The University of Central Florida Knights stunned college football fans this season with their 11-1 record. After eleven hard-earned wins, the Knights are qualified for 2014 Bowl Championship Series (BCS).

The Knights’ final victory over the Southern Methodist Mustangs officially gave the Knights the American Athletic Conference title. With the score favoring the Mustangs for most of the game, the Knights’ change in performance in the third quarter won them the game and their title.

With their AAC title, the Knights will face Baylor in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. Their hard work and preparation towards this game will be seen in action on January 1 in Glendale, Arizona.

Sophomore Michael Martin said, “They’re ranked for the first time; pretty impressive in my opinion.”

Of the Knights’ season this year, their win over Louisville Cardinals was the most unexpected. With the histories of both teams in mind, the Cardinals seemed to have the advantage, and built a big first-half lead. The Knights, however, tied it up at 28 points apiece during the last minute of the third quarter. They continued their performance into the fourth quarter, and with only 28 seconds left, they managed to score a touchdown to win 38-35. The Knights used the big win to finish the season ranked 15 in the BCS.

Senior Anthony Cattoti said, “It’s a shame that they lost to South Carolina, especially with how well they played in the first half of the game.”

The Knights’ game against the Gamecocks was their only loss this season, initially putting their chances of qualifying for BCS at jeopardy. Ignoring any discouragement from this loss, the Knights continued winning every game after the initial loss.

Sophomore Neil Krishnan admitted, “It surprised me a little bit but they had a 10-win season last year too.”

Cattoti attributed the Knight’s great season to a great team and said, “[UCF quarterback] Blake Bortles had a great season, really stepped up this year, and their runningback, Storm Johnson, did so as well.

The UCF Knights will be losing a lot of senior players to graduation and the NFL this year, such as Bortles, so it will be interesting to see how they cope in future seasons.