Scott Frost Both "Disappointed" And "Encouraged" After Cincinnati Loss
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Despite an almost-20-minute time of possession advantage, the UCF Knights fell to the Cincinnati Bearcats Saturday afternoon, 20-11.
The loss, the Knights' third straight, was their lowest-scoring game since Nov. 26, 2015.
"The discouraging part is we're fighting with these guys and not winning, and against pretty good teams," Frost said. "The encouraging part is the stuff going wrong, we can fix, and we'll go back to work and work even harder to get those things fixed."
Case in point: the offense. The Knights, with help from 108 rushing yards by quarterback Cam Fancher, out-rushed the Bearcats with an average of 4.7 yards per rush. Yet, it is also the culprit for nine of the Knights' 10 penalties, the most of the season, and committed four turnovers, three on downs and one lost fumble.
"Offensively, we're young and growing with a lot of young players, but we were plenty explosive and consistent until we got in the red zone," UCF coach Frost said after the game. "That's three weeks in a row that we've, you know, shot ourselves in the foot on a lot of drives, and that's got to get better."
The defense had better fortunes, allowing its lowest point total in Big 12 play so far this season, and forced four three-and-outs out of nine total Cincinnati drives that did not end with a half. However, it did still allow for a couple of big plays that set the stage for the Bearcats' scores.
"As well as our defense played, we busted one coverage and gave them a touchdown, dropped a tight end on another one and set up a touchdown, and those guys are good right now," Frost said. "They can be great if we eliminate those things."
Frost said he emphasized the team's fight and effort were "unbelievable."
"I think [Cincinnati is] one of the better teams in our league, and we can go toe to toe with them, but in order to get it done, the details got to be better," Frost said.
So, while UCF may now be at 3-3 overall, and its Big 12 record remains winless, Frost said these first three Big 12 games prove the Knights are better than they were in week one.
"You know, week one we played ike we had diapers on against a team, and we found a way to win," Frost said. "The last three weeks, we've played good Big 12 competition, and we've gone toe to toe with them. We haven't found a way yet.
"Now, we're 3-3, there's no reason we can't go try to win the rest of them. That's not saying we will, but this team is getting better, and if we can take the next step with just detail, execution and discipline, we can be even better."
The Knights return home next Saturday at 1 p.m. to host West Virginia for Homecoming Weekend.
Catch up on more UCF News below:
Three Key Takeaways From UCF's Loss To Cincinnati
Bryson Turner is a sports journalist who covers UCF Athletics. Turner has contributed to the Black and Gold Banneret, the home for UCF Athletics on SB Nation. He has called the Orlando area home since the age of 8 and received his bachelor's and master's degrees from UCF.
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