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My God. Did that all really happen?
That was the greatest game in UCF Football history, hands down.
If you're a UCF fan, you'll remember where you watched this game as long as you live.
Black Friday. Quinton Flowers. The 4th quarter. The return. The fumble. When a game is known for moments that you can recognize by just two or three words, it's an all-timer.
It's what we all hoped the War on I-4 would one day be, and hard as it is to believe, it exceeded the hype.
This recap won't be like our others. Instead, we're just going to list off the things we'll always remember from this epic and wild Black Friday.
First, the lead:
It’s staying in Orlando!#WarOnI4 pic.twitter.com/V7s4jnFKrV
— UCF Football (@UCF_Football) November 25, 2017
The Highlights
RT if your team is 11-0 & #WarOnI4 CHAMPIONS!
— UCF Football (@UCF_Football) November 25, 2017
Highlights from our 49-42 W over the Bulls pic.twitter.com/ZFlme0CCr2
That. Place. Was. Lit.
Like, literally:
Hello @UCF_Football’s newest tradition: #KnightLights pic.twitter.com/WBG9mO0PcP
— UCF Knights (@UCFKnights) November 25, 2017
But aside from that, the attendance was 47,129 - The third-largest crowd in Spectrum Stadium history (behind the 2009 Miami game and the 2013 South Carolina game, both of which were losses) and the fifth-largest crowd in school history (trailing the 2005 C-USA Championship and the 2000 Virginia Tech "Fill the Bowl" game).
So this was the largest home crowd to ever witness a UCF win.
And as nuts as it was in the stadium, it looked just as, if not more, nuts on TV.
I just watched a college football game that felt like a combination of a track meet, rock concert and the running of the Bulls. #UCF
— Colin Cowherd (@ColinCowherd) November 25, 2017
This #UCF stadium is
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) November 24, 2017
Good on you, Knight Nation. You came through.
No One Wanted to Cover Tyre McCants
So he picked up 201 yards receiving in the first half.
Tyre McCants set a new USF GAME receiving record with 6 catches for 210 yards in the first half.
— USF Football (@USFFootball) November 24, 2017
Breaks the mark of 191 yards by Andre Davis at Nevada in 2012. #BullStrong pic.twitter.com/8hm3XkQs2V
However, he finished with 227. So let's give credit to the secondary for making the necessary adjustments in the second half.
However, as they did, this guy took over:
Quinton Flowers giveth
Unreal. Here' was Flowers' line:
Quinton Flowers total yards: 605
— SB Nation (@SBNation) November 25, 2017
UCF total yards: 561 pic.twitter.com/NPQT0OEpnX
- Passing: 24/45, 503 yards, 4 TD, INT
- Rushing: 20 carries, 102 yards, TD
So in all, that's 65 of USF's 84 plays, 605 total yards of offense and five total touchdowns. This smashed the previous record for most total yards by an opposing player (previously held by Tim Rattay of Louisiana Tech) and was the best individual performance by a player in all of college football this year.
And USF still lost.
And Quinton Flowers Taketh Away
But then he ruined it all with this:
... pic.twitter.com/p6Iqoeeabp
— Deadspin (@Deadspin) November 24, 2017
You have to wonder: If this was the NFL and Roger Goodell was in charge of discipline, what would Flowers' punishment be? A fine? A suspension? Exile to Kamchatka?
I've read all about Quinton Flowers. I wouldn't wish the crap he's been through in his short life on my worst enemy. The kid walked out on Senior Day at USF with nobody because there's nobody left in his family to walk out with him.
But that's no excuse for doing the most disgusting and classless thing I've ever seen on a football field. And as someone who grew up rooting for Miami in the early '90s as a kid, that's saying something.
The Fourth Quarter
UCF scored 21 points in the 4th after being down 34-28, and all three of those touchdowns happened in the final 7:33.
That was 213 yards of total offense in the final 15 minutes, and that did not include Mike Hughes' kickoff return, which we'll get to in a second.
But it was UCF's first come-from-behind-in-the-4th victory of the year.
It also included:
53 Seconds of Pure Crazy
CFB game of the year?
— ESPN (@espn) November 25, 2017
With a division title on the line, UCF kept its perfect season alive with a bonkers 49-42 win over rival South Florida that included 3 TDs in 53 seconds. pic.twitter.com/LwPJToqgir
Three touchdowns plus a two-point conversion. Which was capped off by:
The Return
MIIIIIIIKEEEE!!!
