UCF Report Card: Knights 24 Huskies 16

The following is the report card for the UCF Football team following their 24-16 road victory over the UConn Huskies:

Offense

Quarterback: Freshman McKenzie Milton enjoyed his best collegiate game, completing 29 of 45 passes for 317 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions. Milton showed the ability to fit the ball into tight windows, throwing a rope on his touchdown pass to freshman WR Dredrick Snelson. See for yourself:

Milton also displayed nice touch on his touchdown pass to redshirt sophomore TE Jordan Akins. Most impressive was Milton's ability to keep plays alive with his legs. He had a few nice scrambles and turned many sacks into first down throws by rolling to both his right and left. While McKenzie did have a few throws that could have been picked, he mostly played mistake-free football. It is clear that the future of #UCFast begins and ends with the Flying Hawaiian. Final Grade: A

Running backs: The Knight running backs had a few good moments against UConn, but there were many moments where it seemed like guys were not hitting the holes the way they should. Freshman Jawon Hamilton particularly struggled to read his blocks, running for just 16 yards on 6 carries despite having decent running lanes. Hamilton seemed to run into his blockers rather than hit the holes. One running back that was highly effective was senior Dontravious Wilson. He finished with 57 yards on 11 carries, including a long run of 30 yards. Wilson added 2 catches for 23 yards as he continues to be the most reliable UCF running back. Freshman speedster Adrian Killins was held in check in the run game, but more than made up for it in the passing game when he lined up in the slot and burned the UConn defense for a 39 yard TD catch. Final Grade: C+

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends: With QB McKenzie Milton enjoying his best game of his young collegiate career, it was only natural that the UCF receiving corps had a big day as well. Redshirt senior Taylor Oldham hauled in 4 catches for 72 yards, including a tough 40 yard grab across the middle that displayed his athleticism.  As mentioned earlier, Snelson caught his first collegiate TD pass and made the most of sophomore Tristan Payton's suspension to finish with 5 catches for 63 yards. Tight end Jordan Akins proved why he is arguably the most athletic tight end the Knights have ever had as he finished with 5 catches for 54 yards and this incredible touchdown grab: 

While he didn't have a huge game, redshirt sophomore and WR1 Tre'Quan Smith had 4 catches for 36 yards. In all, 6 tight ends/receivers caught balls for the Knights. Final Grade: A

Offensive Line: UCF ran for just 83 yards on the ground on 30 attempts, certainly not living up to the moniker of #UCFast. The poor push up front by the offensive line certainly contributed to those poor numbers. However, the Knight O-Line surrendered only 1 sack and 5 tackles for loss to the UConn defense. There were also several instances where Milton could not find an open man and began running around in the backfield after the line had held their blocks for several seconds. While the running game was less than impressive, do take into account that UConn entered this game with one of the best rushing defenses in the nation and now ranks 26th overall in rushing defense. Therefore, the offensive line deserves more credit than one might think. Final Grade: B

Defense 

Defensive Line: The UCF defensive line was partially responsible for giving up 171 rushing yards to the Huskies, including 13 first downs on the ground. However, the unit came up big more often than not, helping to hold UConn to 5 of 17 on 3rd down conversions and 1 for 3 on 4th down conversions. Redshirt junior Tony Guerad led the charge, finishing with 5 tackles and 0.5 tackles for loss (TFL).  Redshirt sophomore A.J. Wooten stepped up in place of injured starter Jamiyus Pittman and recorded 2 tackles. Redshirt sophomore Joey Connors had 2 tackles and 0.5 TFL. Freshman Trysten Hill had 1 TFL. Overall, a solid performance by the front 3. Final Grade: B+

Linebackers: Again, this unit was part of a front 7 that yielded 171 rushing yards. With that said, they also helped the Knights only give up 16 points and came up big when they had to. Redshirt junior and star of ESPN's College Gameday earlier on Saturday, Mr. Shaquem Griffin, was all over the field, finishing with 10 tackles and 0.5 TFL. He had a few big hits that caught extra praise from the announcers. Redshirt senior Demeitre Brim had a key pass breakup in the first half on 3rd down that forced the Huskies to settle for a field goal. Brim finished with 3 tackles and 1 quarterback hurry. Redshirt senior Errol Clarke looked most impressive out of all the linebackers. He finished with 9 tackles and the Knights' lone sack on the day which resulted in a loss of 10 yards for UConn. Redshirt junior Chequan Burkett only had 2 tackles, but he did a great job setting the edge on outside run plays. Sophomore Pat Jasinski added 3 tackles and 0.5 TFL. Last, but certainly not least was redshirt senior Mark Rucker. One of the main leaders of #UCFierce, Rucker finished with 7 tackles and 0.5 TFL. While this group was not perfect, the hard hits they laid out and the goose egg they helped pitch in the second half led to a winning performance. Final Grade: A-

Secondary: The Knights were victimized at times by UConn star WR Noel Thomas, who finished with 9 catches for 165 yards. Usually tough to beat, senior CB Shaquill Griffin found himself on the wrong end of a few of those catches. However, Griffin hung in there to the tune of 4 tackles, 0.5 TFL, and 1 pass breakup. 5th year safety T.J. Mutcherson paced all the UCF DBs with 9 tackles and 1 pass breakup. Redshirt senior Drico Johnson brought the biggest physical presence to the secondary, finishing with 7 tackles to go along with 2 pass breakups, 1 of which was pretty impressive during the 4th quarter. Finally, Senior D.J. Killings compiled 6 tackles. Overall, the UCF secondary gave up no plays longer than 33 yards and were physical in the run game. Final Grade: A-

Special Teams: It was a mixed bag for the UCF special teams. The good: Redshirt sophomore Matthew Wright drilling a 50 yard field goal that put the Knights up 8 in the 4th quarter. Wright made this kick in the rain and despite missing his first field goal of 31 yards. The bad: Wright missing a 31 yard FG in the first quarter; Adrian Killins' kick return performance. Twice Killins misfielded balls. One was a catch that he should have let go out of bounds that pinned the Knights inside the 10; another was a ball that he delayed to catch and had to field to prevent UConn from fielding. Not the best day for everyone's favorite fast Knight, but hopefully it is something he learns from as he is only a freshman. Final Grade: C+

Coaching: Most Knights fans were not sure how Scott Frost and co. would respond after such a gut-wrenching loss against Temple. We all appreciated that Frost took the blame as his play calling in the second half against the Owls was abysmal. However, we wondered if he could get this team in the right mindset as they headed up to a cold, rainy, miserable place like UConn to play a scrappy Huskies team. Well, Coach Frost, thank you for proving any of our doubts wrong. The Knights, despite falling behind 13-0, never panicked. The offensive coaches put their players in the best situation to succeed, especially McKenzie Milton. Frost did not let up his aggressive style. While I did not agree with the fake punt early in the game, I can appreciate his guts. The Knights went for it on 4th down 4 times, converting 2. Even though it didn't work out, I'm glad Coach called a pass play on 3rd and long with the Knights trying to run out the clock. That is playing to win, not playing not to lose. Overall, the coaching staff helped guide UCF Football to its first ever win at UConn, overcoming crappy weather and any doubts the players might have had about themselves after last week. Just a wonderful effort in all aspects. Final Grade: A