Saturday, Dec. 3
4 p.m. ET
Yulman Stadium (40,000/UBU Speed Series 5M)
New Orleans, Louisiana
Television
ABC
Dave Pasch, Dusty Dvoracek and Tom Luginbill
Satellite Radio
SiriusXM 81 (Tulane feed)
UCF Radio
WYGM-FM 96.9 (flagship)
Tulane Radio
KVDU-FM 104.1 (flagship)
THE GAME
Saturday’s game will be the 13th meeting between UCF and Tulane in a series that dates to 2001 … UCF holds a 10-2 series lead and has won the last five meetings … The schools last met Nov. 12, when the Knights took a 38-31 win in New Orleans behind 308 yards of total offense and three total touchdowns by UCF QB John Rhys Plumlee … Plumlee rushed for 176 yards and two TDs, while Tulane QB Michael Pratt threw three touchdown passes in the regular-season meeting … UCF is making its third appearance in The American Championship as the Knights look to improve to 3-0 in the title game … Tulane is playing in The American Championship for the first time … This year’s game marks the eighth time in as many years that The American Championship is carried live on ABC … The American Championship has drawn a combined television audience of 17.2 million viewers in its first six years.
UCF KNIGHTS vs. TULANE GREEN WAVE
22/23 UCF
9-3, 6-2 American
Head Coach
Gus Malzahn (Henderson State ’90)
18-7, second season at UCF
95-45, 11th season as collegiate head coach
Notes
After UCF took a 38-31 win at Tulane Nov. 12, the Knights were in position to host the American Athletic Conference Championship game if they could win their final two games … But a 17-14 loss to Navy the following week left UCF in position where it needed to defeat South Florida in the regular-season finale to reach the championship game … The Knights responded with a wild 46-39 win in Tampa, getting the game-winning touchdown with 20 seconds left on an incredible 14-yard reception by TE Alec Holler … The Knights are playing in their third American Athletic
Conference Championship Game … UCF won the 2017 and 2018 championship games, both in Orlando … The Knights also claimed American Athletic Conference titles in 2013 and 2014 and would tie Cincinnati for the most American championships if they win their fifth crown Saturday … UCF is ranked ninth nationally in total offense (486.5 ypg) and seventh in rushing offense (243.7 ypg) … The Knights rank fifth nationally in red zone defense (68.0%) … QB John Rhys Plumlee and QB Mikey Keene have both seen significant action in recent weeks … Plumlee has a team-high 848 rushing yards with 11 touchdowns and has thrown for 2,195 yards and 13 TDs … Keene has seen action in four games and has thrown for 647 yards and six touchdowns with only one interception while completing 72.3% of his passes (60 of 83) … OT Ryan Swoboda and OG Lokahi Pauole were both first team all-conference selections on the offensive line … RB Isaiah Bowser has a team-leading 13 rushing touchdowns … WR Ryan O’Keefe has 67 catches for 688 yards and five touchdowns … WR Javon Baker and WR Kobe Hudson also have five TD receptions each … The defense had three players chosen to the all-conference first team … DE Tre’mon Morris-Brash had team highs with 6.0 sacks and 12.0 tackles for loss, while DE Ricky Barber had 7.5 tackles for loss and 12 quarterback hurries … LB Jason Johnson led the Knights with 114 tackles … S Divaad Wilson has a team-high three interceptions … K Colton Boomer has made 14 of his 15 field goal attempts, with the lone miss coming from 64 yards … P Mitch McCarthy aveages 42.4 yards per punt … O’Keefe averages 19.7 yards on kickoff returns, while WR Xavier Townsend has averaged 9.3 yards on punt returns.
2022 RESULTS
September
1 South Carolina State ………………….. W…………….. 56-10
9 Louisville…………………………………………. L……………… 14-20
17 at Florida Atlantic………………………… W…………….. 40-14
24 Georgia Tech…………………………………. W………………27-10
October
5 SMU *………………………………………………. W………………41-19
13 Temple *………………………………………….. W………………70-13
22 at East Carolina *………………………….. L……………… 13-34
29 Cincinnati * ……………………………………. W………………25-21
November
5 at Memphis *………………………………… W……………..35-28
12 at Tulane *……………………………………… W……………..38-31
19 Navy *……………………………………………….. L………………..14-17
26 at South Florida *…………………………. W……………. 46-39
December
3 at Tulane +………………………………………………………….4 p.m
19/20 TULANE
10-2, 7-1 American
Head Coach
Willie Fritz (Pittsburg State ’83)
41-45, seventh season at Tulane
212-114, 25th season as collegiate head coach
Notes
Tulane has enjoyed its best season in decades as the Green Wave went 10-2 overall and finished atop the American Athletic Conference standing at 7-1 in league play … Tulane is eight games ahead of last year’s pace, when the Green Wave finished 2-10 … Included among the wins are a 17-10 victory at Kansas State, which sits at No. 10 in this week’s College Football Playoff rankings … Tulane is in the top 25 this season for the first time since the Green Wave went 12-0 in 1998 … The 10 wins mark only the second time since 1948 that Tulane has finished with double-digit victories (1998) … The Green Wave is playing in a conference championship game for the first time … Tulane has won nine conference titles in four different conferences, most recently the 1998 Conference USA crown … Tulane has won three SEC titles (1934, 1939, 1949), or more than seven current members of that conference … Tulane leads The American in scoring defense (19.8 ppg) … The Green Wave had a league-high 15 players named to the American Athletic Conference all-conference teams, including six first-team picks … RB Tyjae Spears was named as The American’s Offensive Player of the Year after he finished the regular season with 1,177 yards and a league-high 14 touchdowns … OG Prince Pines and C Sincere Haynesworth were first-team all-conference selections, while OT Joey Claybrook was a second-team choice … QB Michael Pratt
has passed for 2,381 yards and 21 touchdowns with only four interceptions … WR Shae Wyatt has 30 receptions for 582 yards and five touchdowns, leading a group of seven players with at least 230 receiving yards … WR Duece Watts leads the team with seven touchdown receptions … The defense is led by the all-conference tandem of LB Dorian Williams (first team), who has 105 tackles with 4.0 sacks and two interceptions, and LB Nick Anderson (second team) 100 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss … Williams and S Jarius Monroe have two interceptions and six pass breakups each … K Valentino Ambrosio has hit 9 of his 10 field goal attempts with a long of 47 yards, while P Casey Glover has averaged 41.5 yards per punt … WR Jha’Quan Jackson has averaged 11.4 yards on punt returns with one touchdown, while WR Lawrence Keys III averages 27.6 yards on kickoff returns.
2022 RESULTS
September
3 Massachusetts ……………………………. W…………….. 42-10
10 Alcorn State ………………………………….. W………………..52-0
17 at Kansas State …………………………… W……………….17-10
24 Southern Miss……………………………….. L……………… 24-27
30 at Houston *………………………………….. W…………ot 27-24
October
8 East Carolina *………………………………. W………………. 24-9
15 at South Florida *…………………………. W………………45-31
22 Memphis *……………………………………… W……………. 38-28
November
5 at Tulsa *………………………………………… W………………27-13
12 UCF *…………………………………………………. L……………… 31-38
17 SMU *………………………………………………. W……………..59-24
25 at Cincinnati *……………………………….. W………………27-24
December
3 UCF +……………………………………………………………………4 p.m
