UCF Completes 13-0 Season

With a 34-27 win over Auburn in the Peach Bowl, the UCF Knights confirmed their status as the only undefeated team in this season of college football, improving to 13-0 in head coach Scott Frost’s final game before leaving for Nebraska.

It was an ugly start for the Knights, who struggled to throw the ball against a talented SEC defense and didn’t score in the game’s first 18 minutes. Their own defense picked up the slack, though, holding the Tigers to just two field goals in the first half to give their team a 13-6 lead.

Still, Auburn looked to be on the verge of pulling away in the third quarter, scoring 14 points on their first two drives out of the break. But two straight passing touchdowns from UCF QB McKenzie Milton regained a Central Florida advantage that they never again relinquished, with the eventual winning score arriving on a fourth-quarter pick-six from Chequan Burkett.

Auburn didn’t go away quietly, answering the Burkett interception with a touchdown, then holding UCF to a missed field goal to get the ball down seven with just over two minutes to play. That threatening drive went all the way to the UCF 21-yard line, but eventually ended on an off-balance end-zone pick thrown by Jarrett Stidham. UCF may not be national champions, but they’ve accomplished something no other team could do this year.