The UCF football team (0-0) is set to open up its first season under head coach Gus Malzahn on Thursday. The Knights will take on Boise State (0-0) at 7 p.m. from the Bounce House with coverage on ESPN and FM 96.9 The Game.

GAME INFORMATION
Date: Thursday, Sept. 2
Time: 7 p.m.
TV: ESPN

A UCF WIN WOULD...
• Be better than a loss
• Mark the Knights' sixth straight win in a season opener
• Keep Gus Malzahn perfect, at 10-0, in home openers in his career as a head coach
• Be Malzahn's 78th win as a head coach
• Total 175 FBS wins for UCF in program history

SERIES BREAKDOWN

ABOUT THE BRONCOS
• Boise State is in its first season under new head coach Andy Avalos after former head coach Bryan Harsin left for Auburn following the 2020 season.

• This Broncos went 5-2 in a COVID-19 shortened 2020 season, going a perfect 5-0 in Mountain West Conference action. Boise State lost to then 9th-ranked BYU during the regular season and 25th-rated San Jose State in the MWC Championship Game.

• Quarterback Hank Bachmeier returns to lead the offense after throwing for 1,150 yards and six touchdowns in five games a season ago.

• The top returning tackler for the defense is Riley Whimpey, who had 61 stops and 7.5 TFLs last year.

TEAM NOTE
KNIGHTS IN THE NFL
• The UCF football team set a program record this spring when five Knights were selected in the 2021 NFL Draft, topping the previous best of four, attained both in 2003 and 2018.
• Safety Richie Grant went to the Falcons in the second round, cornerback Aaron Robinson was picked by the Giants in the third round, wide receiver/tight end Jacob Harris was snagged by the Rams in the fourth round, cornerback Tay Gowan went to the Cardinals in the sixth round, and wide receiver Tre Nixon was picked by the Patriots in the seventh round.
• In all, UCF totaled more NFL Draft picks in 2021 than all other American Athletic Conference teams, 80 % of all Big 12 teams, 79 % of all Big Ten teams, 79% of all ACC teams, 75 % of all Pac-12 teams, and 57% of all SEC teams.

OFFENSE NOTE
PRETTY DARN OFFENSIVE
• UCF has ranked in the top eight nationally in both total offense and scoring each of the last three seasons, the only team in the country to accomplish that.
• The Knights scored 30 or more points in 31 straight games from Aug. 31, 2017 to Sept. 28, 2019, which set a record for the longest streak in the Associated Press Poll era (since 1936). 
• As the 2021 season starts, UCF has scored 30 or more points in 45 of its last 48 outings.
• UCF has scored 40 or more points in 29 of its last 48 games, has reached the 50-point plateau 15 times in the last 48 outings.
• Last season, the Knights ranked second in the nation in total offense for the second straight year, averaging 568.1 yards per game, an all-time UCF and American Athletic Conference high.
• UCF also ranked fourth in passing, seventh in first downs and eighth in scoring, averaging 42.2 points per game in 2020.

DEFENSE NOTE
TURNING THINGS AROUND
• New defensive coordinator Travis Williams will have the task of turning around UCF's defense that ranked 123rd in the nation in total defense a season ago, allowing 491.8 yards per game.
• The Knights were 92nd in scoring defense in 2020, giving up 33.2 points per game.
• Williams comes to UCF after having worked on Malzahn's staff at Auburn since 2014.
• With Williams on staff, Auburn ranked in the top 17 in the nation in scoring defense in four of the last five seasons.
• A former linebacker for the Tigers, Williams led the Auburn linebacker corps to a top five ranking in rushing touchdowns allowed over a five-season span, allowing just 54 scores on the ground.