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Maryland Football: Central Florida has a very unique situation

By Chris Bengel

ORLANDO, FL - NOVEMBER 12: McKenzie Milton #10 of the Central Florida Knights passes against the Cincinnati Bearcats in the first half of the game at Bright House Networks Stadium on November 12, 2016 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
ORLANDO, FL - NOVEMBER 12: McKenzie Milton #10 of the Central Florida Knights passes against the Cincinnati Bearcats in the first half of the game at Bright House Networks Stadium on November 12, 2016 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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The Maryland football team embarks on their bye week following a 63-17 win over Towson last Saturday.

While that seems like a small amount of games to be already having a bye, it’s nothing compared to the Terrapins’ next opponent in Central Florida. The Knights have only played one game this season and won’t play again until they take the field in College Park on Sept. 23.

Central Florida had their game against Memphis on Sept. 8 cancelled due to the impending arrival of Hurricane Irma.

On Thursday, that game was rescheduled for Sept. 30. To make the game possible, Central Florida cancelled their game that was scheduled to be played on that day and Memphis did the same for their contest against Georgia State.

The Knights were set to host Georgia Tech this coming Saturday, but that game was also cancelled due to the devastation that was caused by the storm earlier this week.

According to reports, Yellow Jackets coach Paul Johnson reached out to Central Florida about swapping sites for their home-and-home series with this season and the 2020 campaign. Central Florida didn’t want to make the change, so this weekend’s game was cancelled.

"“Losing two or three practices and trying to play a game would have been impossible. … Playing it somewhere else wouldn’t have mattered. In fact, travel would have made the problem even worse, so the decision to cancel the Memphis game affected our decision, whether to keep the kids here or not and when we didn’t keep the kids here, I knew all along this game was in jeopardy.” quote from coach Scott Frost via ESPN"

Central Florida is just starting to get its players back on campus and returning to practice. It’s definitely understandable that the Knights didn’t want to play this coming weekend because they wouldn’t have had much time to practice.

When Central Florida faces Maryland, Florida International will be the only opponent that they have faced this season. The Knights won the game 61-17 as quarterback McKenzie Milton threw for 360 yards and four touchdowns.

Central Florida is coming off a bowl appearance in Frost’s first year with the program. The Knights fell to Arkansas State 31-13 in the AutoNation Cure Bowl and finished with a 6-7 record.

Next: Maryland Football: Taking a look at post-bye week success

Ironically, Arkansas State is where Maryland offensive coordinator Walt Bell previously coached prior to coming to College Park.

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