UCF's goal is finally within reach.

After going 1-0 each week during the regular season, the Knights earned the right to play for the American Athletic Conference Championship and will host Memphis in the title game this Saturday at 3:30.

They'll have to do it without quarterback McKenzie Milton, who suffered a serious leg injury during the Black Friday game at South Florida.

Here's what UCF head coach Josh Heupel had to say at this weekly press conference on Monday.

On the message to the team this week:

"You put a lot of work into building your season to the point that we're at. Prepartion is everything. We don't have to do anything out of the ordinary of what we've done. Prepare in a great way leading up to kickoff. I expect an absolutely fantastic atmosphere when we walk out of the tunnel. Our kids will be ready to play."

On the team playing for McKenzie:

"Everybody knows. Really unfortunate injury. Our kids stepped up during the course of play last week. Everyone in our program has great love and respect for McKenzie. Our thoughts and prayers are constantly with him. At the same time, we're going to go out and play our hearts out. He'll be a part of what we're doing on the field. There's absolutely no doubt about that. I don't have to speak to it all the time inside our program. Our kids know what they're playing for."

On Darriel Mack Jr.'s performance vs. USF:

"I said it after the ballgame. Since D.J. has gotten his opportunity, I think there's been more attentiveness to detail and preparation. Understanding all the little things matter. He played really well at East Carolina. For him to go in and in that situation, a big ballgame, on the road, and perform the way he did, I love what he did. Missed some things. Came back and played the next play. Played with a ton of confidence. Did a really good job both in the run game and pass game. Managing the clock in the four-minute situation. I really liked what he did and the composure that he had and how that translated through our entire football team. We've talked about being mature competitors through the course of the season. You've heard me talk a lot about that. I'm proud of the way our team when adversity has struck, handled it the right way and continued to push forward."

On if he's talked to KZ:

"Yeah. I went to the hospital that first night and was there. My wife and I were there until early morning. At the end of the day with McKenzie and his situation, the family is going to provide the information. I just personally feel with the type of injury that he had, they'll update the public, his fans, as they feel comfortable with his current medical condition. I've talked to him since the first surgery. I told him that I love him. All of our players have been up there and that type of thing as well. There's been an outpouring of support for him. He's appreciative. He'll fight back. The hurdles that he's had to clear up to this point, he's cleared in typical McKenzie fashion. He hurdles them and does a great job. He's got more in front of them. He's a fighter and a competitor. He'll be back."

On McKenzie's spirits:

"He's been really positive. For McKenzie, the first thing he asked about before I even got up there was the game. Talking to his family, he wanted to know the final of the game was. Then you talk to him and his next thought was turning to this game and his teammates. He cares deeply about what he and the team has put into this season. He expects us to go out and play in a great way. His thoughts will be with us on game day certainly. He's been really positive when I've had an opportunity to talk to him."

On McKenzie's leadership:

"I think he's got a great warrior's spirit about him. In build up to kickoff, but certainly once the ball is kicked off too. His success on the football field, our players see that and recognize it and have fed off it. They appreciate who he is and what he's meant to our football program over the past couple years."

On UCF players controlling their emotions after the injury:

"We talked about going into the football game, a rivalry game. Hostile crowd. The emotions that go into an instate rivalry game like that. A trophy game. We talked about it going into it. As soon as we got off the bus, I thought our kids handled everything with great maturity. When adversity struck with McKenzie's injury... our kids just continue to play the next play. They have great belief in the teammate next to them and the opposite side of the ball. They continue to just play and compete for one another. No matter what strikes them, they continue to push forward. That maturity is why we've been able to have some success this season and throughout the past couple years."

On the difference with Mack knowing he's the starter:

"Same thing I've said to all them. They don't have to do anything extraordinary. Just do the ordinary at a really high level. Prepare in a great way. Practice in a great way. Be what we've been for the past 11 weeks. That will take us to kickoff. Then you've got to out-compete your opponent. You've got to take care of the football. Be who and what we've been throughout the entire season. If you've got to change something at this point of the season, something hasn't been right in the lead up to it."

