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It may be the fourth game, but UCF head coach Gus Malzahn thinks his Knights have reached a key point of the season as they prepare to face Georgia Tech in Orlando, Fla., on Saturday evening.

“I told our team the other day, this is the time of year the good teams start getting better,” Malzahn said. “You see every year, teams hit a lull, we need to be that team that continues to get better as the season goes. We did that last year after we kind of had that two or three games figuring out our identity and who was injured and all that.”

The Knights (2-1) bounced back from a 20-14 loss to Louisville to roll past Florida Atlantic 40-14 last Saturday, rushing for 314 yards. They also got 339 yards through the air from Ole Miss transfer John Rhys Plumlee, who earned the starting quarterback job after spending time as a wide receiver for the Rebels.

“He’s continuing to get more comfortable with the offense,” Malzahn said. “We were able to get in rhythm. I think when we can run the football effectively, things get rolling good for us.”

Georgia Tech lost 42-0 at home to Ole Miss last weekend. The Yellow Jackets (1-2) have scored 10 points in two outings against FBS opponents, with a 35-17 win over FCS foe Western Carolina as their only triumph.

After going 15-10 in two years at Temple, head coach Geoff Collins is 10-27 in three-plus years at Georgia Tech, leading to much speculation about his future with the program.

“I have a tremendous amount of confidence based on demonstrated ability,” Collins said. “Has that shown up yet while we’ve been here? It has not. Do I have faith and belief in the process that we are about to do it? Absolutely.”

–Field Level Media