1989 UCF Knights football team

The 1989 UCF Knights football season was the eleventh for the team. It was Gene McDowell's fifth season as the head coach of the Knights. The season marked UCF's last in Division II, as the Knight would move to Division I-AA in 1990. The team posted an overall record of 7–3 in 1989 but failed to make the Division II Playoffs.[1]

1989 UCF Knights football
ConferenceIndependent
Record7–3
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorMike Kruczek (5th season)
Defensive coordinatorRusty Russell (1st season)
Home stadiumFlorida Citrus Bowl
1989 NCAA Division II independents football records
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. T–12 New Haven   –  8 –2 –0
No. 19 American International   –  7 –3 –0
UCF   –  7 –3 –0
Saint Mary's   –  6 –4 –0
Wofford   –  6 –5 –0
Central Connecticut   –  5 –5 –0
Springfield   –  4 –6 –0
Southern Connecticut State   –  3 –7 –0
Michigan Tech   –  2 –7 –0
Rankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee poll

As a Division II team in 1989, UCF defeated multiple Division I-AA teams, including two nationally ranked schools. On October 28, UCF upset No. 9 Liberty (I-AA), and two weeks later on November 11,[2] defeated No. 4 Eastern Kentucky (I-AA).[3] Against Eastern Kentucky, quarterback Rudy Jones led a fourth quarter comeback, throwing two touchdown passes to lift the Knights to a 20–19 victory.

The team played their home games at the Citrus Bowl in Downtown Orlando. During the decade of the 1980s, the Knights compiled an overall record of 47–59–1 (.443)[4]

Schedule
The Florida Citrus Bowl, the Knights' home field
DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 1Bethune–Cookman
L 15–2323,620
September 9Valdosta State
  • Florida Citrus Bowl
  • Orlando, FL
W 35–1418,046
September 16at Troy State
L 6–208,000[5]
September 23Newberry
  • Florida Citrus Bowl
  • Orlando, FL
W 30–38,316
September 30at North Alabama
W 17–165,500
October 7East Tennessee State
  • Florida Citrus Bowl
  • Orlando, FL
W 34–012,072
October 21at No. 2 Georgia Southern
L 17–3119,640
October 28No. T–9 Liberty
  • Florida Citrus Bowl
  • Orlando, FL
W 33–3015,095
November 11No. 4 Eastern Kentucky
  • Florida Citrus Bowl
  • Orlando, FL
W 20–1917,506
November 18Texas Southern
  • Florida Citrus Bowl
  • Orlando, FL
W 49–1214,082[6]

[7]

References
  1. "UCF Develops Winning Ways: Part 4 of 8 – The History of UCF Football". University of Central Florida Athletics Association. July 10, 2007. Archived from the original on January 20, 2013. Retrieved December 24, 2011.
  2. Eastern Kentucky (8-1) At Ucf (5-3)
  3. 2006 UCF Knights Football Media Guide
  4. "2011 UCF Football Yearbook". University of Central Florida Athletics Association. Retrieved January 12, 2012.
  5. "Troy marches by error-prone UCF". The Orlando Sentinel. September 17, 1989. Retrieved November 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. "It's curtains for Tigers as Knights bow out of NCAA II". The Orlando Sentinel. November 19, 1989. Retrieved June 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. "Final 1989 Division II Cumulative Football Statistics Report". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved June 12, 2023.


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