Top 25 UCF Knights Football Games of the 21st Century: No. 19

The UCF Knights began the 21st Century as a young FBS team with no conference to call home. Now, a quarter of the way through it, they sit as a member of one of college football's Power 4 conferences. To mark the occasion, we are counting down the Top 25 UCF Knights Football Games of the 21st Century.

Oct 9, 2004; Orlando, FL, USA; University of Central Florida Golden Knights quarterback #9 Steven Moffett rolls out first half action against the Northern Illinois Huskies at the Citrus Bowl. The Northern Illinois Huskies defeated the University of Central Florida Golden Knights 30-28. Mandatory Credit: Photo by Paul Chapman-Imagn Images (©) Copyright 2004 by Paul Chapman | Paul Chapman-Imagn Images

Note: We define the 21st Century as Jan. 1, 2001, to the time of this series' publication.

No. 19: Bringing Conference Championship Week to Orlando (Rice, 2005)

Despite coming off a winless season in 2004, UCF made a strong first impression in its first year in Conference USA in 2005. The Knights entered their regular-season finale, a road matchup against Rice, with a chance to earn the right to host their very first conference championship game.

A Matt Prater field goal and a Joe Burnett punt return touchdown got the Knights up early, 9-0, but the hosting Owls, with the help of an interception on a UCF first and goal, scored 21 unanswered first-half points to go up 21-9 at halftime.

The Knights did not waste too much time coming back, scoring back-to-back touchdowns on a 26-yard Mike Sims-Walker catch and a 27-yard Jason Peters run to start the second half. However, an 80-yard touchdown catch from Rice receiver Mike Falco put the Owls on top at the beginning of the fourth.

Despite how much of a weapon he was for most of his UCF career, Knights running back Kevin Smith was contained by the Owls, only getting 58 yards on 16 carries. Peters ended up leading the team with 77 rushing yards on 14 carries.

Thanks to an interception from Jason Venson giving UCF great field position, and a fourth-down conversion by Peters, quarterback Steven Moffett was clear to air it out for Brandon Marshall. They connected for an 18-yard touchdown catch to go up 31-28, but there was still 1:25 left to go.

Enter Burnett for his second big play of the day to seal the deal.

The Knights may have already clinched bowl eligibility for the first time in program history a few games earlier, but this win gave UCF fans the chance to celebrate going from losing 17 straight to a conference championship game in the Citrus Bowl in the 2005 C-USA Championship Game.

Catch up on the rest of the list below:

Top 25 UCF Knights Football Games of the 21st Century: No. 25

Top 25 UCF Knights Football Games Of The 21st Century: No. 24

Top 25 UCF Knights Football Games of the 21st Century: No. 23

Top 25 UCF Knights Football Games of the 21st Century: No. 22

Top 25 UCF Knights Football Games of the 21st Century: No. 21

Top 25 UCF Knights Football Games Of The 21st Century: No. 20