To hear UCF fans talk, you would think Malzahn would never lose a game there and is an instant upgrade over Heupel. So far in 2021, Gus is 2-2 and has not faced mass Covid opt-outs like Heupel did in 2020 before the season ever started for him. Here's a look at their stats at UCF... Notice how Dillon Gabriel, who Heupel coached into throwing for 3,653 yards, 29 TD's and 7 INT's as a true freshman before averaging 357.0 passing yards per game as a sophomore in 2020 has dipped under Gus. He's now averaging 272.6 passing yards per game.
| Offense | Passing | Rushing | Total | Defense | Passing | Rushing | Total |
| 2018 Heupel | 257.5 | 266.1 | 523.6 | 211.4 | 224.3 | 435.7 | |
| 2019 Heupel | 316.7 | 224.8 | 541.5 | 199.5 | 146.6 | 346.1 | |
| 2020 Heupel | 357.4 | 210.7 | 568.1 | 299.2 | 192.6 | 491.8 | |
| 2021 Malzahn | 271.3 | 226.3 | 497.6 | 221.5 | 145.8 | 367.3 | |
| Under Heupel, Dillon Gabriel averaged 357.0 pass yards per game in 2020. In 2021, under | |||||||
| Malzahn, he averages 272.6 yards per game. |
