UCF Offense Explodes Against FAU, Knights Win 40-14
It was an offensive display from the UCF Knights and Florida Atlantic Owls during the first quarter. After one period, the Owls were up 14-7 and appeared to have control of the game.
That was not the case for the majority of the first half. UCF’s offense had a fumble by running back Johnny Richardson that stalled the first drive, as well as a center-quarterback exchange fumble in the second quarter. Other than that, the UCF offense rarely missed a beat.
Led by an offensive line that looked far better than last week, especially in pass protection, UCF’s offense picked the FAU defense apart from start to finish. In the end, the Knights accumulated 653 yards of offense.
Much of that can be credited to big plays by Richardson (93 total yards of offense) and tight end Alec Holler's best receiving performance of his career (115 yards from three receptions). To get the big plays, the play calling was really good.
UCF kept the FAU defense off balance with misdirection runs and passes. A reverse to receiver Ryan O’Keefe, a quick pass to the perimeter to wide receiver Javon Baker, and several inside runs by both running back Isaiah Bowser and quarterback John Rhys Plumlee helped the Knights keep the offense rolling.
There were a couple of key moments that stood out above all others. One in fact, is going to be hard to forget.
With the ball on the five, Plumlee decided to take off. He had no chance to reach the end zone prior to contact.
Time to go to the air.
He attempted to leap over a defender and was helicoptered past the goal line and landed on the ground for six. It was a miraculous effort and one that gave the Knights the lead over the Owls.
UCF went up 16-14 over FAU and it was game over honestly. FAU never scored after the first quarter. Considering the following statistics, what were the chances of that happening?
With :37 seconds remaining in the 1st quarter, #UCF's defense has allowed 103 yards rushing, 166 yards overall, and two long TD drives.
— Inside The Knights (@UCF_FanNation) September 18, 2022
Run fits are terrible, & tackling...
Absolutely HORRIBLE defensive effort so far tonight.#FAU 14 UCF 7
Whatever it was that propelled the UCF defense to play better, it sure did. The Knights gave up just 130 yards of offense to FAU in the final three-plus quarters after allowing 166 yards in less than one quarter.
That’s an incredible statistic. That’s resiliency. Give the UCF defense credit for bouncing back. It deserves as much. The offense did carry the team tonight, however. With that in mind, one final note about UCF’s 40-14 win over FAU.
Plumlee looks much more comfortable this week than he did last week. If that continues, UCF is going to be quite difficult to stop on offense.
Staff Final Score Predictions: UCF at FAU
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