— UCF Football (@UCF_Football) November 25, 2017
95 YARDS!!!! pic.twitter.com/y8pRcuLvek
Frame that. We will remember where we were the rest of our lives when Mike Hughes brought back that kick.
Let's watch that again:
On the ensuing kickoff #UCF #Knights CB Mike Hughes (@_Bigmikee1) takes it back 95 yards for a TD to end the game vs the #Bulls #USFvsUCF pic.twitter.com/OnEevY7pc1
— Sleeper Athletes (@SleeperAthletes) November 25, 2017
And again:
Knight Nation, we leave you with this...
— UCF Football (@UCF_Football) November 25, 2017
Take it away, @ucf_marcdaniels (and Mike Hughes) #UCFast pic.twitter.com/yQFLnudCQ2
Of course, it still wasn't over, until:
The Fumble
Hey! USF! Come back to CUSA and the refs don’t consider this a fumble. Am I right @HerdFansINFO ? pic.twitter.com/EjbITqiyDs
— notthatJoeClark (@joeboo81) November 25, 2017
Conference USA officiating digs aside, a game with almost 1,200 yards of total offense gets decided by a defensive play.
And remember this name: Richie Grant. The redshirt freshman from Fort Walton Beach had just 26 tackles, one tackle for loss and two passes defended all year, and that was his first career forced fumble.
It called to mind Jordan Ozerities' interception to seal the 2013 game:
So Richie Grant saves the season. What a day. Good thing just ebout everyone saw it.
The Audience
Mike Aresco is a frickin' genius because exactly what he hoped for happened: His marquee game landed in the marquee time slot, and EVERYONE paid attention:
Games of the year so far:
— Matt Hinton (@MattRHinton) November 25, 2017
1. UCF > USF
2. Ohio St. > Penn St.
3. UCLA > A&M
4. Oklahoma > Ok. State
5. USC > Texas
UCF's wild win over USF had it all https://t.co/CzuNA3Wnri
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) November 25, 2017
I just snorted that UCF-USF game
— Dan Le Batard Show (@LeBatardShow) November 25, 2017
Wish every game was this USF/UCF game.
— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) November 25, 2017
My Hero! @UCF_Football pic.twitter.com/YdsN4g3vzh
— Deion Sanders (@DeionSanders) November 24, 2017
Unbelievable. @USFFootball -@UCF_Football has to be the game of the year in college football so far. USF gains 653 yds and loses 49-42 on a KOR. Congrats Coach Frost & the Knights!
— Tony Dungy (@TonyDungy) November 25, 2017
OMG the most incredible football game of the season is going on= #UCFvsUSF
— Geraldo Rivera (@GeraldoRivera) November 25, 2017
congrats ucf!!! number one football program in the state of florida (including the nfl)!!!!!
— daniel tosh (@danieltosh) November 25, 2017
If you're sitting in the big chair back in Providence, this is EXACTLY what you wanted. Everyone got home from a busy day shopping, plopped down on the couch with some leftovers, and turned on the game. And they saw the game of the year in college football.
Now, if you're The American, you have the ammo to tell the College Football Playoff Committee that there are no excuses anymore. This was Peak College Football. We just gave America the game of the year and now everyone knows it. To deny this, and thus to deny UCF's place in the national conversation, is simply to engage in rank collusion.
UCF can play with anyone in the country. Anyone.
— Danny Kanell (@dannykanell) November 25, 2017
Next Up
The #AmericanFB Championship game is set. @MemphisFB and @UCF_Football will play next Saturday at Noon ET on ABC in Orlando.
— American Football (@American_FB) November 25, 2017
️ https://t.co/C5LZMP38Lc#AmericanPow6r pic.twitter.com/icQNaDLbti
Two straight weekends on ABC at home, this time with a conference title on the line.
UCF handled Memphis pretty good in the first matchup, but that was a long time ago.
This one's for all the marbles, so the fans had better show up to this too.
The Last Word
It belongs to Shaquill Griffin, whom we wish could have been here:
My bro @Shaquemgriffin & @UCF_Football boys are CHAMPIONS pic.twitter.com/pQMX73z3SC
— Shaquill Griffin (@ShaquillG) November 25, 2017
An unreal ending to an unreal day.