UCF was unable to make a late comeback in the fourth quarter, and suffered their first loss, 17-10, of the season against FIU Friday night at the FIU stadium.
This marked the first time that these two teams faced off against one another.
UCF (2-1) took an early 7-0 lead in the second quarter after quarterback Jeff Godfrey ran the ball in at the goal line. After that, the Knights were unable to put together another complete scoring drive due to a combination of turnovers and penalties.
UCF’s two turnovers proved to be very costly as both led to FIU touchdowns. The first turnover occurred when Godfrey was sacked and fumbled at midfield just before the half. The fumble was recovered by FIU lineman Isame Faciane, who ran 50 yards for the touchdown.
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“We were supposed to have a hot route on the play, but it didn’t go down,” Godfrey said in a press release from the UCF athletics website. “I was trying to get the ball out of my hands, but my arm was going forward. I don’t think it was a fumble, but they gave them the touchdown.”
UCF head coach George O’Leary believed that was a key play in the game.
“That was just a bad play by Jeff and a huge momentum swing in the game,” O’Leary said in the press release. “It was 7-0 and to give up a play like that on the last play of the half…We had our opportunities, but we didn’t take advantage.”
The second fumble came when Miami native Josh Robinson misplayed a punt, and FIU recovered the fumble on the UCF eight-yard line. O’Leary was angered by the bad play.
“That was awful. There was no reason for (him trying to field the ball) and that’s the second time that he’s done that,” O’Leary said in the press release. “You just can’t play as an individual out there because it’s a team game. You can’t go trying to make plays like that.”
Godfrey acknowledged after the game that the team hurt itself by committing turnovers and penalties.
“I’m surprised at the turnovers and penalties. We had about four offsides, and we normally don’t do that,” said Godfrey in a press release. “(Penalties and turnovers) are something that we can’t do and it just killed us.”
Godfrey finished the game 17 of 27, amassing 181 yards through the air.
Defensive linemen Darius Nall and Victor Gray know that games like this one can’t happen again if the team wants to be a championship team.
“It’s very uncharacteristic of us to make turnovers and penalties like the way that we did in this game,” said Victor Gray in a press release. “If we want to be a championship team, we can’t make mistakes like that again.”
“This was a frustrating day and we didn’t come out with the same focus and intensity that we’d had the past couple of weeks,” senior lineman Darius Nall said in a press release. “We just have to stick together as a team and stay like a family.”
FIU (3-0, 1-0 Sun Belt) was led by sophomore running back Kedrick Rhodes, who had a game-high 89 rushing yards on 16 carries. This marks the first time in school history that FIU has started the season 3-0. FIU’s standout receiver T.Y. Hilton was limited on his four touches, only gaining 36 total yards.
Hilton, who had two touchdowns last week, left the game just before half with an injured hamstring.
Next weekend the Panthers will play their second Sun Belt Conference game of the season when they take on Louisiana at home.
The Knights will have a shortened week this upcoming week as they will travel to Utah to face BYU in a non-conference matchup on Friday night. The game is scheduled to be televised on ESPN.
