UCF Football: It’s time for Knights to break into College Football Playoff

2. UCF fields a defense in 2018 that is much improved from last year’s unit

Last year, one of the biggest knocks against UCF as they tried to reach the College Football Playoff in vain was the fact that they were absolutely abysmal on offense. The Knights ranked outside the top 50 in most defensive categories, as they conceded more than 25 points and 425 yards per game.

UCF’s front seven struggled to get much push at the point of attack, as they ranked outside the top 60 in both sacks and tackles for loss. The one thing they did do well was generate turnovers, ranking second nationally with 32 takeaways over the course of the 2017 campaign.

This year, the Knights maintained all of their strengths while improving at their weakest points. Even after the offensive shootout against Memphis in the AAC championship game, the 2018 defense gave up an average of 3.7 fewer points. The loss to the Tigers pushed up their yards allowed on average, but they also rank in the top 10 once again with 25 takeaways through 12 games.

After losing standout players like Mike Hughes and Shaquem Griffin to the NFL from last year’s team, the Knights just kept producing as they tightened up their points allowed. Defense is far less of a liability than it was last year, eliminating that as a justification for keeping UCF from competing for the national title.