www.UCFKnights.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\nTo the delight of thousands of loud Knights fans, the youngest university to ever play in a BCS bowl game won a thriller on the largest national stage Wednesday.<\/p>\n
UCF defeated No. 6 Baylor 52-42 to win the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, earning a victory that almost no \u201cexpert\u201d thought the Knights could achieve.<\/p>\n
Knights\u2019 fans were loud throughout the game at University of Phoenix Stadium, particularly in the fourth quarter when UCF put the game away by scoring 17 points and making huge defensive stops. They roared when the Knights (12-1) took the stage to accept the Fiesta Bowl trophy and donned championship hats, soaking in one of the biggest milestones in the university\u2019s history.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was memorable,\u201d cheerleader Jacob Serre said while celebrating on the field. \u201cIt\u2019s the last game I\u2019ll ever cheer. This (spirit squad) is my family, and what a great way for us to go out. I never doubted our team for a second.\u201d<\/p>\n
UCF President John C. Hitt beamed during media interviews on the field, talking about how much fun it was to watch the historic win while also praising the Knights for their success in the classroom. UCF has the second-highest graduation rate among the 10 BCS schools, trailing only Stanford.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are student-athletes,\u201d he said. \u201cThey are fine young men.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harlee Samuels and Erica Brink are friends and former UCF roommates who flew across the country to watch those fine young men.<\/p>\n
Brink landed in Arizona at 4 a.m. Wednesday after enduring an emergency landing in Memphis due to engine problems. But her troubles were worth it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe live only an hour away and don\u2019t see each other often,\u201d she said during a pregame tailgate party at the stadium. \u201cBut we could find the time to fly to Arizona to see each other without any questions being asked.\u201d<\/p>\n
Samuels and Brink cheered as Maxwell Glorit and his Marching Knights performed the UCF fight song to enthusiastic fans during the rally. The Marching Knights performed twice for fans before heading into the stadium.<\/p>\n
The Fiesta Bowl had an extra special meaning for Glorit, who marched in the Fiesta Bowl parade as a high school freshman seven years ago. Today, he was back in Arizona as a leader and drum major for the Marching Knights.<\/p>\n
Glorit enjoyed performing at the rallies and a halftime show that featured songs by Queen, Lady Gaga and The Who. His trip was memorable even before the game kicked off \u2026 and then it ended on the perfect note with the biggest win in school history.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re all very excited,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a first for our university, and we\u2019re soaking it all in.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"To the delight of thousands of loud Knights fans, the youngest university to ever play in a BCS bowl game won a thriller on the largest national stage Wednesday. UCF defeated No. 6 Baylor 52-42 to win the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, earning a victory that almost no \u201cexpert\u201d thought the Knights could achieve.","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":56411,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"template-twocol.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"lazy_load_responsive_images_disabled":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":"","_wp_rev_ctl_limit":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[1810,11208,2952,11119],"tu_author":[],"class_list":["post-56410","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","tag-football","tag-jacob-serre","tag-marching-knights","tag-tostitos-fiesta-bowl"],"yoast_head":"\n
Fantastic Fiesta: Knights Top Baylor 52-42 | 色花堂 News<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n