As the 12th ranked team in the AP poll going into Saturday, the undefeated UCF Knights put up another victory over the Mustangs of SMU, 48 – 20. In the presser leading up to the contest, Knights head coach Josh Heupel stressed the importance of going 1-0 each week to maintain national prominence and gain their 18th straight win. His team definitely heard the message and did their part.

That’s not to say that it wasn’t without a share of drama. Quarterback McKenzie Milton left the game after taking a hit battling to convert a third down with just under eight minutes remaining in the first half. Backup Darriel Mack Jr. took the helm for the rest of the series where he was robbed on a long pass attempt where his targeted receiver was obviously wrapped up by the defender down the field. Milton returned to action and finished the evening posting 18 of 34 for 278 yards passing with three touchdowns and one interception.

Milton expressed that the offense was less than perfect despite gaudy number, but so too did running back Adrian Killiins. After turning in 113 yards on 20 carries with a trip to the endzone, Killins said this of the Knight offensive woes, “We most definitely did leave points out there on the field. We’re going to go back to the drawing board on Monday and see what we didn’t do well and did do well and just move on from there”.

That being said, there were light-hearted moments that pumped up the team which came in the form of Trysten Hill, a defensive tackle-turned-full back. Hill hurling himself over the pile to break the plane from the one-yard line and kicker Matthew Wright recovering a fumble on a kickoff he let loose after a Knights’ scoring drive. Milton wasn’t lying when he said, “Everyone eats on this team”.

In regards to the College Football Playoff race, UCF may still have few things break their way. When the CFP rankings do come out, the Knights may find themselves ranked higher than 12th. This help comes in the form of high profile losses during this week from Oklahoma, LSU, Oklahoma State, Kentucky, Stanford, Virginia Tech, Boise State, Auburn and Michigan State.

Kyle Nash, known as The Student of the Game, covers UCF Football for SportsMediaPass.com and is a special contributor for Break the Fourth. He’s a also a writer for the DolphinsWire of USA Today and co-host of the DinnerTime and Default Assault podcasts.