COLLEGE FOOTBALL

QB Race: Assessing UCF’s vs Houston’s Field Generals

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BCP, November 15, 2018– Central Florida (9-0, 6-0 in east conference) and University of Houston (7-3, 4-2 in west conference) have led by example in the American Athletic Conference through week 11; starting with their star junior quarterbacks. Let’s take a glance at some of the accolades and statistics these studs have produced for their respected programs this year.

Wealth through the air: Houston’s D’eriq King is front and center with 289.9 yards per game, and McKenzie Milton in close second with 288.6 YPG in the American Conference’s passing leaders going into week 12. In the national spotlight, King is yet again at the top of the leaderboards in Points Responsible For with 29.0 points per game, while Milton ranks third nationally, totaling 21.8 PPG.

Power6 Praise:  

The American possesses two of the sixteen semifinalists for the Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award- McKenzie Milton has been selected for the second consecutive year, D’eriq King nominated for the first time. 

This 2018 season, these two men under center have been relentlessly slinging it up and down the field on their opponents. The Knight’s QB, McKenzie Milton (ranked 37th among all FBS players in passing yards) has thrown for 2,309 yards on 153 completions of 254 attempts, holding a 60.2 completion%, collecting 21 touchdowns and 5 interceptions, with a 75-yard long pass and a 159.9 QBR, being sacked just 6 times!

Cougars QB, D’eriq King (ranked 10th among all FBS players in passing yards) has racked up 2,900 passing yards on 330 attempts, completing 208, holding a 63.0 completion%, tallied 35 TD’s with a 79-yard long bomb, conserving the ball very efficiently with only 6 pics on 76 more attempts, totaling his QBR at 168.2, but has been brought to the ground double the amount Milton has (sacked 12 times). 

Quickie Facts

  • Houston is bowl eligible for the sixth straight season, the best streak in program history.
  • One of the nation’s top offenses, Houston ranks second nationally in total offense with 546.1 yards per game while ranking fourth nationally in scoring offense with 47.8 points per game. It has three games this season over 600 yards of total offense.
  • Houston opened up the season with a program-record eight straight games of 40+ points. Houston opened the season with at least 40 points in its first three games for the first time in program history.
  • Houston is one of only three teams to rank in the top 20 for both passing offense (No. 12 | 316.5) and rushing offense (No. 21 | 229.6).
  • UCF has gone 26-0 as a ranked team since The American conference came about in 2013, and has been ranked in 22 straight polls dating to last year.
  • UCF moved to No. 11 in in this week’s CFB playoff ranking, the highest CFP rank for any American Athletic Conference team in the five-year history of the playoff format.
  • UCF boasted the No. 1 scoring offense in the nation, averaging 48.2 points per game in 2017. This season, UCF is No. 8, averaging 44.2 points per game.
  • Taking just 10 games, King broke The American’s single-season touchdowns responsible for record with 48 and counting. UCF’s McKenzie Milton set the previous record of 45 in 2017, and King is only 15 touchdowns away from the NCAA single-season record of 63 set by Hawaii’s Colt Brennan in 2006.

A Dub for UCF means…

  • Extend the Knights’ nation-leading win streak to 23 games, which is a school and conference record.
  • Mark the Knights’ seventh season with 10+ wins.
  • Be the Knights’ program-record 14th straight home victory.

Per TheAmericn.org

Vaughan Sixbury, BCP Contributor