Latavius Murray scored two touchdowns and Nick Cattoi kicked a 29-yard field goal on Saturday afternoon to lead UCF to a 17-7 win over SMU in the Conference USA Championship.
For the third time since 2005 the Conference USA Championship Game comes to Orlando as the UCF Knights host SMU on Saturday at 12 noon at Bright House Networks Stadium. UCF is now ranked No. 25.
UCF rebounded from a miserable performance a week ago and hammered Tulane to the tune of 61-14 at the Louisiana Superdome. This Saturday they hit the road to take on Memphis to close out the season.
UCF’s first appearance in the Top 25 proved to be short lived. The brief rise to national recognition came crashing down by way of a thumping by Southern Miss on Saturday at Bright House Networks Stadium.
For the first time in program history UCF is ranked in the Top 25, coming in at No. 23 in the coaches and No. 25 in the Associated Press rankings. The Knights join Florida as the only in-state schools ranked.
Sports fans had little trouble finding something to do with their time on Friday. In action were the Orlando Magic, Florida Tuskers, UCF football and women’s soccer, Rollins men’s soccer, and prep football games.
With the top spot in the C-USA East Division up for grabs, UCF jumped at the opportunity to seize the moment Saturday afternoon. The Knights put up 424 yards of offense and were never forced to punt in a 49-35 win.
PHOTOS: With the win for UCF over Rice on Homecoming, Saturday’s matchup with East Carolina looms as the biggest game of the season. The winner will be in the driver’s seat of C-USA’s East Division.
Daunte Culpepper added to a long list of great memories at the Florida Citrus Bowl on Thursday night by leading his United Football League team to a come-from-behind win over the Florida Tuskers.
UCF football will commemorate four jersey numbers during the Knights’ Homecoming game against Rice. The four honorees are Daunte Culpepper, Kevin Smith, Joe Burnett and the late Wayne Densch.