(Photo by Adrian J. Hernandez / New Day Review)
Oct. 24, 2017 at Wayne Densch Center
Availability: QB McKenzie Milton
- The No. 18 UCF Knights are coming off a 31-21 win over the Navy Midshipmen.
- UCF broke Navy’s 17-game home winning streak in the win on Oct. 21.
- Against Navy, the Knights won their closest game of the season, a 10-point victory, as all other games had been decided by 27 points or more.
- Redshirt freshman Brandon Moore had a ball-jarring hit and recovered the fumble in the fourth quarter with UCF leading just 24-21.
- The Knights, who averaged 50 points entering the game, scored just 31 points.
- UCF rushed for 247 yards and three touchdowns and threw for 236 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
- Milton was sidelined for a drive, suffering a slight hamstring injury, but would return to finish the game.
QB MCKENZIE MILTON: “Been out there Monday, Tuesday running around. I feel great. Excited to get out there [for] Austin Peay.”
“I feel good. I feel great. You know, my body’s holding up a lot better and just excited just getting to the middle part of the season. I guess, like, the grind you could call it, but we’re still in attack mode.”
“I think just being consistent. Obviously, it probably wasn’t our best offensive game, but they’re a tough team. It’s not easy to go up on the road against a tough Navy team and win at their place. So, they went for us. Our defense did an awesome job of shutting ’em down, and we scored enough points to win, so…”
“I think guys just are—know their assignments a little bit better, you know, where they need to be, when they need to be there in both the run and pass game. So I think it’s just a combination of everybody just knowing their jobs a little better and executing a lot better.”
“I think we did an awesome job. Nobody on our team was pointing fingers. When things wouldn’t go our way or when we’d turn over the ball, defense was quick to pick us up. I think Bam came and made a big hit, and we got a fumble right back, so it was awesome. Our sideline was sticking together, and that’s what you wanna see when you’re facing adversity in [a] tough game.”
“I was excited. I was excited for him. I think he came into his own that game. And he’s a heck of a player, redshirt freshman, and he’s been making big plays all year, and he stepped up big time for us last Saturday.”
“I think the guy that really sends a message is more Shaquem Griffin. I think our guys, they know what to do. Like, they don’t really need a lot of hoopin’ and hollering. They knew what to do, you know. They know the game plan that the coaches give us throughout the week, so they just know to execute. So, we don’t really need all that. But our guys have been dialed in, so it’s been awesome.”
- The Knights have so far seen 16 different scorers this season.
- Nine different players have scored rushing touchdowns.
- Seven different players have scored receiving touchdowns.
QB MCKENZIE MILTON: “I’d like to see Cam Stewart getting in there. I’d like to see him score a touchdown. And I think [Emmanuel Logan-Greene], too. I want Manny to score one, too. So, we’ll see in a little bit. We’ll see.”
“When there’s five or six guys that could get the ball in one play, it’s tough to defend. So, definitely provides a lot of pressure on the defense, and the O-line and what they’ve been doing. It’s tough to stop. Receivers been doing a great job blocking in the run game, which kinda goes unnoticed sometimes, but they’ve been doing a great job of doing that and the O-line in the pass and run game, they’ve been doing awesome. So, it’s a combination.”
- Improvements in the offensive line have helped the Knights become tied with Ohio State University for the most powerful scoring offense in the nation, scoring 47.3 points per game.
- Through the air, the Knights are 17th, averaging 307.5 passing yards per game.
- On the ground, UCF is 23rd, averaging 229 rushing yards per game.
QB MCKENZIE MILTON: “I think [the offensive line’s improvement] primarily started in spring time when they took a lot of strides back then and throughout the summer, weight training with [director of sports performance for football Zach Duval] and that awesome fall camp as well. So you could see the progress coming, and they’re doing an awesome job.”
- Week 9 was originally a bye week for the Knights, but Hurricane Irma’s interruption cancelled two games and rescheduled another.
- The Knights were originally supposed to play the Maine Black Bears in Week 5, but UCF, instead, played the Memphis Tigers.
QB MCKENZIE MILTON: “Well, yeah, Monday, we kinda had, like, a little walk-through tempo, kinda get our legs back under us, but today was locked in. It was a regular Tuesday practice. Guys were dialed in. The tempo was nice. I thought we had a solid practice.”
For more on the Knights, as they prepare for Austin Peay and their first FCS game of the season, follow Victor Tan on Twitter at @NDR_VictorTan.
