Last year, Tulsa beat UCF football. Will it happen again?
In 2019, UCF had a convincing lead against Tulsa leading 28-17 at halftime. In the second half, the Knight came out flat and lost the half 17-3. UCF crashed as it had had three turnovers, gave up six sacks and scored only three points. They dropped the game in what was part of UCF’s disappointing 10-3 season.
Tulsa last played a football game two weeks ago after last week’s matchup was canceled due to positive COVID-19 tests at Arkansas State. In Week 1, Tulsa lost to Oklahoma State 16-7. Tulsa lost to a good football team and played fairly well. The Golden Hurricane tallied up six sacks and held Cowboys running back Chuba Hubbard to 93 yards with an average of 3.4 yards per attempt. This defensive hold against the run is impressive, considering Hubbard didn’t rush for a minimum of 100 yards in a game since September of 2019.
This week, protecting quarterback Dillon Gabriel and playing mistake-free football is a priority for UCF. UCF has done a pretty good job in recent weeks protecting Gabriel and limiting mistakes. It’s the Knights’ first home game, which will be at limited capacity at the Bounce House with a maximum of 11,000 in attendance.
The fact of the matter is this is a matchup that UCF has the advantage. The Knights have already proven their offense is the real deal. In just two games, UCF scored 100 points. Gabriel sparked his Heisman argument, and UCF’s offensive no-huddle tempo has been a nightmare. The speed of UCF was just too much to contain for Georgia Tech and East Carolina.
UCF should win this game if it starts early and has an offense like the past two weeks. This is revenge for the Knights as they look to make sure nobody beats them in 2020.
With UCF being ranked just out of the top 10 sitting at 2-0 and No. 11 in the national college football rankings. With a win, this should push UCF into the top 10 permitting some other scenarios playing out in their favor.
The Knights should bounce back from last year and have a convincing win in primetime tonight. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. on ESPN2.
Pregame Notes
**UCF has a 21-game home win streak, second behind Clemson.
**Dillon Gabriel has 856 total yards and eight touchdowns and 1 interception on the season.
**The Knights’ defense forced nine turnovers in just two games.
**This will be the second game for Tulsa as it looks for its first win of the season.
**Tulsa beat UCF last year, and Tulsa leads 8-3 in the rivalry.
**UCF sits fourth nationally with 90.5 offensive snaps per game.
Photo courtesy of UCFKnights.com
