Black Friday just featured a serious game of the year candidate as UCF completed its undefeated regular season by defeating South Florida 49-42 in thrilling fashion.
If you love offense, UCF's win over its in-state rival -- dubbed the War on I-4 -- that sent the Knights to the AAC Championship Game to play Memphis was most certainly for you. In all, there were 1,214 yards of offense. Five second-half touchdowns came on drives of five plays or fewer. South Florida quarterback Quinton Flowers accounted for 605 yards -- 503 yards passing and 102 yards rushing -- and five touchdowns by himself. Oh, and late in the fourth quarter there were three touchdowns scored in a span of just 53 seconds.
The only flaw in the game is that it deprived of free football in overtime.
This was a back-and-forth game from the start, but things got especially interesting after UCF took a 42-34 lead with 2:21 remaining in the fourth quarter. One play after that touchdown, Flowers connected with Darnell Salomon for an 83-yard score. A successful two-point conversion tied the game at 42.
But then on the ensuing kickoff, UCF's Mike Hughes took the ball 95 yards to the house to put the Knights back up a touchdown.
Even still, the touchdown gave the Bulls 1:28 with which to work. On a 3rd-and-9, Flowers connected with tight end Mitchell Wilcox for a first down ... but Wilcox fumbled the ball, which was recovered by UCF.
It's a shame someone had to lose, but overall this was one of the most entertaining games of the entire season. It's going to be hard for another game in Week 13 to top it.