* in 2018, he was cruising along at UCF and entered their game against South Florida with a 11-0 record. His QB McKenzie Milton suffered a catastrophic injury in that game, but they still won 38-10 behind back-up QB Darriel Mack Jr to improve to 12-0.
* The next week, UCF and Heupel had to face Memphis again in the American Conference Championship Game who they had narrowly beaten 31-30 on the road several weeks earlier with McKenzie Milton. This time, it was Darriel Mack Jr at the controls again, and Heupel was able to guide them to a 56-41 win.
*Perhaps the most impressive accolade happened in the Fiesta Bowl where Heupel had to face LSU who had a very stout defense featuring 4 and 5 star players all over the field along with Joe Burrow, Justin Jefferson, Ja"Marr Chase and others on offense. Using the backup QB Mack again, Heupel and UCF lost, but it was only by 8 points in a 40-32 game. Not bad at all scheming against that LSU talent using a back-up quarterback who had offers from Charlotte, Hampton, Marshall, Old Dominion, Towson, and others.
*McKenzie Milton missed the entire next season as well. Coach Heupel brought in true freshman Dillon Gabriel from Hawaii and developed him into a season where he passed for 3,653 yards, 29 td's, and 7 int's. UCF finished with a 10-3 record that season. The losses were by a combined 7 points coming to Pittsburgh on the road (35-34), Cincinnati and Luke Fickell on the road (27-24), and Tulsa at home (34-31). Featuring a true freshman QB, he was 7 points away from being undefeated.
*Before the 2020 Covid season, numerous UCF players opted out which left the roster thin. During the season, an arrest led to the dismissal of 4 players, 3 of which were starters on defense. Before the bowl game against BYU, their best player on defense, a Jim Thorpe award finalist, opted out to focus on the NFL combine. It turned out to be the most lopsided loss of Coach Heupel's career at UCF, a 49-23 defeat at the hands of BYU.
*In UCF's other 3 defeats in 2020, they lost by a combined 12 points (Tulsa 34-26, at Memphis 50-49, Cincinnati 36-33). Not bad at all considering the circumstances. Had Gabriel played in 13 games instead of only 10, he was on pace to complete 322 of 537 passes for 4,641 yards, and 41 td's. Not bad at all for a sophomore who Coach Heupel developed from scratch.
Trolls and lazy beat writers who don't do their homework can dismiss Coach Heupel and claim "UCF regressed every year under him" which they did, but when you look at the fine details, I think we have ourselves a dang good coach.
Let's get behind him and the players who have poured their hearts out on the field every time this year.
GBO!
* The next week, UCF and Heupel had to face Memphis again in the American Conference Championship Game who they had narrowly beaten 31-30 on the road several weeks earlier with McKenzie Milton. This time, it was Darriel Mack Jr at the controls again, and Heupel was able to guide them to a 56-41 win.
*Perhaps the most impressive accolade happened in the Fiesta Bowl where Heupel had to face LSU who had a very stout defense featuring 4 and 5 star players all over the field along with Joe Burrow, Justin Jefferson, Ja"Marr Chase and others on offense. Using the backup QB Mack again, Heupel and UCF lost, but it was only by 8 points in a 40-32 game. Not bad at all scheming against that LSU talent using a back-up quarterback who had offers from Charlotte, Hampton, Marshall, Old Dominion, Towson, and others.
*McKenzie Milton missed the entire next season as well. Coach Heupel brought in true freshman Dillon Gabriel from Hawaii and developed him into a season where he passed for 3,653 yards, 29 td's, and 7 int's. UCF finished with a 10-3 record that season. The losses were by a combined 7 points coming to Pittsburgh on the road (35-34), Cincinnati and Luke Fickell on the road (27-24), and Tulsa at home (34-31). Featuring a true freshman QB, he was 7 points away from being undefeated.
*Before the 2020 Covid season, numerous UCF players opted out which left the roster thin. During the season, an arrest led to the dismissal of 4 players, 3 of which were starters on defense. Before the bowl game against BYU, their best player on defense, a Jim Thorpe award finalist, opted out to focus on the NFL combine. It turned out to be the most lopsided loss of Coach Heupel's career at UCF, a 49-23 defeat at the hands of BYU.
*In UCF's other 3 defeats in 2020, they lost by a combined 12 points (Tulsa 34-26, at Memphis 50-49, Cincinnati 36-33). Not bad at all considering the circumstances. Had Gabriel played in 13 games instead of only 10, he was on pace to complete 322 of 537 passes for 4,641 yards, and 41 td's. Not bad at all for a sophomore who Coach Heupel developed from scratch.
Trolls and lazy beat writers who don't do their homework can dismiss Coach Heupel and claim "UCF regressed every year under him" which they did, but when you look at the fine details, I think we have ourselves a dang good coach.
Let's get behind him and the players who have poured their hearts out on the field every time this year.
GBO!
