UCF is led by Gus Malzahn, who is in his fourth year coaching the Knights. The 58-year-old is 27-16 as UCF's head coach. Colorado is led by Deion Sanders, who is in his second season as head coach of the Buffs and fifth season overall as a head coach. He's 7-9 at Colorado and 34-15 in his career.

UCF gifted the Buffaloes an extra possession by going three-and-out with 37 seconds left. Randy Pittman hauled in a five-yard reception and went out of bounds, RJ Harvey dropped a short throw over the middle and Colorado's Taje McCoy sacked KJ Jefferson, allowing Deion Sanders to call his final timeout.

The season-opening win vs. NDSU averaged 4.8 million viewers, peaking at 5.6 million, according to Front Office Sports. It was ESPN's best Thursday opener since 2017 and up 49% over last year's.