Notes & Quotes | Top-25 Ranking is Negligible to UCF’s Scott Frost

(Photo by Adrian J. Hernandez / New Day Review | Video by Victor Tan, Adrian J. Hernandez / New Day Review)

Oct. 2, 2017 at Wayne Densch Center for Student-Athlete Leadership

Availability: HC Scott Frost

• The University of Central Florida defeated the Memphis Tigers 40-13 in its conference opener on Sept. 30.
• Following the win over Memphis, the latest polls had UCF at No. 25.
• UCF’s No. 25 ranking is the first ranking in the top 25 for the Knights since the 2013 season when UCF beat Baylor University to win the 2014 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, the Knights’ first and only BCS bowl.

HC SCOTT FROST: “Absolutely not [there was nothing said to the players about being ranked]. We’re not gonna talk about any of that stuff. In fact, I asked the players what their record wast his morning, and they knew the answer is 0-0. And I asked ’em where we’re ranked, and they said we’re not. Sounds corny. They’re buying into that, and that’s what our mindset needs to be. Three wins doesn’t get you anywhere. It’s what we do from here, so we’re gonna hit the reset button. And I told ’em they’ve all been losing in “Madden” and hit the reset button on their PlayStation or Xbox before. So, we’re just gonna hit reset button and pretend like this is an eight-game season and see what we can accomplish.”

 

“Well we just have to fight the distractions with focus. And there’s gonna be distractions. There’s more than there’s ever been. But we’ll keep preaching the right message to ’em. And they know what the right frame of mind is, and they believe it. They know that hard work has gotten ’em to the point they are now. And hard work’s gonna take ’em farther down the road. So we’re gonna stick to the same formula and make sure we don’t deviate.”

 

“Satisfaction’s the wrong word. I’m happy for the guys. But I’m never gonna say we’re satisfied. That’s three games. That’s all it is. Saying I’m satisfied is like patting myself on the back. That’s exactly what I’m telling the team not to do. Winning is better than losing. All we’ve done is win three. We’re gonna keep going, and maybe we’ll have time to be satisfied at the end of the year.”

 

“You know, we got some really good leaders on this football team, and I don’t think those guys will let anybody start talking that way. The leadership that I’ve seen from Pat Jasinski and Shaquem Griffin and Wyatt Miller and a bunch of other guys—they’re not gonna let this group lose focus, and our formula has been working to this point, making us a better football team. I think they understand that if we stick to that, that gives us our best chance.”

 

“See, you guys wanna keep putting all these things on [the ranking]. I don’t want our kids thinking about any of that. I just want them to understand that if we practice well Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, we have a good chance of playing well on Saturday. It’s a new opponent every week. Every week becomes the biggest game of the year. Right now, this is the only thing I want our kids focusing on. Success is gonna lead to people playing up when they play us, but we’re only three games into this thing right now. So, that’s why I want them starting over, thinking this is the first game of the year, and we gotta go prove ourselves again.”

 

“I loved our attitude [on Monday]. It was a great start to the week. They came back looking like a team that was ready to go back to work, and that’s really promising for coaches to see.”

• In Frost’s second season, the Knights have beaten their first Power Five opponent since the 2013 season and have blown out a Memphis team that was favorited to win the American Athletic Conference West in preseason.
• Along with the University of Miami, the University of South Florida and the University of Florida, UCF is one of four Florida schools ranked in the top 25.
• Last season, the Knights gave up big halftime leads, ultimately losing, to the Houston Cougars and Temple Owls.

HC SCOTT FROST: “Yeah, you know, I think the last two wins kinda highlight [a growing confidence]. They weren’t shocked that they did what they did up in Maryland, and they weren’t shocked about what happened Saturday. They were excited. They were happy. But this team expected to win those games, and, boy, that’s a fast turnaround from where we were to that point where they expect to beat some really good teams. I think they are gonna expect to win going forward. That certainly doesn’t mean we are gonna win ’em all, but I know they’re gonna go into games thinking they can win every one. And I think that kind of confidence carries over to success on the field.”

 

“Yeah, I think our play in the second half is due to confidence. It’s due to our depth. We have better depth this year, and I think we’re playing deeper into games. And I also think it has to do with our focus. Last year, we’d lose our focus. We’d get up on people, and we didn’t play the same in the second half. And whether it’s depth, confidence or just commitment to what we’re doing, I’ve been really impressed with the third quarters we’ve put together.”

 

“Our staff had a goal when we got here of getting UCF back to where we thought it should be, and that’s competing for a conference championship every year. I have an unbelievable coaching staff. I can’t give them enough credit for the way our guys are playing. I think they’ve done an unbelievable job, turning the page, and I think we’re on the way to getting where we wanna be, and that’s, at least, competing for a title in this league every year.”

