In a game that could have easily been the first conference loss for UCF (8-1, 5-0), the Knights rallied once again in the fourth quarter to beat a resilient Temple (1-9, 0-5) team.
Blake Bortles tossed a 30-yard, circus-esqe touchdown pass to J.J. Worton in the fourth quarter to even the score at 36-36 with 1:06 remaining. The UCF defense came up with a big stop after allowing Temple 518 yards of total offense on the day to get the ball back with 19 seconds left in the contest.
Bortles then threw a deep pass downfield to connect with Rannell Hall for 64 yards, moving the ball inside the Temple 10-yard line. After a quick spike, Shawn Moffitt hit a game-winning field goal to lift the Knights to a 39-36 victory.
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Despite Temple being a one-win team on the season, they played UCF just as well as any team has. After a relatively slow first quarter where UCF got ahead 5-0 on a safety and field goal, the Temple Owls came charging back scoring three touchdowns in the second quarter.
True freshman P.J. Walker passed for 382 yards and 4 touchdowns, but that wasn’t enough to stop the Knights offense which gained a season high 657 total yards on the day. The Knights responded in the second quarter to get the slight edge on the Owls, going into halftime with a 22-21 lead after a Moffitt field goal.
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The Knights had trouble scoring in the third quarter, including a Temple goal-line stand where the Knights turned the ball over on downs at the one-yard line. Bortles got the offense back on track in the fourth quarter thanks to multiple theatrical catches by J.J. Worton, who had 179 yards receiving and three touchdowns. After a Bortles-to-Worton touchdown, the Knights took a 29-28 lead with 6:37 remaining in the fourth quarter.
P.J. Walker threw his only interception on the ensuing drive, but the Knights were forced to punt after a three-and-out series.
Walker and the Owls offense did not seem phased, and unlike most teams that are winless in their conference, scored to give Temple a 36-29 lead with just over two minutes remaining in the game.
Bortles once again pulled off what he has seemed to do with ease all season, and lead another game winning drive for the Knights.
The Knights do not have too long to relish in the win, they have a short week as they face conference foe Rutgers at Bright House Networks Stadium on Thursday.
