Year-By-Year Results 1993 NCAA FCS (9-3-0) Coach: Gene McDowell 9/11 Valdosta State W 35-30 11,033 9/18 at East Carolina L 17-41 30,867 9/25 McNeese State W 22-3 10,759 10/2 Yale W 42-28 23,489 10/9 Samford W 48-17 8,081 10/16 Western Illinois W 35-17 12,857 10/23 at Bethune-Cookman W 34-14 5,500 10/30 at Troy L 15-29 5,100 11/6 Liberty W 55-19 8,688 11/13 Buffalo W 42-7 7,609 11/20 at Louisiana Tech W 38-16 4,000 11/27 at Youngstown State $ L 30-56 7,408 $ FCS Playoffs
1994 • The Knights begin the year as Sports Illustrated’s pick to win the Football Championship Subdivision tle. Due a rash of injuries on defense, UCF finishes the year 7-4. Kick returner Todd Cleveland garners The Sports Network All-America Second Team honors. Defensive end Greg Jefferson is picked in the third round of the Na onal Football League Dra by the Philadelphia Eagles. 1994 NCAA FCS (7-4-0) Coach: Gene McDowell 9/3 at Maine W 28-6 6,296 9/10 Valdosta State L 14-31 22,518 9/17 Bethune-Cookman W 48-17 22,049 9/24 Western Kentucky W 59-45 24,326 10/1 at Illinois State W 27-26 6,550 10/8 at Samford L 35-36 3,632 10/15 at Louisiana-Monroe W 33-16 8,123 10/22 Troy L 38-39 27,003 10/29 at Liberty W 49-24 6,153 11/12 at East Carolina L 20-23 25,783 11/19 Buffalo W 48-0 18,856
1995 • On June 21, UCF receives official word from the NCAA that its bid for reclassifica on to the Football Bowl Subdivision has been approved and will take effect Sept. 1, 1996. Against a top-notch schedule, UCF goes 6-5. The Knights open the season with a 40-32 victory over fi h-ranked Eastern Kentucky. Freshman Daunte Culpepper completes 20-of-25 passes for 254 and three scores and earns na onal player of the week honors. Tailback Marque e Smith is named to the Football Gaze e All-America Second Team and is dra ed in the fi h round by the Na onal Football League’s Carolina Panthers.
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2011 UCF Football Yearbook
1995 NCAA FCS (6-5-0) Coach: Gene McDowell 8/31 Eastern Kentucky W 40-32 13,422 9/9 Carson-Newman W 35-21 13,413 9/23 at Florida State (#1) L 14-46 76,600 9/30 at McNeese State L 7-49 16,921 10/7 Samford W 41-14 11,333 10/14 Liberty L 6-7 12,210 10/21 at Hawaii L 14-45 24,383 10/28 at Louisiana-Monroe W 34-14 16,808 11/4 Bethune-Cookman W 38-7 16,002 11/11 Troy L 17-28 12,312 11/18 Maine W 37-17 11,119
1997 NCAA FBS (5-6) Coach: Gene McDowell 8/30 at Mississippi L 23-24 (OT) 28,216 9/6 at South Carolina L 31-33 81,908 9/13 at Nebraska (#6) L 24-38 75,327 9/20 Idaho W 41-10 41,827 9/27 at Auburn (#8) L 14-41 82,109 10/4 at Kent State W 59-43 10,584 10/11 Samford W 52-7 22,016 10/25 at Mississippi State L 28-35 28,621 11/1 at Louisiana-Monroe L 41-45 15,936 11/15 Eastern Michigan W 27-10 39,433 11/22 Toledo W 34-17 15,062
1996
1998
• The Knights play their inaugural campaign at the Football Bowl Subdivision level and go 5-6. Behind quarterback Daunte Culpepper, UCF finishes the campaign 16th in the na on in passing offense.
• Quarterback Daunte Culpepper earns preseason All-America honors from several outlets, including Sports Illustrated and The Spor ng News. UCF makes its first na onal television appearance when ESPN televises its game at Purdue. The Knights finish the campaign 9-2. Culpepper breaks Steve Young’s 1983 single-season comple on percentage record of 71.3 by comple ng 73.6 percent of his passes. He becomes only the third player in school history to pass for more than 10,000 yards and rush for more than 1,000 yards in a career. Culpepper concludes the year with more than 30 school records to his credit. The signal caller finishes sixth in the ballo ng for the Heisman Trophy and is named na onal co-player of the year by The Sports Network. Culpepper becomes UCF’s first Na onal Football League first-round dra pick as the Minnesota Vikings select him 11th overall. Cornerback Paul Miranda is taken in the fourth round by the Indianapolis Colts.
1996 NCAA FBS (5-6) Coach: Gene McDowell 8/29 William & Mary W 39-33 18,013 9/7 at South Carolina L 14-33 76,411 9/14 at New Mexico L 7-17 18,317 9/21 at Ball State L 10-31 11,475 9/28 at East Carolina L 7-28 34,121 10/12 Samford W 38-6 12,122 10/19 Louisiana-Monroe L 38-39 16,293 10/26 at Georgia Tech L 20-27 43,610 11/2 Illinois State W 42-15 17,639 11/9 at UAB W 35-13 12,500 11/16 Bowling Green W 27-19 14,112
1997 • UCF faces a tough schedule that includes four squads from the Southeastern Conference and naonal champion Nebraska. UCF garners na onal a en on a er leading Nebraska by three points at hal ime before falling by two touchdowns to the host Cornhuskers. A record crowd of 41,827 turns out for UCF’s home-opening victory over Idaho. Quarterback Daunte Culpepper sets 15 school records. He is a finalist for the Davey O’Brien Na onal Quarterback Award, a semifinalist for the Football News Offensive Player of the Year and is named to the American Football Coaches Associa on Good Works Team. Tailback Dwight Collins, who is deaf, receives Disney’s Wide World of Sports Spirit Award for being the na on’s most courageous student-athlete. Running backs coach Alan Gooch is named the assistant coach of the year by the American Football Coaches Associa on for his work with Collins. Following the season, Gene McDowell resigns as head coach and is replaced by long me offensive coordinator Mike Kruczek.
1998 NCAA FBS (9-2) Coach: Mike Kruczek 9/5 at Louisiana Tech W 64-30 9/12 Eastern Illinois W 48-0 9/19 at Purdue (ESPN) L 7-35 9/26 at Bowling Green W 38-31 10/3 at Toledo W 31-24 10/10 Northern Illinois W 38-17 10/24 at Louisiana W 42-10 10/31 Youngstown State W 44-32 11/7 at Auburn L 6-10 11/14 Ball State W 37-14 11/21 New Mexico W 38-6
23,677 35,219 53,469 15,824 20,008 30,415 10,124 21,251 80,743 31,412 19,025
1999 • UCF starts the campaign with the toughest September schedule in the na on, facing four bowl winners from the previous year. All four teams enter the games with the Knights ranked in the top 25. UCF hosts a top-25 foe for the first me, playing No. 22 Purdue in front of 40,112 fans at the Citrus Bowl. Wideout Charles Lee is dra ed in the seventh round by the Na onal Football League’s Green Bay Packers.