TAMPA, Fla. —  It seems so long ago: the 2017 War on I-4 thriller in Orlando. McKenzie Milton led UCF to a 49-42 win over Quinton Flowers and USF.

Since then the annual meeting has felt more like a formality than a rivalry. UCF has won three straight in the series, including back-to-back wins by at least 27 points.

 UCF has fallen short of expectations in 2020.

They went from being a top 25 preseason ranking to 5-3 and the middle of the pack in the AAC. Yet the Knights still have an explosive offense. They’re tied with Florida for most passing yards per game in the nation…while Dillon Gabriel is the only 3,000 yard passer in the country.

But there is one number UCF is focused on this week – tying the series up at six wins a piece.

“We’ve been on a little bit of a streak, but there is so much history to this rivalry,” said UCF senior tight end Jake Hescock. “Even going back to the early 2000’S when they were kicking our butts. So, we want to even up this series and this for all the old players, too.”

“Records don’t matter,” said UCF head coach Josh Heupel, who is 2-0 against USF. “We have talked about it all week long. They’ve gotten better as the season’s gone along. (USF) has a couple close ones here as of late.

And this one here, in rivalry games, the records don’t matter. For us it’s our preparation and our energy and continuing to build upon that.”

For USF, the real victory is just making it through the season.

The Bulls had two games postponed due to COVID and dealt with a number of player opt-outs, injuries, and even some dismissals. Even through all the hardship head coach Jeff Scott has guided USF towards the finish line of 2020. Yes, the Bulls are 1-7, but Scott wants USF to take a page out of his days at Clemson when the Tigers ended a 5-game losing streak to South Carolina by focusing on themselves, instead of the hype of a rivalry game.

“Our focus really has to be on ourselves,” said Scott. “Like I’ve told our players, there has been, not enough, but there has been moments where we have played well on defense; there’s been times where we have made some plays on offense; and some plays made on special teams. But we have yet to do that all in one game.”

Two things to watch for: If you are USF can you have all your offensive weapons available, including the option of changing quarterbacks?

And for UCF, it’s a the sentimental one: Will quarterback McKenzie Milton enter a game for the first time since that horrific leg injury at Ray Jay in 2018?

If that were to happen, then the result of the 2020 game in the War on I-4 would be an afterthought.