UCF stays perfect by beating Auburn in Peach Bowl: 3 takeaways
By John Buhler
The UCF Knights stay perfect and beat the Auburn Tigers in the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl, 34-27. Here are the three biggest takeaways from the New Year’s Six bowl game.
The Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl was fantastic. It was close throughout the contest, until Auburn Tigers quarterback Jarrett Stidham threw a pick-six to UCF Knights linebacker Chequan Burkett. That touchdown would be enough to lift UCF over Auburn. The Knights won 34-27. UCF stays perfect in its sensational 2017 season. Auburn is the best 10-4 team in the country, no doubt.
Few thought that UCF was going to take down Auburn in the Peach Bowl. Head coach Scott Frost is already going to be leading his alma mater Nebraska Cornhuskers in 2018. Auburn was laying 10 points, but it was the Knights who prevailed in a frigid New Year’s Day down in Atlanta.
Here are the three biggest takeaways from the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl.
Shaquem Griffin can really play and needs to play in the NFL.
This game was about the dynamic UCF defense. It took away the Auburn running game for the most part on Monday afternoon. Keep in mind that Auburn star running back Kerryon Johnson was at full strength having a month to recover after losing the SEC Championship to the cross-divisional rival Georgia Bulldogs.
But Johnson isn’t who defined this game. That would be UCF’s linebacker/safety hybrid Shaquem Griffin. He may only have one hand, but Griffin is one of the most versatile, smart and savvy defensive players we’ve seen in the college game in a while. Griffin dominated a solid Auburn offensive line. There was no play he couldn’t make.
While his twin brother Shaquill plays in the NFL for the Seattle Seahawks, there is no reason that Griffin shouldn’t be drafted by a team this spring. Even if he’s not, Griffin will be the hardest working player on an NFL team as an undrafted free agent. He was a total beast and the biggest star UCF has had since Blake Bortles.
Scott Frost can coach, but McKenzie Milton needs some refinement under Josh Heupel.
Frost is on his way to Lincoln, but he had one more magnificent coaching performance in him to lead his Knights to a perfect 13-0 season. Auburn is a blue-blood SEC program and has more on-field talent than the Group of 5 power that is UCF. However, it was schematics and tremendous resolve that had UCF on top in this one.
Sophomore quarterback McKenzie Milton would play better in the second half, but he was terrible at throwing the football in the first two quarters. It was like watching Cam Newton struggling against the Atlanta Falcons defense in Week 17 yesterday in the same building. However, there is something special about Milton. He modeled his game after Marcus Mariota and he could totally be that for UCF in the next two years. His dual-threat ability is undeniable.
Though Frost is heading to Nebraska, UCF got a great next head coach in former Missouri Tigers offensive coordinator Josh Heupel. He helped turn junior quarterback Drew Lock from a skinny kid with a mop of hair into a potential franchise quarterback. Milton is not a big kid, but there’s a lot to like out of him for Heupel. He just needs some refinement in his next two seasons. Look for the Knights to keep on winning under Heupel with Milton as his quarterback.
Jarrett Stidham is very polished. That’s fantastic for Auburn going forward.
A lot of great collegiate quarterbacks will be turning pro this spring. Guys like Sam Darnold, Josh Rosen and Baker Mayfield are set to make the big money as professional quarterbacks. However, there is a void heading into 2018 for elite collegiate quarterbacking play. There’s a great chance Stidham rises to the top for Auburn next fall.
He may have originally committed to Baylor as a dual-threat quarterback, but Stidham’s ability to throw from the pocket should have NFL scouts turning their heads. He’s got the pro build and he can run a little bit, but he won’t lean on that at the next level. That being said, he might be able to do a lot of winning in the SEC the next two years with his unique skill set.
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Auburn already won the SEC West with Stidham at quarterback. Arch rival Alabama and cross-divisional rival Georgia are playoff-caliber teams, too. If Stidham plays up to his capability next year, he could lead the Tigers to an SEC Championship. He might even make it to New York City for the 2018 Heisman Trophy ceremony for all we know. The dude can play!