| 2018 UCF Knights football | |
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.jpg) UCF celebrates their victory over Memphis in the AAC Championship Game. | |
American Athletic Conference champion AAC East Division champion | |
Fiesta Bowl, L 32–40 vs. LSU | |
| Conference | American Athletic Conference |
| East Division | |
| Ranking | |
| Coaches | No. 12 |
| AP | No. 11 |
| Record | 12–1 (8–0 AAC) |
| Head coach |
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| Defensive coordinator | Randy Shannon (1st season) |
| Home stadium | Spectrum Stadium |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | W | L | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| East Division | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 11 UCF x$ | 8 | – | 0 | 12 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Temple | 7 | – | 1 | 8 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 24 Cincinnati | 6 | – | 2 | 11 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| South Florida | 3 | – | 5 | 7 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| East Carolina | 1 | – | 7 | 3 | – | 9 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UConn | 0 | – | 8 | 1 | – | 11 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| West Division | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Memphis xy | 5 | – | 3 | 8 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Houston x | 5 | – | 3 | 8 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tulane x | 5 | – | 3 | 7 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SMU | 4 | – | 4 | 5 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Navy | 2 | – | 6 | 3 | – | 10 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tulsa | 2 | – | 6 | 3 | – | 9 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Championship: UCF 56, Memphis 41 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 2018 UCF Knights football team represented the University of Central Florida (UCF) during the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They played their home games at Spectrum Stadium in Orlando, Florida, and were led by first-year head coach Josh Heupel. The Knights competed as members of the East Division of the American Athletic Conference. The 2018 season marked the 40th season of football for the Knights program.
The 2018 campaign began with the Knights attempting to defend their AAC championship, as well as extend the nation's longest active winning streak, which stood at 13 games. For the first time in program history, the Knights were ranked in both the preseason AP Poll (#21) and preseason Coaches Poll (#23). By week 12, the team had risen into the top ten of the AP, Coaches, and CFP rankings, the first time they had been ranked in the top ten in all three during the regular season. On November 17, the UCF campus hosted ESPN's College Gameday for the first time in program history.
After winning their first twelve games of the season, UCF extended their school record winning streak to 25 consecutive games, dating back to the start of the 2017 season. The Knights also secured their second-consecutive undefeated regular season, and second-consecutive American Athletic Conference title by defeating Memphis in the 2018 AAC Championship Game. It was the fourth AAC conference title in six years for the Knights. Under Heupel, UCF continued to employ an explosive no-huddle offense. The Knights ranked 5th in the nation in total yards/game (522.7), and 6th in points/game (43.2).
In the last game of the regular season, starting quarterback McKenzie Milton suffered a serious leg injury, and was out for the season. Milton would never play another down for the Knights. Backup quarterback Darriel Mack Jr. took over for the remainder of that game, and subsequently led the team to victory in the AAC championship. They were invited to their third NY6/BCS bowl in school history, the Fiesta Bowl. Mack struggled in the Fiesta Bowl, and without star quarterback Milton under center, their winning streak came to end. They were defeated by LSU, 40–32.