2017 Scott Frost
Central Florida Knights

The 2017 season was a remarkable one for Scott Frost and his UCF program. The second-year head coach led the Knights on a whirlwind adventure that ended with the unheralded program securing a spot in the Peach Bowl, a New Year’s Six Bowl Game that the Knights would never have dreamed of reaching at the beginning of the year.

Go back a couple of seasons though and you have a program that was more focused on finding a win, any win, than stringing together an unbeaten season. That is when Frost came in and took over, quickly implementing his playing style both on and off the field. His attention to detail and ability to get the best out of players left by the former regime, as well as pulling in important recruits to bolster and progress the Knights to the next level, is something few outside of Central Florida saw happening.

They realized it in 2017 though, when Frost pushed the Knights to the American Athletic Conference Championship Game, beating first USF and then Memphis in dramatic fashion to complete a dream of a conference season.

If anything the double-overtime win over the Tigers just pushed Frost’s coaching ability even more to the fore. At one point it looked like the two offensive juggernauts would play forever as they put together a combined 63 first downs and 15 touchdowns in a wild 62-55 UCF win. Their perfect season could have gone down in flames on multiple occasions, but Frost just wouldn’t let his players give in until they pulled out a late defensive play.

It was a walk-off interception that ended the contest; a fitting end to the season and to Frost’s brief – but sensational – run as the Knights’ head coach.