2023 UCF Knights football team

2023 UCF Knights football
ConferenceBig 12 Conference
Record6–7 (3–6 Big 12)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorDarin Hinshaw (1st season)
Offensive schemeSpread option[1]
Defensive coordinatorAddison Williams (1st season)
Co-defensive coordinatorDavid Gibbs (3rd season)
Base defense4–2–5[1]
Home stadiumFBC Mortgage Stadium
Seasons
← 2022
2024 →
2023 Big 12 Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 3 Texas y$^   8 1     12 2  
No. 16 Oklahoma State y   7 2     10 4  
No. 15 Oklahoma   7 2     10 3  
Iowa State   6 3     7 6  
No. 18 Kansas State   6 3     9 4  
West Virginia   6 3     9 4  
Texas Tech   5 4     7 6  
No. 23 Kansas   5 4     9 4  
UCF   3 6     6 7  
TCU   3 6     5 7  
Houston   2 7     4 8  
BYU   2 7     5 7  
Baylor   2 7     3 9  
Cincinnati   1 8     3 9  
Championship: Texas 49, Oklahoma State 21
  • ^ – College Football Playoff participant
  • $ – Conference champion
  • y – Championship game participant
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2023 UCF Knights football team represented the University of Central Florida (UCF) as a member of the Big 12 Conference during the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Knights were led by Gus Malzahn in his third year as the Knights head coach. The team played their home games at FBC Mortgage Stadium in Orlando, Florida.

UCF officially moved into the Big 12 Conference for the 2023 season. In doing so, the Knights became the first NCAA football program to play at every sanctioned level: Division III, Division II, Division I-AA, Division I-A (Independent), Group of Five, and Power Five.[2]

In their first season as part of the Big 12, the Knights jumped out to a 3–0 start, including a last-second victory at Boise State. However, quarterback John Rhys Plumlee suffered an ankle injury in the final minute of the Boise State game, which would sideline him for a month. Redshirt sophomore Timmy McClain took over at quarterback as the Knights entered the conference portion of their schedule. In their first intra-conference home game, the Knights jumped out to a 35–7 lead over Baylor, but blew a 28-point lead, and lost 36–35. The Knights suffered a five-game skid, slipping to 3–5. With Plumlee back to full strength in November, the Knights won three of their last four games to finish the regular season 6–6 overall (3–6 in the Big 12), and became bowl eligible for the eighth consecutive season. Of the four newcomers that joined the Big 12 for 2023 (BYU, Cincinnati, and Houston being the others), UCF finished with the best record, and was the only one bowl-eligible.

  1. ^ a b "2023 Central Florida Knights Football Depth Chart". ourlads.com. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
  2. ^ Vannini, Chris (July 12, 2023). "Inside UCF's rise from D-III to Big 12 and what's next: 'This could be the premier place'". The Atlantic. Retrieved September 19, 2023.