1994 UCF Golden Knights football team

1994 UCF Golden Knights football
Conference	Independent
Ranking
Sports Network	No. 20
Record	7–3
Head coach	Gene McDowell (10th season)
Offensive coordinator	Mike Kruczek (10th season)
Defensive coordinator	Ron McCrone (3rd season)
Home stadium	Florida Citrus Bowl
Seasons ←  1993 1995  →

1994 NCAA Division I-AA independents football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 1 Youngstown State ^			–					11	–	0	–	1
No. 23 Hofstra			–					8	–	1	–	1
Towson State			–					8	–	2	–	0
No. 10 Troy State ^			–					8	–	4	–	0
Robert Morris			–					7	–	1	–	1
Monmouth			–					7	–	2	–	0
Saint Mary's			–					7	–	3	–	0
UAB			–					7	–	4	–	0
No. 20 UCF			–					7	–	4	–	0
Wagner			–					6	–	5	–	0
Liberty			–					5	–	6	–	0
Western Kentucky			–					5	–	6	–	0
Central Connecticut State			–					4	–	6	–	0
Samford			–					4	–	6	–	1
Davidson			–					3	–	7	–	0
Buffalo			–					3	–	8	–	0
Saint Francis			–					2	–	7	–	1
Charleston Southern			–					0	–	11	–	0
^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

The 1994 UCF Golden Knights football season was the sixteenth season for the team and Gene McDowell's tenth as the head coach of the Golden Knights. After the Golden Knight's impressive 1993 season, UCF was selected as the preseason #1 to start the 1994 season. The 1994 season would prove disappointing however, as the Golden Knights would finish the season ranked #20 with a 7–4 record. ^[1]

The school's famous campus homecoming tradition "Spirit Splash" began (by chance) in 1994. ^[2]

Schedule

The Florida Citrus Bowl, the Knights' home field

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 3	at Maine	No. 7	Alumni Stadium Orono, ME	W 28–6	6,296	[3]
September 10	No. 18 (D-II) Valdosta State	No. 6	Florida Citrus Bowl Orlando, FL	L 14–31	22,518	[4]
September 17	Bethune–Cookman	No. 12	Florida Citrus Bowl Orlando, FL	W 48–17	22,049	[5]
September 24	No. 11 Western Kentucky	No. 13	Florida Citrus Bowl Orlando, FL	W 59–45	24,326	[6]
October 1	at Illinois State	No. 9	Hancock Stadium Normal, IL	W 27–26	6,550	[7]
October 8	at Samford	No. 6	Seibert Stadium Homewood, AL	L 35–36	3,632	[8]
October 15	at Northeast Louisiana	No. 15	Malone Stadium Monroe, LA	W 33–16	8,123	[9]
October 22	No. 5 Troy State	No. 11	Florida Citrus Bowl Orlando, FL	L 38–39	27,003	[10]
October 29	at Liberty	No. 17	Williams Stadium Lynchburg, VA	W 49–24	6,153	[11]
November 12	at East Carolina	No. 16	Ficklen Memorial Stadium Greenville, NC	L 20–23	25,783	[12]
November 19	Buffalo	No. 20	Florida Citrus Bowl Orlando, FL	W 48–0	18,856	[13]
Rankings from The Sports Network Poll released prior to the game

Roster

1994 UCF Golden Knights football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class C 60 Mike Gruttadauria Sr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DE 95 Greg Jefferson Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Ron Rogerson Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

References

1. "Division I-AA Football Comes to Orlando: Part 5 of 8 – The History of UCF Football". University of Central Florida Athletics Association. July 18, 2007. Archived from the original on July 15, 2012. Retrieved June 5, 2012.
2. Schenk, Madelyn (November 8, 2007). "'Party at pond:Students splash into tradition". Orlando Sentinel. p. D3. Retrieved November 13, 2017– via Newspapers.com.
3. "UCF surpasses records, Maine". The Miami Herald. September 4, 1994. Retrieved February 3, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
4. "Division II Valdosta trounces UCF 31–14". Florida Today. September 11, 1994. Retrieved February 3, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
5. "Cleveland's two TDs lead UCF". The Miami Herald. September 18, 1994. Retrieved February 3, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
6. "UCF makes its pount – 59 of them". South Florida Sun Sentinel. September 25, 1994. Retrieved February 3, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
7. "Pierce, Smith help Central Florida tip Illinois State". South Florida Sun Sentinel. October 3, 1994. Retrieved February 1, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
8. "Knights foul up, fall to Bulldogs". The Orlando Sentinel. October 9, 1994. Retrieved February 3, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
9. "UCF takes charge, sloshes past Northeast Louisiana". The Orlando Sentinel. October 16, 1994. p. C1. Retrieved January 31, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
10. "Troy defense has final say in 39–38 win over C. Florida". The Montgomery Advertiser. October 23, 1994. Retrieved February 3, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
11. "C. Florida beats Flames". Richmond Times-Dispatch. October 30, 1994. Retrieved April 7, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
12. "The Orlando Sentinel". The Orlando Sentinel. November 13, 1994. Retrieved March 7, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
13. "Central Florida bashes Buffalo 48–0 in finale". The Palm Beach Post. November 20, 1994. Retrieved February 3, 2025– via Newspapers.com.