Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Now 11-0 but with high cost
Milton’s severe leg injury casts pall over UCF’s 24th-straight win
TAMPA – As the UCF players and coaches drifted into the locker room following the team’s 38-10 win over USF Saturday evening, the message became perfectly clear: Play for No. 10.
The win over the Bulls wrapped up another perfect regular season for the No. 9 Knights (11-0, 8-0 AAC) and extended the nation’s longest win streak to 24 games, but it was overshadowed by the loss of starting quarterback McKenzie Milton to a gruesome leg injury.
UCF jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the first quarter after Milton shook off an early interception and led the offense on a 97-yard scoring drive, the longest of the season, capped by a 14-yard throw from the junior quarterback to Gabe Davis for a touchdown.
On the next possession, however, the Knights’ season took a dramatic shift.
Milton scrambled in an attempt to convert on third down, but he crumbled to the ground after being tackled by several USF players. He remained down on the ground as the athletic training staff quickly rushed over to attend to him.
The severity of Milton’s injury was immediately clear to players, senior offensive lineman Wyatt Miller kneeling on the ground with his hands on his head as Milton received treatment.
Players and coaches made their way across the field to support their injured teammate, forming a semi-circle around him as the medical cart made its way onto the field. USF players and coaches also surrounded Milton.
After about 10 minutes, he was strapped onto an emergency backboard and placed on the cart. Milton was then transported to a Tampa hospital. UCF officials declined to provide further details about the extent of the injury during the game.
“I haven’t seen the injury. My immediate concern is his well-being,” UCF coach Josh Heupel said. “I told him that I loved him. He was aware and said the same thing back.
“It’s hard. I’m proud of our kids and how they responded. Our thoughts and prayers are with him right now.”
UCF resumed play after Milton gave teammates and the crowd a thumbs-up as he left the field on the back of a cart.
The Knights kicked a 42-yard field goal to push the lead to 10-0.
Darriel Mack Jr. replaced Milton at quarterback, but it was tailback Greg McCrae who stepped up in a big way. The sophomore broke off a 40-yard touchdown run that extended the UCF’s lead to 17-0.
“I’m just praying for him,” Mack said of Milton after the victory. “It’s really difficult. Just seeing him go down.”
USF (7-5, 3-5) got on the scoreboard late in the first half thanks to a 25-yard field goal by Coby Weiss that cut the UCF lead to 17-3 at halftime.
Both teams struggled to get anything going in the second half, combining for five punts before Chris Oladokun, who earned the start after Blake Barnett aggravated a shoulder injury, found running back Johnny Ford down the middle for a 34-yard touchdown pass that cut the UCF lead to 17-10 with 1:15 left in the third.
But the Knights responded on their next possession, with McCrae scampering 39 yards for his second touchdown. The score pushed the lead to 24-10 heading into the fourth quarter.
McCrae continued his career-best night, adding a 31-yard touchdown run that made the score 31-10. It was the 24th straight game during which UCF has scored at least 30 points.
“It was heartbreaking,” McCrae said of Milton. “We all rallied around him. We just came together and played for him because that's what he would have wanted us to do.”
The Knights locked up a spot in the American Athletic Conference Championship Game with their win over Cincinnati last week. The team will host Memphis (8-4, 5-3) in a rematch of last season’s title game, won by UCF 62-55 in double overtime.