The UCF Knights take on the Baylor Bears in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl on New Year’s Day at 8:30pm EST.
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UCF has won the coin toss, and elected to receive the ball to begin the game.
First Quarter
The game did not start well for the Knights, drawing a false start penalty on the first play from scrimmage. Quickly stifling the initial whispers of worry, Blake Bortles took off on second down with a designed quarterback run that went for a gain of 29 yards.
Continuing the trend, UCF was able to power
through the Baylor run defense as if it were made of paper mache`. Storm Johnson made a huge play of his own, gashing the Bears for a gain of 22 yards to set up an 11 yard touchdown run to put the Knights up early and take control of the momentum. Not one pass was thrown on the drive, comprising of 6 rushes for 76 yards.
UCF 7 – Baylor 0
Baylor shook their own rust off in their initial drive, drawing their own false start penalty. The penetration was able to disrupt Bryce Petty repeatedly, preventing the unit from moving the chains at all. Thomas Niles broke free on third down and brought Petty down with apparent ease, sealing the drive.
The Knights continued to make big plays on the next drive, moving 34 yards down the field on a long pass from Bortles to Breshad Perriman on first down. It took only four more plays – two rushes apiece from Bortles and Johnson – to put UCF back in the end zone. Storm punched the ball in from 2 yards out for his second score of the day.
UCF 14 – BU 0
Baylor came out with more success after the UCF score, putting together back to back explosive plays. Petty connected with Tevin Reese for a 22 yard gain for the Bears’ first new set of downs. Lache Seastrunk took off in a flash for a 20 yard gain to move Baylor down to the UCF 45, but the unit was unable to produce anything else and settled with a punt.
It was not until their next drive that Baylor was able to gain any momentum. Seastrunk put together another impressive run, stopping only after he had busted loose for 29 yards. The rush put Baylor at the UCF 8 yard line, and the Bears needed no time at all to take advantage of the big play, culminating with a Bryce Petty one yard touchdown run.
UCF 14 – BU 7
Second Quarter
UCF was able to stifle the Bears’ offense when they next met, taking possession of the ball with 13 minutes in the quarter. The same could be said about the Baylor defense, as the Knights went three and out.
The speedy Baylor offense could not be bottled up forever though, and Antwan Goodley burst through the secondary for a 22 yard gain. The short term memory of the defense kicked in after the rush, and Baylor was unable to advance past the 35 yard line. Surprisingly, the Bears decided to attempt a 4th down conversion and fumbled the snap, turning the ball over on downs.
Blake Bortles made his first mistake of the day when UCF took over, launching a deep pass that was intercepted at the Baylor 4 yard line. The only silver lining after the turnover was that BU was deep in their own territory. UCF was able to stop the offense from converting any first downs, and took back over on their own 34 yard line.
It was here that the gods frowned upon Bortles again. Dropping back on the first play of the drive, the signal caller threw his second interception to make it two consecutive pass attempts for turnovers.
Baylor capitalized fast on the mistake, completing a pass god for a 30 yard touchdown from Petty to Levi Norwood. In a strange turn of events, the bears attempted a two point conversion and failed.
UCF 14 – BU 13
Coming back onto the field with hopes of redemption, UCF expected anything but what happened next. Storm Johnson fumbled almost immediately, gifting perfect field position to the Bears. It was the third turnover in a matter of minutes, and the momentum began to swing heavily.
However, in a moment of almost divine intervention, safety Brandon Alexander intercepted a pass in the end zone to answer Baylor’s takeaway. Petty’s throw was far from his target, taking a path only Alexander would have been able to reach.
Bortles again went deep on the next possession, wiping his mind clean of his ill-fated last attempt. His pass was incomplete to Perriman, but a pass interference call advanced them to the 15 yards to the midfield line.
Rannell Hall was able to make a huge play on the ensuing second down. Hall took a short pass from Bortles and refused to stop anywhere but the back of the end zone. Weaving in and out of traffic, Hall zipped down the sideline and then cut back inside past a few defenders to extend UCF’s lead.
UCF 21 – BU 13
The seven headed monster of Baylor’s juggernaut offense showed itself to be resilient when the Bears regained possession. Petty found Corey Coleman on the left sideline for a gain of 32 yards, and then tok it in himself for an 11 yard touchdown run.
The drive took a mere 2 minutes and 10 seconds to complete.
UCF 21 – BU 20
With the clock running down, the Knights took over with 2:55 left in the half. Biding their time and making small gains, UCF was able to move the chains for two first downs with 1:31 left to play.
Coming off the strength of a pass interference call on third down, UCF was able to keep the drive alive after sputtering out at midfield. Bortles found Rannell Hall once again in single coverage down the sideline, and Hall shook his man on the way to another all-out sprint into the endzone, covering 34 yards on the scoring play.
