College football preview: Predicting the first loss for every Top 25 team

College football 2018 preview: Predicting the first loss for every Top 25 team

ATLANTA, GA - JANUARY 01: UCF Golden Knights quarterback McKenzie Milton (10) celebrates a touchdown during the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl between the UCF Knights and the Auburn War Eagles on January 1, 2017 at Mercedes-Benz stadium in Atlanta, GA. (Photo by David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

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ORLANDO, FL – NOVEMBER 24: McKenzie Milton #10 of the UCF Knights runs the ball for a touchdown in the first quarter against the South Florida Bulls at Spectrum Stadium on November 24, 2017 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Logan Bowles/Getty Images) /

Scott Frost is gone but he leaves behind plenty of firepower for first-year head coach Josh Heupel, who engineered the most potent offense in the SEC in 2017 as Missouri’s offensive coordinator. UCF led the nation with 48 points a game under Frost and they may actually improve on that in Heupel’s high octane, up-tempo system.

Heupel will have quarterback McKenzie Milton and a host of veteran receivers back in the passing game. The team’s leading rusher, junior running back Adrian Killins will be back too along with rising sophomore Otis Anderson, who plays running back and receiver, and is poised for a huge season as such perfect fit in Heupel’s offense. The same five starters on the offensive line in 2017 will be paving the way and protecting Milton and whoever lines up next to him in the backfield in 2018.

The defense loses brothers, Shaquem and Shaquill Griffin, at linebacker and cornerback. Both will be hard to replace but having an offense that can drop 50 points a game should go a long way to cover the losses on defense.

UCF’s two toughest games are against FAU at home and on the road against Memphis. Lane Kiffin is only in his second year at FAU and hasn’t had time to build the program into one with the kind of depth and talent UCF has. Memphis gave UCF everything they could handle in a 62-55 defensive struggle to close last season but the Tigers lost all-time leading receiver Anthony Miller and a 4,000-yard passer in quarterback Riley Ferguson. They should be less formidable, even on the road in 2018. If UCF can take care of those two games, they should be in for back to back undefeated regular seasons.