The disappointing 4-7 UCF Knights close out the 2024 season with a senior sendoff against the even more disappointing 4-7 Utah Utes. The game will take place on Friday at 8:00 pm ET at FBC Mortgage Stadium and air on FOX. Let’s take a look at the matchup.
Ending with a Whimper
The 2024 UCF season has been nothing short of a disappointment. While the media picked UCF to finish eighth in the conference, fans had high expectations in the Knights’ second season in the Big 12. The ceiling with quarterback KJ Jefferson was to compete for a conference championship. The floor was 6-6 and a bowl game. The Knights opened the season 3-0 with a big come-from-behind win against TCU. The season went downhill afterward as the Knights went from 3-0 to 3-5.
After UCF had its annual Space Game blowout win, the thought was that the season was turning around, similar to last year. It was not meant to be though. The Knights dropped their next two games to fall to 4-7 and out of bowl eligibility for the first time since 2015. What happened in 2015? The team went winless and replaced both the head coach and athletic director. UCF has several players playing their final game this week against Utah, including star running back RJ Harvey, wide receiver Kobe Hudson, and defensive linemen Ricky Barber and Lee Hunter.
With head coach Gus Malzahn having a 12 million dollar buyout, fans are wondering if UCF will consider a coaching change or not. It is expected that UCF will have more portal defections regardless of a change in coaching.
Who are the Utah Utes?
The Utah Utes are the original BCS Buster school. In 2004, Urban Meyer coached the Utes to a 12-0 record and a Fiesta Bowl win to finish fourth in the nation. joined the Big 12 in 2024 and were selected by the media to finish first. Current head coach Kyle Whittingham did it again in 2008 as the 13-0 Utes finished second in the nation with a national championship from the Anderson/Hester rankings. Utah was rewarded with an invite to the PAC-12 Conference in its first season in 2011. Much like UCF, the first season in the new conference yielded a bowl game, but the second season in the PAC-12 didn’t go as planned.
Utah is a streaky program. Since 2014, Utah had a bowl appearance streak (excluding 2020) that ended in 2024. It had a nine-game bowl-winning streak from 1999 to 2009 and five wins from 2011 to 2017. The Utes have lost their last five bowl games from 2018 to today. In 2024, Utah is riding a seven-game losing streak.
In 2024, Utah left the crumbling PAC-12 to join the Big 12. The 2024 edition is the most underachieving team in the conference. It’s been so disappointing that Whittingham is debating whether he will coach in 2025. The media picked Utah to finish first in the league, and the Utes could finish second-to-last if UCF wins on Friday. 2024 was supposed to be quarterback Cam Rising’s swan song. Rising missed the 2023 season due to injury and only played in three games in 2024 before more injuries ended his season. Rising could apply for another year of eligibility if he wants. It would be his eighth season of eligibility.
Utah’s Offense
With Rising out, the Utes have used three other quarterbacks. Isaac Wilson has gotten the most playing time. He won’t play against UCF due to an injury. That means Luke Bottari will start for the first time and will be Utah’s fourth quarterback to start a game in 2024. Bottari has taken 25 snaps all season. In Utah’s last game, Bottari only threw for 60 yards but did run for 47 yards, so there isn’t much film for UCF defensive coordinator Addison Williams. The leading rusher for Utah is sixth-year senior Micah Bernard. He’s run for 922 yards and four touchdowns. USC transfer Dorian Singer leads the receivers with 687 yards and one touchdown.
UCF’s Offense
It’s been a broken record to say UCF is a run-first team. Last week, UCF quarterback Dylan Rizk struggled, and Harvey carried the load. This Friday is Harvey’s final game at UCF. He has put together one of the best statistical careers at UCF. He is currently second all-time at UCF for several statistical categories, including rushing yards, 100-yard rushing games, and consecutive 100-yard rushing games. It’s also the last game for leading receiver Hudson. Hudson has been a staple of dependability with a catch in 34 consecutive games. This is the third all-time at UCF.
There are a few individual goals to be accomplished during this game. Harvey has a goal of 1,500 yards and he’s only 42 yards short of that mark. At 96 yards he will have the second-highest single-season total at UCF. He’s also currently tied with Kevin Smith for the school record for touchdowns in a career with 46 total touchdowns. Smith does lead Harvey 45-42 in rushing touchdowns. If Rizk passes for 216 yards, he will surpass Jefferson as UCF’s leading passer this season.
UCF Knights vs Utah Utes Predictions
Last week, UCF’s postseason chances fizzled with a flat performance against West Virginia. At this point, the team is playing for themselves. They have a bunch of seniors playing their final game and the team wants to send them off with a win. UCF and its coaching staff also want to hit the reset button and start 2025 with a win to close 2024. UCF is a nine-and-a-half-point favorite due to Utah’s quarterback question marks. While UCF is positioned to close the season with a win, this spread might be a bit steep. UCF wins 27-21. This is the first time UCF and Utah are meeting.
