At the start of the season, UCF had clear goals they hoped to achieve.
These included a spot in a bowl game, a possible Big 12 championship and a potential run at the College Football Playoff.
With five consecutive losses, however, many of these goals are a distant memory. The Knights are focused on winning their next football game, as it is their biggest challenge at the moment.
“We’ve got to do whatever it takes to get ready and win this game,” coach Gus Malzahn said. “That’s the only thing on my mind right now.”
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It must have been because Malzahn referenced “win” 17 times in his 15 minutes of availability Monday.
“We need to win the game. We’ve lost five in a row and that’s new territory for me so we’ve got to find a way to win the game,” he said. “We’re not focused on anything other than that.”
A week after expressing optimism that his team turned the corner following a 2-point loss at then-No. 6 Oklahoma, Malzahn could only express disappointment after the Knights dropped a 41-28 loss to visiting West Virginia on Saturday.
Familiar themes continue to haunt UCF (3-5, 0-5 Big 12) during this losing streak. Turnovers, penalties and the defense’s inability to stop the run have left the Knights searching for answers.
“[The defense] came up a lot flatter than we did against Oklahoma,” said defensive coordinator Addison Williams. “We just didn’t have the same juice and, obviously, it starts with me not getting the guys prepared throughout the week.”
UCF has allowed 261 rushing yards per game and 19 rushing touchdowns during the five-game Big 12 stretch. That’s more than 121 Football Bowl Subdivision teams have allowed all season.
Turnover-prone UCF remains winless in Big 12, drops 5th in a row with loss to West Virginia
The Knights also turned the ball over four times against WVU with quarterback John Rhys Plumlee throwing three interceptions and fumbling late in the third quarter.
“We cannot turn the football over because it’s hard to overcome in that situation and we’re putting the defense on the field repeatedly, and again, and we can’t do that,” said offensive coordinator Darin Hinshaw.
UCF’s best chance for a win could come this weekend as the Knights face familiar foe Cincinnati (2-6, 0-5 Big 12), the only other team winless in conference play. The Bearcats are riding a six-game losing streak and last won Sept. 9 at Pittsburgh.
Despite its recent struggles, UCF opens as a 4-point favorite on the road.
The Knights have a 10.4% chance of winning out the remainder of their games, according to ESPN’s Football Power Index, and just a 42% chance of getting to six wins and bowl eligibility. The remaining four games are against teams with a combined 14-18 record.
Cincinnati, meanwhile, presents a familiar challenge with the team ranked third in the Big 12 in rushing offense (222 yards per game). Running backs Corey Kiner (642 yards) and Myles Montgomery (357 yards) along with former Florida quarterback Emory Jones (441 yards) account for most of the Bearcats’ production on the ground.
Kiner has three 100-yard rushing performances while Jones has two and Montgomery one.
Malzahn said the Knights will do whatever it takes to stop the run on Saturday.
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“We have to do a better job,” he said. “Whether it’s schemes or players, whatever we have got to do a better job and this bunch is going to run the ball so we know we’ve got to do a good job of stopping them.”
That said, coaches and players stressed the overall importance of this week.
“All we have got to do is win one game,” said Williams. “We’ve got to play well in one game and then we’ll worry about the next after that, but you’ve got to get that good feeling back and that’s something we haven’t had in a while.”
Said defensive end Josh Celiscar: “We want to get a win each and every week. It doesn’t matter what week it is. We’re always trying to get a win.”
Email Matt Murschel at mmurschel@orlandosentinel.com or follow him on Twitter at @osmattmurschel.
