UCF ‘expecting their best’ in rematch with Tulane for AAC championship
For the second time in less than a month, UCF will travel to New Orleans to take on the Tulane Green Wave.
This time around, however, the American Athletic Conference championship is on the line.
“We’re playing for a trophy,” UCF senior linebacker Jeremiah Jean-Baptiste said Monday. “We’re going to be expecting their best shot and they’re going to be expecting ours.”
When the Green Wave hosted the Knights on Nov. 12, UCF won 38-31 at Yulman Stadium. Although Saturday’s matchup (ABC, 4 p.m.) includes the same opponents at the same venue, there will be some differences, UCF coach Gus Malzahn said.
“When you play against each other [twice], there are adjustments that go with it from a coach’s standpoint,” he said. “What adjustments are they going to make? What adjustments are we going to make?
“Our players know what it feels like,” he added. “They understand the speed and the personnel. We’ll know quite a bit about each other.”
UCF was once in a position to host the AAC title game had the Knights closed out the regular season with a pair of wins, but a stunning 17-14 loss at home to Navy on Nov. 19 changed that.
The Knights bounced back this past weekend by defeating rival USF 46-39 on the road in Tampa. Tulane traveled to Cincinnati and earned home-field advantage in the championship game with a 27-24 win over the Bearcats.
While Malzahn wishes the Knights were playing for the AAC title in Orlando, he explained one upside of returning to New Orleans after winning there earlier in November.
“We’ve been there,” he said. “We know the locker room and the sideline. Obviously, you want to be playing at home, but the fact that you’re familiar helps.”
When the Knights defeated the Green Wave two weeks ago, quarterback John Rhys Plumlee was the difference for UCF.
He was responsible for 308 of UCF’s 468 total yards on offense while scoring twice on the ground and throwing another touchdown. But staying healthy has been a problem for Plumlee.
This past weekend was the latest example. The senior quarterback missed the second half of the game against USF due to a hamstring injury.
Despite missing a full half of football in Tampa, Plumlee still led the Knights with 133 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns. He also went 9 of 9 passing for 73 yards and 1 touchdown pass before going to the bench after the break.
Malzahn revealed Plumlee’s hamstring injury is nothing new for the UCF quarterback.
“He actually feels better,” Malzahn said about Plumlee. “He’s dealt with this hamstring for a few weeks now. He’s managed it, been able to recover and come back.
“His mindset is to play so we’ll see how he does each day,” he added.
Although Plumlee’s availability for Saturday is still up in the air, Malzahn isn’t worried about which version of Plumlee UCF will get if he plays against Tulane.
“If he plays, he’s going to play as he does,” the UCF coach said. “The good thing is, he’s managed that [injury] the last few weeks. If he plays, he’s going to be ready to run.”
If Plumlee can’t play, Mikey Keene would start for the Knights. The sophomore quarterback led the Knights to victory against the Bulls and has filled in for an injured Plumlee multiple times this season.
“Anytime you’re on the verge of a championship, it’s all hands on deck,” Malzahn said. “Whatever you have to do to win the game. We’re so blessed to have ‘team guys’ like Mikey and others.”
Regardless of who starts at quarterback for UCF, the Knights are excited to return to a spot the program hasn’t reached since 2018.
“We’re tickled to death to be playing in the conference championship game,” Malzahn said. “That’s been our team’s goal since day one and they got us here.”
Email Jason Beede at jbeede@orlandosentinel.com or follow him on Twitter at @therealBeede.
