The much-maligned Knights defense, which played without four starters after a traffic stop early Thursday morning that involved players possessing semi-automatic weapons and reportedly shouting obscenities at police officers, somehow, someway came up with its best defensive performance of the season during a 44-21 road victory over Houston.
UCF, statistically one of the worst defenses in the country, rose up and held Houston without an offensive touchdown until late in the third quarter, giving UCF’s historically high-powered offense time to get cranked up. By the time it was over, the Knights' No. 1-ranked offense had compiled at least 600 yards (681 to be exact) for the third consecutive game to secure the victory, but there’s no denying this game was all about the defense.