Knights face tough Tulsa after securing bowl bid

The Knights had a shot at winning three games in a row when they took a lead into the second half at Temple. Now they have another shot at it, and they can do it on their home turf against Tulsa.

Saturday afternoon, the Knights finally got their spirit-lifting blowout over a conference rival after so many shock losses and comeback nightmares, blasting Cincinnati 24-3 in a defensive masterpiece for UCF. That sets them up for two scenarios that were unimaginable at the end of last season: they’re bowl game eligible, and within the week they could end up in a three-way tie for the American Athletic Conference east division lead.

That Cinderella situation is all set up by the Knights beating conference rival Cincinnati. Like with many of their wins this season, it was a defensive one.

“We thought we had an advantage when our defense was on the field,” UCF head coach Scott Frost said after the game. “I think [Cincinnati has] got talent on offense, I just thought our defense played together as a unit better.”

The game started out slowly for the Knights, who went three-and-out in their first drive on offense. Thankfully for the Knights, their defense stepped in and did the same to the Bearcats. The next drive, the Knights marched downfield on a 75-yard drive that ended with a field goal.

By the time the Bearcats managed to put a field goal through the uprights midway through the second quarter, the game was already firmly within the Knights’ hands, or as firmly as it could be for a team that’s blown two three-touchdown second-half leads this season. That field goal would be the only score the Knights allowed, making the game the second this season that they didn’t allow an opponent to enter the end zone.

Ironically for their dominance in keeping the Bearcats out of the end zone, the Knights’ defense allowed Cincinnati to run up 327 total yards to UCF’s 305. But in addition to forcing Cincinnati to punt nine times, the Knights also recovered two interceptions and a fumble. They also sacked the Bearcats five times for 33 yards, with UCF redshirt senior linebacker Errol Clarke having a standout day, grabbing three sacks and forcing two fumbles. D.J. Killings ended up leading the team in tackles.

“Our defense has gone from being really good to being so disruptive that they're winning games for us,” Frost said.

The Knights are now ranked No. 5 in the 128-team FBS in defensive touchdowns.

Despite their successes thanks to their defense, the Knights still had trouble moving the ball. After their opening drive that lasted three plays and five yards, the Knights would punt or lose the ball on downs nine more times. Only five of their 16 drives would end in a score. But it was enough to put them into bowl contention for the first time since 2014.

And riding that wave of momentum, the Knights will host one of their toughest conference foes to arrive on their home field this season. The Tulsa Golden Hurricane have had a strong showing in the AAC East, with a 7-3 overall record and 4-2 in conference play.

By coincidence the two teams have played three of the same teams so far, with the same results, though by wildly different margins.

Against Houston, the Hurricane came back to tie the Cougars at halftime before letting it slip away 38-31. The Knights infamously squandered a 24-3 second half lead against Houston, losing 31-24.

Hosting Tulane, Tulsa amassed 566 yards in a 50-27 blowout. The Knights, amassing only half that yardage, were actually outgained by Tulane, but won 37-6 anyway.

And against East Carolina, which Tulsa hung 616 yards on and dominated from the outset in a 45-24 trampling, the Knights were outgained 521-373 and managed another big win, by 47-29.

The difference between each team came down to a stark contrast in playing style. For the Golden Hurricane, which has the No. 8 total offense in the nation, it’s racking up big yardage numbers. Throw out their weak performance in an ambitious losing effort against Ohio State, when they only netted 188 yards, and the Golden Hurricane would be averaging 555 yards per game. The Knights will try to stop them with the No. 30 total defense in the nation.

The closest the Knights have come to Tulsa’s average offensive output is in a 501-yard bamboozling of FIU, which is 3-7 right now and has one of the worst-ranked defenses in the FBS. The Knights consistently had the worst total offense in the nation last season. Right now their offense ranks No. 106. Tulsa’s total defense comes in at No. 83.

The winner of the game will retain a shot at playing in the AAC championship game. The loser, especially if it’s the Knights, will be all but mathematically eliminated from it. The game kicks off at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Bright House, broadcast on ESPN.

Winter Park football

The Winter Park Wildcats blasted their way through the first round of the regional quarterfinals with a 30-21 win over Wekiva last Friday. The Wildcats leapt out early with a first quarter touchdown before Wekiva staged a comeback.

Defense won the game for the Wildcats, as Cameron Brown intercepted a pass and ran it back for a 43-yard touchdown, and Kevince Brown did the same for 76 yards. Jonathan Griffin-Heard picked off another pass for 25 yards, and forced a fumble that would end up in senior Derek Barden’s hands. Griffin-Heard and Jordan Pouncey also broke up two passes each on the night. On special teams, Pouncey’s legs gave him a 36-yard kickoff return, the same distance Dre Williams went on his lone kickoff return.

The offense was held back for much of the night, only gaining 177 total yards, with 132 of them coming from the quarterback combo of junior Cameron LeGree and senior Ethan Bullock. A trio of receivers collected all the positive receiving yards, with Dre Williams nabbing 49, John Hodges picking up 48 on just two catches, and Jordan Pouncey with 38. On the ground, LeGree led the way with 41 yards on 11 carries.

Coming up for the Wildcats (8-3), it’s a rematch with Timber Creek. The teams last met Sept. 30, when Griffin-Heard’s interception return TD was the only score the Wildcats would need for the 7-0 win. The Wolves are 8-3, coming off a 40-39 thriller upset over Apopka in the first round. Their game kicks off at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Showalter Field.