• Frost led a Knights program that went 0-12 in 2015 to a 6-7 record and an AutoNation Cure Bowl appearance in 2016 in his first season.
• Cincinnati’s Luke Fickell is in his first year as the Bearcats’ head coach.

HC SCOTT FROST: “Yeah, you know, we went through it last year with it being our first year, and it takes a while. You can see it starting to come with them. They’re playing disciplined. They’re sound. You can see his marks start to be made on that football team, and, inevitably, the results are gonna fall after that, so I have a lot of respect for that program and their coaching staff. I know they’re gonna get it to the point that they’re a really good team, so kinda glad we’re catching ’em when we’re catching ’em because I’ve been down that road before as a first-year coach. And it just takes a while to get everything implemented, but I have no doubt they’re getting there.”

 

“(jokingly) I seem comfortable right now? I think everybody in our program is better at their job this year than they were a year ago. Our quarterback’s better, our D-line’s better. Our equipment manager is better. He’s doing an unbelievable job. Julio, the guy in our building that helps clean up after us, is sensational and one of my friends, and he’s probably better this year than last year. So I’m not different than anybody else. Our players understand everything better and so do the coaches.”

• Last season, the Knights defeated Cincinnati 24-3 at then-Bright House Networks Stadium.

HC SCOTT FROST: “I think [Cincinnati’s] a good team. I was impressed with them last year when we played ‘em even though we beat ‘em. I was impressed with their talent. I think they’re good up front on the D-line. I think they’re a big and strong group on both sides of the ball. They got some guys that can really run. I know Luke’s a really good coach. I’ve ocached against him before, so I have no doubt that they’ll get that thing going. This is gonna be a challenge. We’re going up to that place. Not an easy place to play, night game. We’re gonna have to earn this one. They’re sound in everything they do, so they’re not gonna give you a lot of freebies. We’re gonna have to earn everything we get on both sides of the ball. Our preparation’s gonna lead to success.”

• Against Memphis, the Knights allowed 75 rushing yards, 321 passing yards and two total touchdowns.
• Defensive coordinator Erik Chinander joined Frost’s staff when both first arrived before the 2016 season.
• The Knights boast the fourth-best opposing third-down conversion rate, allowing opponents to convert just 21.62 percent of their third downs.
• Redshirt freshman Brandon Moore is in his first collegiate season as a regular starter.
• Moore starts opposite cornerback Mike Hughes, a first-year Knight.
• Of all FBS schools, UCF has the highest turnover margin at 2.33
• USF has the second-highest (2.20), and the Alabama Crimson Tide have the third-highest (2.00).

HC SCOTT FROST: “Yeah, I was a little worried after [the University of Memphis’ first drive]. I think they gave us a couple new things. I don’t think our kids were quite ready to make the adjustments that they knew how to make on some of the plays that the speed that Memphis was running plays. I think after that first drive, they settled down a lot. Coach Chinander did a good job of adjusting to the things we hadn’t seen. They’re really good. They still hit us with some plays we hadn’t looked at it before, some things he didn’t have the team prepared for. But when you run and hit like we did, that erases a lot of problems. Coach Chin has them playing well, and he deserves a ton of credit for what’s going on.”

 

“You know, that game Saturday was as hard a game as you can play as a corner. You have to cover pass routes; you have to come up and tackle; you have to stay disciplined and not come off your guy when it looks like they’re running, and they’re throwing RPOs [run-pass options]. Thought our corners played really good football. They were gonna get some plays. They had some really talented receivers and a quarterback with a [National Football League] arm. So, that was a challenge for those guys. I thought Brandon Moore held his own. Had a really good game. Mike Hughes is a difference-maker for us, and some other guys got some chances and did some good things, too. Corner was one of the positions we were worried about coming into the year, and we feel a lot better about it now.”

 

“I think it’s just the whole group playing together and playing as one. Coach Chinander and [D-line coach Mike Dawson] and [linebackers, special-teams coach and associate head coach Jovan Dewitt] and [defensive-backs coach Travis Fisher] getting the guys all on the same page. We got some really good pass-rushers when we wanna bring some pressure, and we got some guys that can cover when we’re gonna drop into zone. I think the safeties [Kyle Gibson] and Tre [Neal] are doing a really good job of communicating and making sure everybody’s in the same coverage and understanding what we’re trying to get done on defense. Gibby’s made some great plays, too, so those guys have been valuable to us. You know, I thought Memphis had a couple chances to turn that game into a dog fight, and sack-fumble by Shaq and a pick by Gibby—those type of plays really flipped it in our favor, and I think the defensive success on third down is just kind of a byproduct of all the work they’ve been doing to make sure that they’re sound and on the same page.”

