UCF was originally barred from postseason play for the 2012 season due to recruiting violations in both football and basketball under previous athletic director Keith Tribble.

UCF will face eight conference opponents: UConn, Houston, Louisville, Memphis, Rutgers, SMU, South Florida, and Temple.

They are also scheduled to play four non-conference games: Akron (MAC), FIU (C-USA), Penn State (Big Ten), and South Carolina (SEC).

The team slowly ascended in both the AP and Coaches' polls receiving votes and finally reaching the top 25 after their key victory at Louisville on October 18.

Despite winning head-to-head on the road in a nationally televised game, UCF ranked behind Louisville in the Coaches' poll until the final week of the regular season.

The team slipped a couple spots in all three polls after their last second, come-from-behind victory at Temple, a game in which they struggled most of the early going.

On the second play of the game, Bortles connected with wide receiver Breshad Perriman for a 91-yard touchdown pass, and opened a lead the Knights would not surrender.

Quarterback Blake Bortles threw for 288 yards and three touchdown passes as UCF defeated the Nittany Lions in Happy Valley.

Though Penn State would get one touchdown with 13:55 left in the game, UCF answered with a 36-yard field goal from Shawn Moffitt to get a 10-point lead.

Penn State drew within three with 2:51 left, but later fumbled inside UCF territory letting the Knights run out the clock.

With 2:05 left in regulation, running back Storm Johnson fumbled at the goal line, but Chris Martin recovered it in the endzone for a UCF touchdown.

In the final minute, Memphis drove to the UCF 6 yard line, but quarterback Brandon Hayes was intercepted in the endzone, and the Knights secured a 24–17 victory.

The Knights led 21–10 early in the second quarter, then exploded for 37 unanswered points, including two touchdowns in the final two minutes of the first half.

After a major defensive battle, UCF prevailed 19–14, capped off by a remarkable goal line stand in the final seconds in their Homecoming game over Houston.

Two field goals by Shawn Moffit gave the Knights a 6–0 lead at halftime, the first scoreless quarters by Houston all season.

During the fourth quarter, the game took a terrible turn as a hit by Houston's Zachary McMillian took UCF's Breshad Perriman to the ground for nearly fifteen minutes.

UCF started to see the game slip away, however, as a blocked field goal attempt eventually led to a Houston touchdown by Wayne Beadle, and the lead was trimmed to 19–14.

On 4th & Goal with 20 seconds left, O'Korn's pass was tipped incomplete by junior safety Brandon Alexander, and UCF held on for the victory.

About 7 yards deep in the endzone, Warton leaped up and made a spectacular, one-handed, diving catch, landing just in-bounds to score the game-tying touchdown with 1:06 left.

[29][30] On 1st & 10 with 19 seconds left in regulation, Bortles connected on a 35-yard pass to Hall, who broke free for a gain of 64 all the way to the Temple 6 yard line.

Kicker Shawn Moffitt made a chip-shot field goal as time expired, and UCF escaped with an improbable 39–36 victory.

Breshad Perriman, who sat out the Temple game due to his injury against Houston, returned to make five receptions for 99 yards and one touchdown.

Late in the second quarter, Rutgers executed a fake punt for a gain of 38 yards, which led to their first touchdown of the game.

"[31] Running back Storm Johnson fumbled the ball on UCF's first two drives, including a drop at the Bulls 10 yard line.

Trailing with under five minutes left in regulation, Blake Bortles found Breshad Perriman for a 52-yard go-ahead touchdown reception.

With the Bearcats' loss, the Knights clinched an automatic berth to a BCS bowl game, by virtue of holding a conference head-to-head tiebreaker over Louisville.

In the coldest game in program history, UCF defeated SMU by the score of 17–13, to win the American Athletic Conference football championship outright, and finished with a then school-best 11–1 regular season record.

Facing 2nd & 10 at the Mustangs 15 yard line, Bortles rolled out to his left, avoided tackles, and ran the ball in just inside the pylon for the go-ahead touchdown.

With eight minutes left in regulation, facing 4th & inches at the UCF 40, quarterback Neal Burcham was tackled short of the line to gain.

[13][14] On January 5, 2014, quarterback Blake Bortles announced that he would forgo his senior season of collegiate eligibility and enter the NFL Draft.