The stage is set. Fans of the American Athletic Conference will see the Memphis Tigers (8-4, 5-3 AAC) face off against the No. 8 UCF Golden Knights (11-0, 8-0 AAC) in the conference championship.
For Memphis, the season has been up and down and to some degree less than preseason expectations. Nevertheless, Memphis defeated Houston last weekend and won the AAC West. Not only are the Tigers going to the championship game, but they are also bowl eligible again.
On the other hand, UCF continued to steamroll through the conference and became undefeated this season. However, their quarterback suffered a gruesome injury last weekend, potentially changing the dynamic of this game Saturday at 2:30 p.m. on ABC and in Orlando, Florida.
For the final round table of the season from The Daily Helmsman sports staff, sports editor Joshua A. Vinson and sports reporters Ryan Brown, Frank Ramirez and Zach Thompson break down this much anticipated game.
Ryan Brown
The Tigers are coming into the AAC Championship against UCF with all the momentum after winning four games straight to clinch the West Division. On the other hand, No. 8 UCF lost starting quarterback McKenzie Milton to a horrific leg injury, which resulted in damaged nerves in his knee.
UCF has a capable backup in Darriel Mack Jr., but he is not as accurate as Milton, completing 48.8 percent compared to Milton’s 59.2 percent. This may give the game a lack-luster appeal, since the Tigers battled hard to get to the title game only to play an undermanned UCF team.
Mack is versatile with his legs and has more yards rushing (281 yards) than passing (174 yards), including a 70-yard score. The Tigers have allowed one 100-plus yard rusher in their four-game winning stretch. Memphis will more than likely shut down UCF’s run game and force Mack to beat them through the air.
Even though UCF and Memphis had some close games over the past couple years, I do not see this one being close with Milton out of the picture.
Final score prediction:
Memphis 38, UCF 27
Frank Ramirez
This game will come down to emotions and passion. This is a rematch of both last year’s double-overtime thriller in the AAC Championship and Memphis’ razor-thin loss to UCF earlier this year. Also, UCF wants to keep their College Football Playoff hopes alive by staying undefeated and winning for Milton after his leg injury last week.
Keys for Memphis will be for Brady White to play consistently and avoid any costly turnovers like last week’s game, in which he threw two interceptions. UCF’s secondary won’t be tested much due to Memphis’ stellar run game, but they will keep their eyes open if White makes mistakes.
Darrell Henderson, unanimous All-Conference First Team, needs to have the game of his season to beat up their run defense. The Tigers got the upper hand with 281 rushing yards earlier in the year. The numbers will have to be similar if the Tigers want their long-awaited revenge.
Final score prediction:
Memphis 35, UCF 32
Zach Thompson
Six weeks ago, all hope of Memphis clinching the western division for the second season in a row seemed to disappear. However, after an unblemished record in the second half of conference play, including a nationally televised throttling of the Houston Cougars, the Tigers find themselves in a title game matchup with the UCF Knights yet again.
What would ordinarily be a high-stakes battle has lost some of its luster after Knights star quarterback Milton suffered a season-ending knee injury in the second quarter of the team’s win over South Florida last week.
However, backup signal-caller Mack performed admirably in relief of Milton, and he will certainly be hoping to both extend the nation’s longest active winning streak to 25 games and further solidify UCF’s stake as a national powerhouse.
In their last meeting, the Tigers got off to a quick start that saw them race to a 30-14 lead before ultimately falling 31-30 behind a Milton-lead second half comeback. This time around, it will be pivotal for the Tigers to execute for all 60 minutes if they hope to unseat the Knights as champions of the AAC.
Behind Henderson and an extremely motivated offense, the Tigers will have to be able to keep pace with the high-scoring attack of UCF, who will be looking to get creative with their gameplan after losing their general. However, coming off a week that featured two 100-plus yard rushers and 610 yards of total offense, the Tigers will find a way to get it done in a hostile environment and clinch their first conference championship since 2014.
Final score prediction:
Memphis 51, UCF 44
Joshua A. Vinson
I will admit, I’ve been very critical of this Memphis Tigers football team, but I will give them credit where credit is due. They managed to get to the AAC Championship game despite a few embarrassing losses. Memphis should win this game, considering UCF is without their starting quarterback.
However, Mack will guide this team to victory in the name of McKenzie Milton. Sometimes, it is the things that will not appear on the stat box that helps a team overcome adversity.
Although Memphis will be competitive, and Henderson and the other backs will be dominant, the UCF will ultimately finish what Milton started.
Final score prediction:
UCF 28, Memphis 17
Darrell Henderson rushes pass UCF defenders. Henderson has rushed for over 1,100 yards and has 13 touchdowns this season.
