There’s a trend developing for the UCF Knights. One week they have an emotional win. The next, they come out flat and get blown out.
UCF beat BYU, who was ranked No. 2 in the country at the time, in overtime. The next week, they were blown out by a Baylor team on an interim coach. The Knights had a last-second touchdown following a miracle drive to beat Kansas. Then, they came home and weren’t able to do anything against a jet-lagged Arizona State team.
It’s a lack of consistency that can be very frustrating for fans. It’s also leading to some questions about the kind of effort and focus that UCF is playing with this season.
UCF Knights Head Coach Scott Frost Dismisses Concern About Team
The concern about how UCF is trending is rippling through the fan base. However, when head coach Scott Frost was asked about it following the Arizona State loss, he seemed less concerned about a connection between those results.
“Those two games don’t even relate,” Scott Frost said. “We got beat by two good teams. I didn’t think we played with as much — I wouldn’t say effort — it was just intensity in the Baylor game, and it snowballed. Our guys came ready to play today. We didn’t make enough plays, and we got beat. But it wasn’t because there was a letdown. We just lost a football game.”
Frost also spoke about the parity in college football. For him, that’s what makes it so hard to have consistent performances.
“I think it’s all college football. It’s not just this league, but anybody can beat anybody on any given week. I think we’ve played kind of over our skis a couple of times and won a couple of games. And when we’re in close games, our guys keep fighting. They fought till the end tonight. Arizona State made more plays than we did. Their two touchdown drives, I thought we had them covered perfect both times. A couple of their receivers made plays that led to two touchdowns. It’s so great to have Lew Carter back. I just love him as a kid and a player. He got beat by a half step on a double pass. If he’s healthy, I don’t know if he’s there or not,” Frost said.
“But those are the things that happen in a football season. And again, they made those plays. Hats off to them. We need to make some more plays that impact the game. And coaches and players, we’ve got to put ourselves in the best position to fight our tails off and try to get it done.”
UCF HC Scott Frost Doesn’t Believe in the Travel Narrative
Another unavoidable narrative in the game was the travel. Because of FAA issues, Arizona State couldn’t fly cross-country into Orlando until the day of the game. The Big 12 delayed kickoff by two hours and the Sun Devils didn’t land until about 1:00 p.m. EST for a 5:30 p.m. EST game.
Still, it was UCF who looked jet-lagged, making for an easy narrative. That’s a narrative that Frost wanted to push back against.
“That’s not the narrative. The travel is not the narrative. I’ve coached on teams that have had to travel late, too. They played better than us today,” Frost said. “So if you guys want to make it about that narrative, you can. But they made more plays than we did out there today, and that’s really what it came down to.”
UCF now sits at 5-5 on the season, needing one more win to get bowl eligible. They’ll try to do just that next week against a tough Iowa State team.
UCF HC Scott Frost Dismisses Major Concern Following Arizona State Loss