The Golden Knights broke the streak by defeating Marshall for their first C-USA intra-conference victory.

It was one of the best turnarounds in Division I-A history at the time (+8 wins), and they became the first team ever to go to a conference championship game the year after going winless.

Picked during the preseason to be a mid-pack team, Tulsa had also experienced fairly recent bad seasons of 1–10 (2001) and 1–11 (2002).

Kevin Smith, facing a 3rd & 1, broke free for a 31-yard touchdown run, trimming the deficit to 21–14.

After a Matt Prater field goal, Joe Burnett's 68-yard punt return touchdown put the Golden Knights ahead 24–21.

An excessive celebration penalty against UCF on the touchdown, however, gave Tulsa good field position.