Heupel takes 3rd in voting for AP coach of the year
UCF coach Josh Heupel finished third in voting for the Associated Press Coach of the Year award announced on Monday.
Notre Dame’s Brian Kelly took home the honor, with Alabama’s Nick Saban placing second in the voting.
Heupel, who earned five firstplace votes and a total of 33 points, helped guide the Knights to a perfect regular season (12-0), an American Athletic Conference title and a spot in the Fiesta Bowl on New Year’s Day.
Kelly received 16 of the possible 58 first-place votes for 81 total points, followed by Saban with 16 first-place votes for 66 points.
Both Saban (2003, 2008) and Kelly (2012) had won the award previously.
Heupel is in his first season as a head football coach, inheriting a program that posted a 13-0 record last season under the direction of former coach Scott Frost.
The 2017 Knights won an AAC title and defeated Auburn in the Peach Bowl. Frost took his entire staff with him to Nebraska, putting pressure on Heupel’s new staff to quickly forge relationships with returning UCF players.
UCF athletics director Danny White told fans during a football kickoff luncheon the Knights would surely lose a game this season, but they’d still be proud of Heupel’s program.
Instead, the team managed to overcome obstacles and a major leg injury to star quarterback McKenzie Milton to remain perfect. The Knights are riding the nation’s longest win streak spanning 25 games.