The AAC media poll was released on July 24, 2018, with the Knights predicted to win AAC East Division.[12] They were also predicted to win the overall AAC championship.
Media poll (East)
Predicted finish
Team
Votes (1st place)
1
UCF
175 (25)
2
USF
140 (5)
3
Temple
132
4
Cincinnati
91
5
Connecticut
51
6
East Carolina
41
Spring game
The 2018 UCF Spring exhibition game was held Saturday April 21 at Spectrum Stadium. The team was informally split into two squads for gameplay, team Black and team Gold.[13] Team officials assigned points to the two squads at their discretion. Dylan Barnas kicked a 31-yard field goal as time expired for a final score of 17-14.
For the third season in a row, a UCF game was cancelled or postponed due to a hurricane. On September 11, 2018, UCF's game at North Carolina was cancelled due to Hurricane Florence.[14] UCF had previously had games cancelled due to Hurricane Irma in 2017 and Hurricane Matthew in 2016.
The UCF Knights, ranked 21st in the preseason AP Poll, opened the season on the road on Thursday night against division rival Connecticut, a matchup once briefly known as the Civil Conflict. It was Josh Heupel's first game as head coach, and going into the game UCF held the longest active winning streak in the nation, at 13 games. The Knights routed the Huskies 56–17. Quarterback McKenzie Milton threw for 346 yards and tied a career best with five touchdown passes. The start of the game was marred after Knights defensive back Aaron Robinson was injured on the opening kickoff and removed by ambulance. Robinson spent the night in the hospital diagnosed with a concussion. Milton was rested in the fourth quarter after building a 49–10 lead. Backup quarterback Darriel Mack Jr. came in the game and broke off a 70-yard touchdown run, the longest play of the night. UCF extended their nation's best winning streak to 14 games.[16] The Knights defense forced three turnovers, including a key interception at their own 10-yard line to snuff out a potential scoring drive by the Huskies just before halftime. The Knights also forced a turnover on downs, but ultimately received criticism for poor tackling.[17]
The UCF Knights shutout South Carolina State 38–0 to extend the nation's longest winning streak to 15 games. Quarterback McKenzie Milton got off to a shaky start, throwing three interceptions in the first half. Milton managed to throw for 243 yards and one touchdown pass in the victory. The UCF rushing attack were the stars of the game, with 316 combined yards and four touchdowns. The Knights defense held the Bulldogs to only 80 yards passing, made four sacks and three interceptions. The Bulldogs never entered the red zone.[18] It was UCF's third straight home-opener victory.
