UCF Knights suffered their second consecutive loss after they were manhandled by the Florida Gators in Gainesville, 24-13, on Saturday.
With another embarrassing loss in the books, a growing number of UCF Fans are now calling for the ouster of Gus Malzhan as the head coach of the football program.
Florida beat Auburn 24-13 on October 5th, 2019 and Gus Malzahn was the head coach.
Florida beat UCF 24-13 on October 5th, 2024 and Gus Malzahn was the head coach.
Pretty cool stat. pic.twitter.com/YCYpLq4vzJ
— Florida Gators 🐊🔥 (@gatorsszn) October 6, 2024
These people have expressed their disappointment over the lack of creativity UCF has shown in their offense through the first five games.
Outside their high-octane rushing squad led by dynamic running-back RJ Harvey, the Knights could not get their aerial attack going as prized quarterback KJ Jefferson struggled to recapture his old touch from his glorious years at Arkansas.
After 5 games, Jefferson has covered 1,102 yards with seven touchdowns and four interceptions. Against Florida, the Knights signal-caller threw for 165 yards with zero touchdowns and one interception, pushing his quarterback rating down to 41.8 (99th in the nation).
Fans who want Guz Malzahn out for next season believe the coaching staff should have developed a more well-rounded offensive structure that would allow Jefferson to deal damage from the pocket without holding back their potent rushing offense.
I’ve been a @UCF_Football season ticket holder for 8 seasons now. After attending the last 2 games and previous years, Ive seen enough to say I WILL NOT attend another game until Gus Malzahn is gone. team has only regressed since he arrived and only showing signs of getting worse
— Vincent Corrao (@vincorrao) October 6, 2024
Players quitting on Gus Malzahn because they don’t believe in his leadership or
vision. Why didn’t you ask said Malzone about the lack of urgency in the second? Other than @seinpez all the media covering UCF is afraid to ask relevant questions. Why? pic.twitter.com/A1Q7bNZkLm— 🏆🏆🏆 Canes Legacy🏆🏆 (@Titan_Cane) October 7, 2024
I have said this since the day we hired him, UCF will never be anything greater than slightly above average with Gus Malzahn. The worst thing in college football, because it inhibits the potential to be great. Fire this man and give an up and coming coach a chance to thrive.
— Dylan Chapman (@DChapman_623) October 6, 2024
I was willing to give everybody grace after Colorado. Every team has fluky games.
However, it is time to acknowledge that @KingdomNIL and Gus Malzahn made a critical error in spending our relatively limited funds on a useless QB.
I’ve never been embarrassed as a UCF. I am now
— Em (@emily_pontiff) October 6, 2024
In his defense, part of the reason why Jefferson struggled to make impactful plays this season is not having a rock-solid offensive line around him. He has already been sacked 13 times this season, 10 of which came against Colorado and Florida.
During the post-game press conference on Saturday, Malzahn struggled to find the right answer to the question by independent journalist Trace Trylko as to why they only ran four plays in two minutes while down 11 with four minutes left on the clock.
“Yeah we gotta do a better job in some of those areas,” Malzahn said in response to the question of Son of UCF journalist.
#UCF Head Coach Gus Malzahn when asked about only 4 plays being ran in 2 minutes down by 11 with 4 min to go.
“Yeah we gotta do a better job in some of those areas.”
We still need clarity in the decision making in those 4 min but answers were avoided Thanks to @seinpez for… https://t.co/Om3chnJW6O
— Andrew Cherico (@Andrew_Cherico) October 6, 2024
UCF named Malzahn their head coach in 2021, joining former Arkansas State athletic director Terry Mohajir in the program.
After leading the program into two winning seasons (9-4 in 2021 and 9-5 in 2022) in the American Athletic Conference, Malzahn then guided the Knights to a 6-7 record (3-6 conference) in their first season in the Big 12.
Encouraged by the Knights’s progress under Malzahn, UCF extended the head coach’s current deal through the 2027 season with a starting salary of $4 million annually.
However, nothing is certain in college football but change. And no contract extension will save a head coach from being fired, especially if the school underachieved terribly.
No doubt, Malzahn is on the hot seat not only because of the back-to-back losses to Colorado and Florida but the wave of redshirting that took place before Saturday’s ballgame.
WR Xavier Townsend, who has 10 catches for 69 yards and a touchdown, leads a group of four players who decided to redshirt after four games and enter the transfer portal next season.
#UCF WR Xavier Townsend is going to redshirt for the remainder of this year, and enter the transfer portal. Townsend had 33 catches for 325 yards and 3 TDs in 2023 for the #Knights. He has 10 catches for 69 yards and a TD in four games this season. pic.twitter.com/7QS3LKnhON
— College Football Buzz (@CFBBUZ) October 2, 2024
Malzahn confirmed the news about players redshirting and said he felt sad about their decision but he has no choice but to accept it because it’s the new age of college football they are living in.