(Photo by Adrian J. Hernandez / New Day Review)
ORLANDO, Fla. – When the season began, the now-No. 18 UCF Knights expected to not have a game this week. Players and coaches planned for a lighter week for recovery and mental reps. Hurricane Irma had different ideas, however.
Two games were canceled, and another was rescheduled due to one of the largest hurricanes to ever make landfall in the United States. UCF was then left with just a 10-game regular season until athletic director Danny White and his staff scheduled Austin Peay State University in Week 9, the Knights’ originally scheduled bye week. Knights head coach Scott Frost is grateful that he and his players will have 11 games this season.
“Our guys have put in so much work that they deserve to be able to play games,” Frost said after practice on Oct. 23. “And losing two games earlier in the year, we didn’t want to have a 10-game season. We wish we could have 12. As it worked out, we had 10. I’m grateful that they found another game. Eleven still isn’t enough, but 11 is better than 10. Our guys are excited to play. They love playing football, and every opportunity they can get, they’re gonna cherish it.”
Austin Peay scheduled an extra game with UCF after getting a waiver granted from the NCAA. With Austin Peay’s visit, the Knights will have six home games this year.
“I can’t thank Oliver Luck and the staff at the NCAA enough for their help and understanding of our situation,” White said, per the team’s press release on Sept. 21. “We greatly appreciate Austin Peay being willing to visit Spectrum Stadium. We’re thrilled for our student-athletes who deserve every opportunity they can get to go out and compete. I know our fans will be excited about the opportunity to have another Saturday at Spectrum Stadium.”
And like any other game week, the Knights are preparing just as usual. Instead of undergoing what would have been a light week, the Knights are going full speed. Running-back Adrian Killins knows that UCF must stay on guard and not take the Governors lightly.
“I would say the biggest challenge [this week] is just staying the course and trusting the process and not overlooking this team,” Killins said after practice on Oct. 23. “They’re a football team just like us, and they’re very hungry, so they would love to come in here and shock us and shock the world by beating a ranked team, so I’m pretty sure the coaches [are] preaching the same thing. ‘Let’s go shock ‘em at their house.’ So, they’re a football team just like us, and we can’t overlook ‘em now.”
This will not be Austin Peay’s first FBS opponent of the season. The Governors opened their season with back-to-back games against FBS teams. Austin Peay first lost to the University of Cincinnati 26-14, but the Governors outgained the Bearcats 313-248 in total yards, including 224 rushing yards. The Governors also lost 31-10 to Miami University in Week 2, but Frost and his team understand this team still shouldn’t be taken for granted.
“This is a team that I think is a really good FCS team,” Frost said. “They gave Cincinnati everything that Cincinnati wanted early in the year. We gotta approach this just like any other game, and that’s the way our kids showed up to go to practice today. So, we need to be at our best.”
UCF takes on Austin Peay at 5 p.m. on Saturday at Spectrum Stadium. The game will be broadcast on ESPN3.
For more on the Knights, as they look to avoid an upset by the Governors, follow Ryan Weiss on Twitter at @NDR_RyanWeiss.
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