kickoff set for 3:30 p.m.
BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – The UCF Knights host the Colorado Buffaloes on FOX, Saturday at the Bounce House at 3:30 p.m.
Space Coast Daily’s Juan Rodriguez and Friday Night Locker Room’s Terry Spain will provide game coverage from Orlando on Saturday.
A WIN WOULD…
■ Give the Knights a 4-0 start to the season for the first time since 2018
■ Give UCF head coach Gus Malzahn a 4-0 start to the season for the third time in his career (first since 2019) and first time as Knights head coach
■ Give UCF a win in its Big 12 home conference opener for the first time in program history
Give UCF a 2-0 start to Big 12 play and a 3-0 record at home this season
– Be better than a loss
FIRST AND 10
■ For the fourth consecutive game, UCF will play a first-time opponent, as the Colorado Buffaloes head to Orlando this weekend. Saturday’s game is slated for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff from FBC Mortgage Stadium. The game will air live on FOX with Jason Benetti as play-by-play, Brock Huard as analyst and Allison Williams as sideline reporter.
■ FOX also announced Sunday that its popular pregame show will be broadcasting live from UCF’s campus at 10 a.m. Saturday (Memory Mall).
It marks the first time in program history that the star-studded show will be broadcasting from Orlando. The two-hour pregame show will be hosted by Rob Stone and analysts Mark Ingram II, Matt Leinart, Urban Meyer and Brady Quinn along with reporters Bruce Feldman and Tom Rinaldi and wagering expert, Chris ‘The Bear’ Fallica.
■ In its last time out, UCF rallied from a 21-point deficit to earn a 35-34 victory at TCU on Saturday, Sept. 14, to open Big 12 Conference play with a win for the first time. The 21-point comeback win is tied for the largest in program history along with the 2013 Louisville and 2021 Boise State games.
■ The Knights’ balanced approach against the Horned Frogs featured 289 rushing yards and 230 passing to surpass 500 yards of total offense for the third time in as many games.
The Knights’ high-powered offense ranks third in the country with 570.7 yards per game, the only team in the Big 12 averaging better than 500.
■ UCF has now rushed for 1,127 yards with 13 touchdowns on the ground through the first three games of the season.
The Knights lead the nation with 375.7 rushing yards per game, which is nearly 100 more than the next-closest Power Four Conference team (Tennessee 290.0). UCF has ranked among the nation’s top 10 in rushing offense each of the past two seasons.
■ UCF is the only team in the nation that has rushed for at least 140 yards in each of the last 16 games, dating back to last season.
During that span, the Knights have rushed for 200 or more yards 12 times and 250 plus six times.
■ After earning Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week honors on Monday, Sept. 16, UCF running back RJ Harvey was selected as the Doak Walker Award National Running Back of the Week on Tuesday, Sept. 17.
Last season, Harvey was a semifinalist for the Doak Walker Award, presented annually to the nation’s top running back, and was on the 2024 preseason watch list.
■ Harvey’s standout performance helped lead UCF to a win in its conference opener at TCU, as he rushed for 180 yards on 29 carries with two touchdowns in the Knights’ 35-34 win against the Horned Frogs in Fort Worth, Texas.
Orlando’s Hometown Hero also scored his second career receiving touchdown to end the day with 209 all-purpose yards and three total touchdowns.
■ In contrast, UCF’s defense has been stout against the run, allowing just 64.0 rushing yards per game. That mark leads the Big 12 and is the fifth-fewest nationally.
The Black and Gold have not allowed more than 67 rushing yards in its first three games and have not allowed a rushing touchdown, one of only seven FBS teams to accomplish the feat.
■ Since the start of the 2017 season, UCF has accumulated 68 wins, the ninth-most wins by an FBS program. The Knights went 13-0 in 2017, 12-1 in 2018, 10-3 in 2019, 6-4 in the Covid-shortened 2020 season, 9-4 in 2021, 9-5 in 2022 and 6-7 last season.
The Knights join Alabama, Georgia, Clemson, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Michigan and Appalachian State as the only programs to win at least 67 games since 2017.
■ UCF earned its 200th victory as an FBS program (since 1996) in the win against Sam Houston, as the Knights are the youngest Power Four Conference program with the University founded in 1963.
MALZAHN AFTER BYE WEEKS
Throughout his 13-year head coaching tenure, Gus Malzahn’s teams have been very difficult to beat coming off a bye week, as Malzahn has compiled a 10-2 mark in the first game following the bye week.
He was a perfect 9-0 during his time at Arkansas State and Auburn and is 1-2 with UCF.
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