ORLANDO, FL – It was a classic display of Tug-of-War between the Knights offense and the undefeated Bearcats stout defense. UCF fell short against Cincinnati (8-0) 36-33 in a barn burner.
Despite starting the game with an 11-point lead, UCF failed to hang on to their lead, allowing the Bearcats to not only get themselves back into the game, but come out with a victory.
Head Coach Josh Heupel on the game’s outcome, “I said we’re not too far off from being a really, really good football team and we have gotten better – everybody’s disappointed with this result.”
Gabriel struggled posting an average game in comparison to his standards. The Knights QB threw for 243 yards, 3 TDs and 1 interception while only connecting on 26 of his 49 pass attempts.
The Knights struggled in situational football this afternoon. With 7:15 left in the 4th quarter the Bearcats went on a 10-play drive spanning 71 yards taking 5 minutes off the clock and extending their lead to 11 (36-25). By that time UCF only had the opportunity to score once more before the clock hit zeroes.
Coach Heupel on the Bearcats, “At the end of the day, that’s a really good football team. They’re ranked where they’re at for a reason. They have a really mature football team – I think our kids responded and met the physicalness and competed extremely hard and did a lot of the things we talked about going into the football game.”
For the Knights, their team’s maturity will be tested as they seek to bounce back on the road next week November 27th, against the South Florida Bulls at Raymond James Stadium, 3:30PM ET.
