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

1. Zach Smith and Seth Boomer both big at quarterback

For Tulsa to have any chance of pulling off the upset against UCF, they needed quarterback Zach Smith to have a big game. At least that was the conventional wisdom, after the junior posted solid performances in the win over Wyoming and close calls against SMU, Cincinnati, Memphis, and Tulane. And in the first half he went 10-of-14 for 127 yards and a touchdown.

But Smith took a hard sack on second-and-25 right with just over two minutes remaining in the first half, and he never returned to the game after the break. With Tulsa down 28-17 at halftime, it seemed like that would doom the Golden Hurricane.

Seth Boomer, however, had a different idea. The sophomore backup came in at quarterback in the third quarter and took advantage of several UCF turnovers to put the Golden Hurricane in position to upset the Knights. At the start the coaching staff relied heavily on runs out of the shotgun to acclimate Boomer to the game, but steadily they put more faith in his arm.

In a half of play, Boomer finished 6-of-10 for 87 yards with a touchdown while adding nine rushing yards. It was a healthy showing from a cold quarterback coming into the game for meaningful reps for the first time in weeks. It ultimately proved enough to knock off UCF and throw another wrench into the AAC race this year while the Knights drop out definitively.