On Mack's passing ability:

"D.J. threw the ball really well the other night. We've got to make some plays. 10 other guys around him have to play at a high level. Not anything extraordinary. Play at their best. D.J. has got to make a couple throws that he can make. We have complete confidence in him as a passer. Have complete confidence in him in what we're doing offensively. Our playbook is wide open. We don't change anything that we're doing. The plays we ran with him the other night were the same things we had in the game plan for McKenzie."

On playing Memphis again:

"We've played a lot of football against this team in the last two years. I think teams change as the course of the season goes on, whether that's personnel or whether that's the scheme. We've changed throughout the course of the year. They're a little bit different in some of the things they're doing. Every game unfolds differently. You kickoff the same time against the same opponent 10 times and it's going to unfold differently. Our kids have to handle the flow of the game, handle the adversity that strikes on Saturday and keep playing and we'll be in good shape."

On the second half they played against Memphis in the October game:

"I think you take away confidence and our ability to go compete against them and do things positively in all three phases of the game. They're different. We're different. The environment is going to be different. Let's go play ball."

On the defensive play:

"Huge. All three phases. What we've done on our cover units and special teams has been really special the last few weeks. It's changed the way the game is played because of the field position battle. Defensively, we've played great in the run game and played on the other side of the line of scrimmage. We've forced people into third and long situations. Played great coverage. That's allowed us offensively to have great field position and take advantage of those things. If you're playing at a championship at this point of the season, all three phases has to play together."

On the playmakers on this team:

"We'll play with tempo still. We won't change anything with D.J. at the helm."

On Quadry Jones being the backup QB now:

"They'll get more reps and they have to be prepared and ready to go. We'll get all of our guys ready at all positions. We talked about this a couple weeks ago when Pat went down and Eriq stepped in. Might have been against the Memphis the first time. Other injuries have happened and guys stepped up and played in a great way. Be prepared to play at a championship level. We're playing for a championship this week. If you're a one, two or three or whatever inside of our program, be ready to go do it."

More on Mack:

"I do think his experience against East Carolina was really beneficial and will be beneficial this week too."

On the play of RB Greg McCrae:

"We've got to have balance. For us to be what we want to be offensively, we have to have balance. We have to be able to run the football and have big plays in the passing game as well. We were explosive in the run game in the second half last week. Greg has been a big part of that. He's got great vision. He understands blocking schemes. He knows how to deliver blockers to the second and third levels. He does a great job of taking them to their block. But you look at what the five guys up front have done and creating clean space for him. You look at how the tight ends are blocking in the run. And you look at the explosive plays, it's because guys on the perimeter are doing a great job down the football field. It takes all 11 on every play. I'm proud of what those guys have done. We'll need a great effort from everybody this Saturday."

On losing a dynamic player like KZ:

"I think we'll be matured in how we handle ourselves. To me, when you're trying to do something outside of the norm, that's when you probably are going to cause some problems. Do your job at a really high level. Prepare in a great way so you understand what we're doing against all the different looks we'll get on the other side of the ball in all three phases. Be prepared to go play in a great way as far as your competitive spirit, play extremely hard from snap to whistle. If you do those things, everything will take care of itself."

More on Quadry Jones' development:

"We used him in the East Carolina game. He's got the ability to throw the football. He's got great feet. He's got a good understanding of what we're doing offensively and we believe in what he is as a competitor. That's why he's had those opportunities."

On potential playoff implications:

"We're going to go handle business this week. I have no control over what happens with the playoff. Obviously, where we're ranked, we need some help. We're going to go handle business this week and try to win a championship."

On playing at home:

"I'd much rather we play at home than on the road. Glad we're not traveling to Memphis this week. It's going to be a great atmosphere. Every time we walked out of that tunnel, it's been absolutely electric. It's championship week. A trophy game. Our players recognize that and our fans do too. A big opportunity for us to continue to put our best foot forward as a program and continue to put our logo out there nationally. I think we'll have a great day."

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