The UCF Knights (1-1) came close, they had opportunities, but they paid full price for their mistakes and it cost them dearly in their second game of the season. The Knights fell to No. 14 Ohio State (2-0) 31-16 in front of 104,745 fans in an exciting game that gave the Knights plenty to be hopeful for.
The attendance is the largest crowd the Knights have ever played in front of in the history of the program. The Knights definitely did not embarrass themselves, as the Buckeyes had nothing but respect for the valiant effort from the Black and Gold.
On the bright side, UCF MLB Terrance Plummer registered 15 tackles while DB A.J. Bouye had seven tackles and an interception. Kemal Ishmael was all over the field with 10 tackles and one fumble recovery.
UCF QB Blake Bortles’ passing game was, to be optimistic, active as he went 24-of-41 for 249 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions.
SEE POST GAME INTERVIEWS WITH O’LEARY, BORTLES
Had it not been for three forced interceptions thrown by young UCF QB Blake Bortles, one right before half and one in the OSU red zone, the game could have ended with a much different score.
“…I played poor, I take a lot of blame on what happened. We played good enough to be closer in that ball game than we were. We all knew coming into this game that we were going to be in this game, we could win. We expected to win and if I played better, we had a good chance at winning,” Bortles said after the game.
Ohio State’s first drive was productive and fast. They ran a no huddle, 7-play, 71-yard drive right through UCF. The drive was highlighted by a 37 yard QB draw from Braxton Miller for a touchdown, not a single Knight had a shot of touching him on the play.
The game was very much a tug-of-war for momentum. A big fourth down stop from Jonathan Davis in the first quarter led to UCF’s first points on a Shawn Moffitt field goal. OSU answered with a field goal of its own, only to let UCF drive down the field and tie the game at 10 apiece on a Blake Bortles touchdown pass to Justin Tukes.
“Our defense stepped up a lot when they needed to,” Storm Johnson said of the defensive effort.
Post game Highlights and FanCam Before the game. Article continues below.
The interception right before the half came only two plays after UCF recovered a midfield fumble with the score tied 10-10. Instead of cashing in the turnover for points and a half time lead, Bortles was baited by zone coverage and a tipped ball was picked off by Travis Howard for his third interception of the season. OSU QB Braxton Miller molded the turnover into a 17-10 halftime lead with OSU receiving to start the third quarter.
Miller, an early Heisman hopeful, gashed up the UCF defense with 141 yards rushing, three rushing touchdowns and one more in the air. Miller’s 27 rushing attempts was a career high as nearly every pass play turned into a QB draw read.
“Everything they talk about in Braxton Miller is accurate. He can make you look very foolish out there, at times he did…” George O’Leary commented on Miller’s performance.
The Buckeyes opened the third quarter with a 12-play, 76-yard touchdown drive to claim a 24-10 lead. Bortles dug the hole just too deep on UCF’s next set of downs, floating a third down pass into mid-field, triple coverage, for his second interception of the game. OSU turned the pick into a 31-10 lead on a 46 second, 3-play, 32-yard drive.
While UCF would respond with a gorgeous 14-play, 84-yard touchdown drive to bring the game to 31-16, those would be their last points of the day. Billy Giovanetti’s touchdown catch would inspire a second wind in the Knights, but after taking their next possession all the way down to the nine-yard line, Bortles deflated the Knights with a red zone interception.
That was all she wrote for the Knights, who put up a good fight against a talented Ohio State team. Not all is lost for the Knights, however, who look to take what they can from a tough loss in a well played game.
“We’re going to deal with the positive today and then think about the negatives tomorrow, but I think as a team, we’ve grown, we’ve grown today,” Johnson added.
“We lost, as I told the team, we didn’t play our best game. They came up here to win a football game … we lost and Ohio State won and we have to learn from that. You learn more from losses than you do from wins,” O’Leary said after the game.
The Knights have the week to learn everything they can from the loss to Ohio State. UCF fans will hope Storm Johnson was right, and that the Knights did grow this weekend, because losing to FIU in UCF’s home opener next weekend at Bright House Stadium at 4 p.m. would be a surefire way to follow in last season’s footsteps.
