UCF Football: 3 takeaways from upset loss in Week 11 at Tulsa

UCF football went for a wild ride at Chapman Stadium on Friday night. What did we learn about the Knights from their upset on the road at Tulsa?

It seemed like it would be a much closer call for the Knights than the high double-digit spread set by the oddsmakers heading into their Week 11 showdown at Tulsa. UCF was on a roll in recent weeks, winning their last three games by an average of more than 23 points per game. But few could have predicted that the Golden Hurricane would finally get over the hump and pull out a statement upset against a quality opponent.

On Friday night, however, chaos ensued as everything came together for Philip Montgomery’s team at home in a 34-31 takedown of the Knights. With the win, the Golden Hurricane claimed their first American Athletic Conference victory of the year. More significantly, they eliminated any lingering chance that UCF might still have harbored of playing for the conference crown and reaching a New Year’s Six game this season.

Now the Knights are left to pick up the pieces. They are already bowl eligible, and all that remains is to jockey for the best position possible in the AAC pecking order. Defending the league title they have owned the past two seasons is now unattainable, given that Cincinnati effectively has a three-game cushion on the Knights in conference play with this defeat.

So what can UCF take away from this loss, and what did we learn about both the Knights and the Golden Hurricane on Friday? Here are three things to take away from the big upset at Chapman Stadium in Week 11.