McKenzie Milton – Noteworthy – Injury
QB McKenzie Milton of Central Florida was carted off the field because of what appeared to be a serious right knee injury during the second quarter against South Florida on Friday.
Milton was hit while scrambling and his leg was bent in an unnatural direction. As trainers attended to Milton, the entire UCF team came out to the field to surround the quarterback before he was taken off the field on a cart after his right leg was wrapped. Milton’s leg was bent at such a gruesome angle that ESPN did not show any replays. Ninth-ranked UCF (10-0, 7-0 in the AAC) has won 23 consecutive games and will play in the AAC Championship Game next week. The Knights have not lost a game since Arkansas beat them, 31-13, in the Cure Bowl on Dec. 17, 2016. The 5-11, 185-pound Milton completed 166 of 279 passes (59.5 percent) for 2,577 yards and 24 touchdowns with five interceptions in his first nine game this season. He had 71 touchdown passes in his career, including 37 last season.
McKenzie Milton – Noteworthy
No. 8 UCF lost quarterback McKenzie Milton to injury but still trounced South Florida 38-10 on Friday to extend the nation’s longest winning streak to 24 games and complete a second consecutive undefeated regular season. Milton, eighth in Heisman Trophy balloting a year ago, hurt his right knee when he was tackled at the end of a 5-yard run in the second quarter. Darriel Mack Jr. replaced him and may make his second start of the year when UCF (11-0, 8-0, No. 9 CFP) faces Memphis next week in the American Athletic Conference title game. Players from both schools, which are located about 100 miles apart via Interstate 4, kneeled on one knee while a cart was rolled onto the field and Milton received medical attention in front of the South Florida bench. The entire UCF squad left their sideline at one point to form a crowded circle around Milton, who was placed on the cart and taken to the locker room and later a nearby hospital.
Before leaving, Milton completed 5 of 10 passes for 86 yards, including a 14-yard scoring throw to Gabriel Davis for a 7-0 lead. The Knights kicked a field goal on the first play after the quarterback departed to make it 10-0. Mack got plenty of help from a talented supporting cast that includes Greg McCrae to make sure UCF finished the job. South Florida (7-5, 3-5) finished the regular season on a five-game losing streak, its longest skid since 2013. McCrae scored on runs of 40, 39 and 31yards, with the second of the three TDs re-establishing a 14-point after South Florida briefly pulled to 17-10 on Johnny Ford’s 34-yard catch-and-run for the Bulls’ only touchdown. – AP College Football