milton if he saw a difference in UCF and Notre Dame, Milton replied, “Oh, I see a difference. We’re better.”
Heupel, too, defended UCF’s schedule and the narrative that the Knights play in a weak conference.
“Listen, I believe our league plays really good football,” he said. “Look at what this league has done in New Year’s Six bowl games. Everybody wants to turn a blind eye to that. That’s not reality. Look at what the top-end teams in this league have done in the non-conference. There’s really good football, there’s really good players and there’s great coaching in this league.
“We’re proud of what we’ve done throughout the course of the season. We played an ACC team that has clinched their division, and everybody thinks the ACC is one of the top leagues in America. That [victory over Pitt] speaks to our conference and our football team as well.”
At this point, it seems ridiculous that UCF has to state its case after putting together a 23-game winning streak that is the longest in the nation.
It should be crystal clear now to everybody just how good the Knights really are. You saw it. Herbstreit saw it. GameDay saw it. The nation saw it. What a day. What a night. What a team.
Email me at mbianchi @orlandosentinel.com. Hit me up on Twitter @BianchiWrites and listen to my Open Mike radio show every weekday from 6 to 9 a.m. on FM 96.9 and AM 740.