On a Friday night in Orlando in front of a nationally televised audience, 16th-ranked UCF Knights defeated the Florida Atlantic Owls 56-36. UCF saw their first deficit of the season that lasted a whopping minute and three seconds, which is just long enough for some knee-jerk reactions.

The Knights fell victim to the momentum newt. They got better.

Football is a game of momentum. UCF came out swinging with an early interception and a pair of touchdowns to open a 14-0 lead. In response, the Owls were able to seize momentum behind the running of Devin Singletary and put the home team defense on their heels. The offense started to struggle in time with the defense and FAU was able to put 17 points on the board. UCF was running their two-minute offense to perfection to pull ahead 21-17 at the half. They kept it going with a pair of efficient offensive drives to open the second half and make it 35-17. UCF kept their foot on the pedal and never looked back on their way to a resounding 56-36 win.

McKenzie Milton is back to form.

Despite the UCF offense being sluggish for most of the second quarter. Milton had a first half that’s more up his alley compared to his last game. He went 11-for-17 for 194 yards and 2 touchdowns. He finished going 21/32 for 306 yards and 3 touchdowns. The big key for him and the rest of the offense was a big zero in the turnover category. They attempted a few deeper passes, but overall UCF did not have their usual flurry of big plays. The longest completion by Milton was a 39-yard pass to Gabriel Davis. No UCF player rushed for more than 15 yards on a single carry.

UCF’s defense improved their tackling. No, really.

This was a sore spot against UConn and South Carolina State. The bye looked to make a difference. FAU’s Singletary might have run for 131 yards and 3 touchdowns on 25 carries, but he’s an elite running back who led the nation in rushing last year. He’s going to break tackles and make some big runs. He’s also coached by UCF alum Kevin Smith, who was a very successful college running back himself. With Singletary performing as well as can be, the Owls offense was one-dimensional with the passing game reduced to 127 yards and one touchdown. FAU’s Chris Robison was able to get some chunk completions, but he threw three interceptions.

The defense was gassed late in the game as the Owls continued to run the ball, as shown by the sluggish play on FAU’s last touchdown, a 40-yard run by Kerrith Whyte. Speaking of Whyte, he had an outstanding night returning kicks and helped give the Owls some great field position.

UCF’s work is not done.

UCF might still be undefeated, but this wasn’t a convincing win until late in the second quarter. The marathon with Florida Atlantic exposed a major hole in the defense — conditioning. While they avoided cramping, the Knights wore out with the tough running from FAU. The Knights defense is really opportunistic and able to generate turnovers. Tonight, UCF picked off three passes from the linebacker position, including one returned for UCF’s final touchdown by Shawn Burgess-Becker. The defensive front seven also created a lot of pressure with seven tackles for loss.

Random Tidbits

*UCF’s win streak is up to 16 games.

*UCF has scored at least 30 points in 16 straight games, which leads the nation.

*The attendance is 44,257. That’s just above listed normal capacity.

*Milton now has a streak of 17 straight games with a passing touchdown.

*Milton now has 56 passing touchdowns, which ties him for 4th in program history with Blake Bortles

*Tight end Michael Colubiale had a career day with 6 catches for 84 yards, both personal bests.

*The Knights defense has had at least one interception for 8 straight games.

I’ve been writing off and on since 2003, where I first wrote for Southern College Sports. After a hiatus, I returned in 2012 with The Sports Chronicles, a predecessor of NGSC Sports. After a brief stint with WBLZ in 2017, I returned to NGSC Sports before joining Blue HQ Media in 2018. Also, from 2015 to 2017, I helped run Off the Cuff, a sports program and blog with STLR Media. I have done radio and podcasts dating back to 2006 with The Student of the Game, an NFL podcast. In 2012, I cohosted TSC Saturday Night on the Sports Chronicles and The OT With Andrew G on WTMY in Sarasota, FL. I later moved the OT to NGSC Sports until 2014 where I started The College Cram, also on NGSC Sports. After a brief hiatus, I returned to radio in 2015 with both Off the Cuff on STLR and The Mad Scientist Sports Lab on The Inscriber.