UCF will face off against Temple for and attempt to stay undefeated. Last season the Knights lost 26-25 to the Owls with only one second left in the fourth quarter. Temple went on to win the conference championship.
Coming out of Thursday practice, coach Scott Frost is optimistic about the outcome.
“That might’ve been our best Thursday ever,” Frost said. “The guys are ready to go.”
The Owls (5-5, 3-3 AAC) have had a pretty even season thus far, racking up wins to balance out their losses. The Knights (9-0, 6-0 AAC) have made a big impact with their winning streak, and people are starting to take notice.
“It’s great to get the recognition, it’s great to get the attention,” Frost said. “It’s great for this university and this athletic department. We’ve been saying all along this is a special place. I know that we can build a winner here.”
While it’s still very warm in Orlando, the weather will be very different at Temple. The team will be traveling to a colder climate, but it isn’t affecting their preparation for the game. Redshirt junior OL Wyatt Miller is excited for the weather because every day in Orlando he sweats on his way to class.
“Once you get up and get running in a situation like that it’s gonna feel great,” Frost said. “That’s not my main concern. My main concern is playing good against a good opponent.”
With a Black Friday game against rival USF in two weeks, the Knights are trying to focus solely on Temple and take each game one at a time.
“We can’t look ahead of anybody, because that could be the week that we get taken down,” Miller said. “As a team we understand that if we don’t focus on a team, all those rankings and everything that worked so hard for this whole season, is out the window. We understand, as a team, that every game matters and every team matters.”
Last year, UCF struggled to keep momentum going throughout the entire four quarters against Temple, going scoreless the whole second half, which contributed to their loss.
“We took that lesson from last year and put it towards all of our games,” said linebacker redshirt senior Chequan Burkett.
UCF is ready for the challenging trying to make it to 10-0.
“They know the challenge they have in this game,” Frost said. “They also remember last year and us losing a heartbreaker to these guys. They see the tape of these guys playing good football. I think this is going to be one of our toughest games, but I think our kids are dialed in on it.”
