After two consecutive demoralizing conference losses, the UCF football team rebounded with a 41-0 blowout win over Memphis in its homecoming game at Bright House Networks Stadium Saturday afternoon.
UCF improved to a perfect 7-0 against the Tigers since moving to Conference USA, and there seven-game winning streak against Memphis is their biggest winning streak against any program currently.
Entering the game 0-4 on the road and 3-0 at home, the Knights (4-4, 2-2 C-USA) continue to have an up and down season, where they have shown both flashes of greatness and underachievement.
The Knights got back on track and inserted themselves right back into contention for the Conference USA title. Striking quickly and often, Jeff Godfrey reasserted himself as the starting quarterback in the rout over lowly Memphis (2-7, 1-4 C-USA).
Godfrey finished the game with arguably his best all around performance of the season, posting 200 yards and a touchdown in the air, completing 14-of-17 passes, while also rushing for 97 yards a touchdown. It was defintely an all-purpose game for the sophomore quarterback, who has been criticized at times for being one dimensional.
Godfrey showed flashes of the quarterback who became the first true freshman ever to lead a team to a conference title, scoring on the opening drive just 2:19 into the game on a 29-yard run.
“It’s a huge momentum boost scoring on the first drive. That’s all we can do in a game- get the ball first, then if you can score on the first drive, it’s a huge boost for the offense,” tight end Adam Nissley said.
After that, it was off to the races, as he lead the Knights to 21 first half points. Godfrey’s confidence wasn’t shot after rumors swirled about who would be the starting quarterback going forward, which seemed to have been squashed after this performance.
“I feel great about that, the coaches really believe in me. Last week, I had a few mistakes, and I put that all on me. But I put that past me and put the team first,” Godrey said.
The UCF offense amassed 504 yards, including 260 yards on the ground and 29 first downs. Brynn Harvey had another strong outing, with 78 yards and a touchdown.
Ronnie Weaver posted 44 yards and a touchdown, while Quincy McDuffie had both a rushing and receiving touchdown in the game.
The defense looked like the top five defense of just two weeks prior, holding Memphis to 134 total yards and just two-of-13 on third down. With three sacks on the day, the Knights dominated in the backfield, allowing Memphis to only 33 rushing yards.
Leading 21-0 at half, the Knights seemed to be in cruise control the rest of the way, dominating the line of scrimmage and never allowing Memphis good field position to work with.
In dominating on all sides of the ball, this will be a big momentum boost for Thursday’s matchup against Tulsa 5-3 (4-0) at home.
“Good win, all three phases were well executed. I thought we finally made plays on offense and defense and special teams, and thought we covered well and had a couple returns. So, we’re getting a little better in those areas.” Coach George O’Leary said.
UCF can win out and still represent the C-USA East Division in the conference title game. They have yet to surrender a touchdown at home, but have yet to win on the road, something that will need to be corrected with Southern Miss and ECU both looking down at the Knights in the current standings. However, the team seems to be optimistic in light of a big win.
“Getting another win and getting closer to that conference championship is great. We’re just taking it one game at a time,” cornerback Josh Robinson said.
In order to achieve its goals, UCF is looking at the season as a four-game playoff, taking each game as it comes in hopes of still reaching their goals of repeating as C-USA champs.
For now, the Knights extend their current win streak to seven over the Tigers and 4-1 overall in Homecoming games since moving into Bright House back in 2007.
The Knights will have a short rest before returning to action against Tulsa next Thursday at 8 p.m.
