CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2022 UCF

9–⁠5 (6–⁠2 American Athletic Conference), coached by Gus Malzahn.

Schedule and results

UCF in 2022, game by game: won vs. South Carolina State 56–10; lost vs. Louisville 14–20; won at Florida Atlantic 40–14; won vs. Georgia Tech 27–10; won vs. SMU 41–19; won vs. Temple 70–13; lost at East Carolina 13–34; won vs. No. 20 Cincinnati 25–21; won at Memphis 35–28; won at No. 16 Tulane 38–31; lost vs. Navy 14–17; won at South Florida 46–39; lost at No. 18 Tulane 28–45; lost vs. Duke 13–30+57−21Won 56–10 vs. South Carolina State+46South Carolina …Lost 14–20 vs. Louisville-6LouisvilleWon 40–14 at Florida Atlantic+26Florida AtlanticWon 27–10 vs. Georgia Tech+17Georgia TechWon 41–19 vs. SMU+22SMUWon 70–13 vs. Temple+57TempleLost 13–34 at East Carolina-21East CarolinaWon 25–21 vs. No. 20 Cincinnati+4No. 20 CincinnatiWon 35–28 at Memphis+7MemphisWon 38–31 at No. 16 Tulane+7No. 16 TulaneLost 14–17 vs. Navy-3NavyWon 46–39 at South Florida+7South FloridaLost 28–45 at No. 18 Tulane-17No. 18 TulaneLost 13–30 vs. Duke-17Duke
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 1vsSouth Carolina StateW 56–⁠1083%
Sep 9vsLouisvilleL 14–⁠2073%
Sep 17atFlorida AtlanticW 40–⁠1453%
Sep 24vsGeorgia TechW 27–⁠1079%
Oct 5vsSMUMoved from Oct 1W 41–⁠1965%
Oct 13vsTempleW 70–⁠1387%
Oct 22atEast CarolinaL 13–⁠3459%
Oct 29vs20CincinnatiW 25–⁠2139%
Nov 5atMemphisW 35–⁠2855%
Nov 12at16TulaneW 38–⁠3149%
Nov 19vsNavyL 14–⁠1784%
Nov 26atSouth FloridaW 46–⁠3985%
Dec 3at18TulaneAmerican Athletic ChampionshipL 28–⁠4544%
Dec 28Bowls & playoffvsDukeMilitary BowlL 13–⁠3061%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Duke 30–⁠13 in the Military Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 2nd in the American Athletic Conference.

In program history: The 11th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 40 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 10: 25
  2. Wk 11: 22
  3. Wk 12: 17
  4. Wk 13: 25
  5. Wk 14: 22
Record
9–⁠5
Conference
6–⁠2 tied for 2nd in American Athletic Conference
AP final
Unranked peak No. 17
Points
460–⁠331
Coach
Gus Malzahn
Elo
1573 −9 this season
SP+ rating
10.3 No. 35 of 131; offense No. 55, defense No. 32, special teams No. 85
SRS
4.8 No. 47 of 131 in FBS
Returning
64% of last season’s EPA, No. 56 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 53 roster talent No. 53 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Chip Lindsey
Defensive coordinators
Travis Williams and David Gibbs
Offense
Spread option
Defense
4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense28th of 131
  • Defense70th of 131
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted23rd of 131
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted67th of 131
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1948%1.1528th of 131
Defense0.1241%1.2870th of 131
Opponent-adjusted0.18 off
0.10 def		47% off
42% def		—23rd off
67th def
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense4.1own 2812% allowed
Defense3.3own 2716% caused

CORE rating 5.4, 45th of 131 (offense 5.1, defense -0.3).

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsJohn Rhys Plumlee QB2,586 yds
Passing touchdownsJohn Rhys Plumlee QB14 TD
Rushing yardsJohn Rhys Plumlee QB848 yds
Rushing touchdownsIsaiah Bowser RB16 TD
Receiving yardsJavon Baker WR796 yds
Receiving touchdownsKobe Hudson WR7 TD
TacklesJason Johnson LB117 tkl
SacksTre’Mon Morris-Brash DE6 sacks
InterceptionsDivaad Wilson DB3 INT

Top recruits in the 2022 class

Nikai Martinez CB★★★★No. 356
Quan Lee WR★★★No. 432
Ja’Cari Henderson CB★★★No. 464
Keahnist Thompson DL★★★No. 464
Tommy Castellanos ATH★★★No. 545

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2022 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.820
Running backs23.00.879
Receivers23.00.868
Offensive line23.00.850
Defensive line23.00.874
Linebackers23.00.855
Defensive backs33.30.886
Athletes and specialists23.00.877
Whole class163.10.868

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Roster 116

The 2022 roster

116 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2022 line; 61 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 13

The 2022 portal
Javon Baker WR★★★★from Alabama
Kobe Hudson WR★★★★from Auburn
Lee Hunter DL★★★★from Auburn
Kemore Gamble TE★★★from Florida
Ryan Swoboda OT★★★from Virginia
Terrence Lewis LB★★★from Maryland
Demarkcus Bowman RB★★★from Florida
Koby Perry S★★★from Austin Peay
Branden Jennings LB★★★★from Kansas State
Joey Gatewood QB★★★★from Kentucky
Cameron Kinnie OL★★★from Georgia
K.D. McDaniel LB★★★from Kentucky

And 1 more, lower-rated or unrated.

Transfers out 23

Dillon Gabriel QB★★★★to Oklahoma
Jaylon Robinson WR★★★★to Ole Miss
Tatum Bethune LB★★★to Florida State
Titus Mokiao-Atimalala WR★★★to UCLA
Cam Goode DL★★★to Michigan
Bentavious Thompson RB★★★no new school on file
Devunte Dawson CB★★★no new school on file
Mike Lofton OL★★★to South Florida
Anthony Hundley DL★★★no new school on file
Eriq Gilyard LB★★★to Kansas
Kaedin Robinson WR★★★to App State
Jermaine McMillian S★★★to Massachusetts

And 11 more, lower-rated or unrated.

2022 American Athletic Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Tulane7–⁠112–⁠29
Cincinnati6–⁠29–⁠4
UCF6–⁠29–⁠5
Houston5–⁠38–⁠5
SMU5–⁠37–⁠6
East Carolina4–⁠48–⁠5
Navy4–⁠44–⁠8
Memphis3–⁠57–⁠6
Tulsa3–⁠55–⁠7
Temple1–⁠73–⁠9
South Florida0–⁠81–⁠11

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.