 

“I didn’t know [UCF had the largest turnover margin in FBS]. You know, I think every day, our defensive staff really puts emphasis on creating turnovers. I think we got some guys with a nose for the football. Offensively, we got a quarterback that’s making a lot better decisions and not putting it on the ground. I was disappointed in my decision to throw the ball on that third-and-goal from the 17 or whatever. I should’ve been smarter. I thought McKenzie should’ve been smarter with the football, but, as a whole, he’s making really good decisions with the ball right now, and he’s not putting us in positions where teams can create turnovers on us. Turnover margin’s the biggest stat in football, so I’m thrilled to hear that, and we’re gonna keep trying to take it away and trying to protect it.”

 

“I think we’re fresh right now. I think we handled camp the right way, and we came into the season fresh, and, with the hurricane coming, we kinda got some time off earlier than we though we would. So I couldn’t be happier, other than a couple injuries that couldn’t be helped. I couldn’t be happier with where our team is from a physical standpoint. The challenge is gonna be we have eight more in a row right now without a bye week. So we’re gonna be smart as football coaches and make sure we get ’em as prepared as we can but keep ’em as fresh as we can keep ’em.”

• The Knights put up 603 yards of offense, rushing for 350 yards and two touchdowns and throwing for 253 yards and three touchdowns.
• Tackle Wyatt Miller sustained an injury in the Memphis game but is expected to return sooner than later.
• Running back Adrian Killins set a school record for longest rushing touchdown with a 96-yard burst against Memphis.
• Against Memphis, athlete Otis Anderson ran for 46 yards on five carries and caught a pass for two yards.
• Starting quarterback McKenzie Milton had his second game with at least three touchdowns this season against Memphis.

HC SCOTT FROST: I think the offense is doing enough to get us these wins and to put some points up. We can play a lot better. I was thrilled that we essentially played two O-linemen in spots they weren’t used to playing and still had some success. We had to move Jake Brown to right tackle when Wyatt came off. Moved Sam Jackson to left guard. So we had a new right tackle and a freshman left guard and still had a lot of success running the ball and protecting. That’s a good sign, but we can still execute a lot better. I think we can still be more physical on offense, and there’s a lot of improvements to make. Defensively and special teams, I thought we played pretty well. There’s always things you can fix, but we’re moving in the right direction in all three phases.

“We’ll see [about our O-line starters]. Wyatt’s coming along. His isn’t gonna be long. So, hopefully, we get him back, but I’m thrilled with Sam and Jake and having guys that you trust on the O-line that can come in is gonna help us one way or another down the road.”

 

“I think we can get better [in the run game]. We need to get to the point we can our base stuff and get yards, and that comes down to dominating people on the front line and in the trenches, blocking on the perimeter, hit-and-runs. Right now, I think we’re making good decisions, and the ball’s getting to the right place. We got the type of athletes, now, that can break a big play if they have a little bit of space, so i wanna see us create space more often.”

 

“Well, A.K.’s a perfect fit for our offense, and I think our offense is a perfect fit for him. We’re gonna keep getting him the ball, find creative ways to get him the wall. Some of ’em are gonna work, some of aren’t. But the ones that work are gonna be big plays usually because of his talent and his speed. He’s fast, but he can also change direction. He’s also tough and really strong for his size. So he’s not a track guy playing football. He’s a football kid.”

 

“I have no idea if [Killins is] the fastest player in college football, but I would say he’s one of them.”

 

“[Milton’s progression is] kinda the progress I would expect him to make from his freshman year to his sophomore year. You know, we threw him into the deep end last year. We weren’t expecting to, and it happened. Did some great things, and he did some really bad things. This year, he’s getting us in and out of plays. He’s running the offense. He’s getting the ball to the right place. Playing with a ton of confidence. He’s got an innate ability to create plays, but I think he’s being smart, this year, on when to do that and when not to. So I’m thrilled with the play we’ve gotten from him, and he’s made a big difference.”

 

“[Milton] had a great spring ball, to be honest with you. His spring was head and shoulders better than his freshman year, so we kinda knew then. He had a really good fall camp, too. It’s kinda been more of a gradual development than anything, but his confidence is a lot better than it was a year ago just because of his familiarity with what we’re doing. He’s trusting himself and making quick decisions. He’s got the type of mind that can process things really quickly, and that’s what you need to run this offense.”

 

“Yeah, I’m really impressed with Otis and his development as a freshman. We’re playing him basically at three different spots right now, and he’s coming in and learned all of those. He’s dangerous with the ball in his hands, too. Little bit like A.K. And he’s a really good route-runner, has really good hands. We can hand him the ball. So he just gives us one more weapon, and I’ve been thrilled with his progress so far.”

For more on the Knights, as they prepare to travel to take on Cincinnati, follow Victor Tan on Twitter at @NDR_VictorTan.