Playing under the lights in Orlando, and thankfully with the thermostat not turned up nearly as much, the UCF Knights finished their last home game of the month as they defeated the Southern Methodist Mustangs 48-20. UCF had an early injury scare, which is all the more reason for some knee-jerk reactions.

A trap that UCF did not fall in

This was a bit of a trap game. UCF had their marquee non-conference game last week against Pitt and it was very possible that the Mustangs could catch them off guard. The Knights came out swinging early, jumping out to a 21-3 lead after the first quarter. While UCF didn’t match that intensity in any particular quarter as far as points go, the defense played a solid game against an SMU squad that heavily threatened the undefeated season in 2017.

This time around, SMU started true freshman quarterback William Brown and he struggled against UCF’s swarming defense. Former starter Ben Hicks relieved Brown and had more success, but still paled to UCF’s numbers. Overall, the Knights outgained SMU 541-320. The Mustangs were limited to 83 yards rushing, which is way below UCF’s opponents’ average of 206.5. For comparative purposes, SMU averaged 133.6 yards a game on the ground coming in. UCF had 12 tackles for loss and hunkered down on fourth down as the Mustangs went 1-for-5 on the day.

SMU, like others before them, struggle to put points up against UCF in the third quarter. The Knights have only given up 9 points in the third quarter all season and the Mustangs are owners of a third of that.

McKenzie Milton went down and UCF fans held their breath

UCF quarterback McKenzie Milton is known to run and on many occasions, lowering his shoulder instead of sliding. On one particular play in the second quarter, Milton tucked it and went on a 3rd and 10. Going for the first down, he was hit by three different Mustang players at three different angles. When Milton stayed down, the fans at Spectrum Stadium were eerily silent as backup Darriel Mack Jr began warming up to step in.

Mack played the backup role while Milton was under the trainer’s tent undergoing tests and the Knights offense struggled to move the ball. After Milton came out of the tent, he put his helmet on, and began loosening up. The crowd gave a raucous cheer of approval when Milton returned to the field on the ensuing drive.

Milton then proceeded to slide on his next run.

Milton’s numbers were not nearly as strong as his previous two games. He went 18-for-34 for 278 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. His run of games without a turnover ended, but his consecutive games with a touchdown and the nation’s longest winning streak continues.

Trysten Hill is a big man

UCF has a jumbo goalline package used when they need that extra push near the goal line. Defensive tackle Trysten Hill lines up at fullback in this formation. At 6′ 2″ and weighing 315 pounds, Hill is not a small man. Hill received the quick handoff and leaped into the end zone. Out of sheer jubilation, Hill spiked the ball and quickly received an unsportsmanlike conduct personal foul.

Let’s look at it from the Mustang’s standpoint. SMU just tackled #9 Adrian Killins Jr at the one-yard line the previous play. UCF makes their substitutions and all of a sudden, #9 is gigantic. Did Killins get angry and become the Incredible Hulk or is it more of a Jekyll and Hyde situation? Either way, that’s a big man — and he has the ball and is leaping forward. “The Refrigerator” William Perry would approve. This isn’t a new thing for UCF as former defensive lineman Jamiyus Pittman had also scored a touchdown last season.

Hill was disruptive on defense as well. He officially had a solo tackle, a tackle for loss and a quarterback hurry, but a lot of his defensive contributions are not going to make it on the stat sheet. His involvement led to quarterback sacks, fumbles, and other successfully defended plays.

Matthew Wright, unlikely hero

UCF’s kicker had himself a day. He did his normal work, which includes extending his school record for extra points by hitting six more, along with knocking through a pair of field goals with no misses. He also did something kickers almost never get an opportunity to do: he recovered a fumble. In the first quarter, UCF’s Rashard Cousey hit James Proche during a kickoff and caused a fumble, which Wright recovered and led to a Knights touchdown. Wright also helped slow down Proche’s kick returns by making him hurdle and slow down enough for players on the field to drive him out of bounds.

Random tidbits

*UCF has extended their nation’s longest winning streak to 18 games.

*UCF now has an 11-game home winning streak, which is tied for the best in program history. The old record of 11 was between 1996-1999

*UCF has scored 30 or more points in 18 straight games, which leads the nation. UCF has also scored 40 or more points in 13 of their last 18 games.

*UCF has forced at least one turnover in 24 straight games.

*Adrian Killins Jr had 20 carries for 113 yards and a touchdown. He is the first player since McKenzie Milton way back in the 2018 Chick-fil-a Peach Bowl to have a 100-yard rushing game.

*McKenzie Milton moved into 2nd in UCF history for rushing yards by a quarterback, passing Jeff Godfrey. Milton currently has 986 yards.

*Milton moved into 5th place in team history for pass attempts, passing Blake Bortles….no pun intended.

*Milton now has a streak of 19 games with at least one passing touchdown.

*Aaron Robinson made his return after a scary neck injury on the season’s opening kickoff. Robinson had a pair of solo tackles.

*Attendance was 40,836.

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.