For a while, the two college football heavyweights traded blows, but in the end, the Knights simply ran out of gas, falling to the 36-33 to the No. 7 Bearcats in front of a limited but spirited crowd.
UCF (5-3, 4-3 AAC) couldn’t slow down Cincinnati quarterback Desmond Ridder, who found the end zone four times. Ridder finished with a season-high 338 passing yards, including seven plays of 20-plus yards in the game.
Knights quarterback Dillon Gabriel threw for 243 yards and three touchdowns, but he also turned the ball over. Gabriel tossed his third interception of the season in the third quarter.