UCF 28 – BU 20
Third Quarter
Baylor received the kick at the end of the intermission, and returned the ball to the 25 yard line. Seastrunk once again found daylight, and set Baylor up at their own 44 yard line. The explosive chunk of yards was the only real damage done, and the Bears were forced to punt before moving into scoring position.
UCF’s own offense had issues of their own creating a spark at the onset of the second half, and went three and out before pinning Baylor at the 33 yard line with a 44 yard punt.
Showing signs of life, the Bears began to move downfield. After converting on 3rd and 4, the Bears gave the crowd at University of Phoenix Stadium a look at what has made them so deadly this year. Petty connected with Jay Lee for a 50 yard catch and run after Lee made Terrance Plummer look absolutely lost. He didn’t quite make it in, but a one yard plunge into the end zone on the next play put the Bears in the end zone.
Once again attempting the two point conversion, Petty snuck untouched past the defense for a successful attempt.
UCF 28 – BU 28
William Stanback came out as the workhorse on the next drive. After three consecutive rushing plays and a short pass, UCF had advanced for one first down before once again drawing a pass interference call for a fresh set of downs.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Bortles made a clutch play. Slipping and falling after he took the snap, Blake Bortles was able to regain his composure and step up in the pocket to find Jeff Godfrey down the sideline for a huge 38 yard gain.
UCF ran a play similar to the final touchdown in the Louisville game after moving into scoring position, as Bortles rolled right to find Breshad Perriman wide open in the back of the end zone.
UCF 35 – BU 28
Baylor was able to find momentum once again despite beginning the drive with a 1st and 15 situation. Petty hit Clay Fuller for a 15 yard gain and a first down with ease on 2nd and 8. He was unable to find anyone afterwards though, and the Bears were forced to punt from their 44.
Fourth Quarter
UCF took full advantage of their momentum going into the fourth quarter, once again benefiting from a pass interference call on the Baylor secondary. Marching 80 yards down the field, the Knights managed to knock nearly five minutes off the clock on the way to a Blake Bortles touchdown run.
UCF 42 – BU 28
Not to be left in the dust, Baylor quickly responded with their form of swift justice. In just over a minute’s time, the Bears covered 53 yards to put up 7 points of their own. Made possible by another deep Bryce Petty pass – a 28 yard completion – Glasco Martin was able to scamper into the end zone for a 9 yard score.
UCF 42 – Baylor 35
The scoring just wouldn’t stop. Answering almost as quickly to the Baylor score, UCF put together a 4 play, 75 yard scoring play that looked very Baylor-esque. Bortles hit Rannell Hall first for a 23 yard completion, and then Storm Johnson galloped down the field for a 40 yard rushing touchdown, his third on the day. The drive ate up a minute two minutes of gametime.
UCF 49 – Baylor 35
Baylor went three and out in their next appearance, a rare sight in this game. The Bears didn’t advance past their own 20 yard line, actually losing 8 yards on the drive. Another booming punt by Spencer Roth gave UCF possession at the 43 yard line, leaving a short field for Bortles and company.
It became apparent that UCF was in clock-control mode after regaining the rock. Two undisguised rushing attempts were followed by a feat of brute strength and effort by Bortles on third down. With the pocket collapsing around him, Blake was able to elude the grasp of a defender who had wrapped him up, escape to his right and find Stanback for a 17 yard gain.
The completion was followed by a reinforced emphasis on the run, and left UCF stranded at the 19 yard line on 4th down. Shawn Moffitt came out for the attempt, and drilled the 36 yard field goal.
UCF 52 – Baylor 35
The Bears, wounded but not dead, continued to fight the good fight with under five minutes left in the game. Starting at their own 21 yard line, Baylor moved fluidly down into UCF territory. 9 plays into the drive, the unit found themselves staring down the end zone with 2:23 left to play. They were poised to march the seven yards into the end zone – but a personal foul call moved them back to the 22 yard line, just out of the Red Zone.
Digging the hole deeper, Petty fumbled the snap on 2nd and 15, falling down instantaneously and setting up 3rd down with fifteen to go. UCF then proceeded to shoot themselves in the foot, falling victim to a pass interference call that not only extended the drive, but put Baylor at the 12 yard line.
With a circus catch, Clay Fuller pulled down a 9 yard touchdown with 1:15 left to play. Leaping high and extending far, Fuller was able to just barely get one foot down before falling out of bounds.
UCF 52 – Baylor 42
The only hope left for the Baylor Bears was the onside kick, and with just over a minute left, J.J. Worton smothered the kick and fell down to give UCF possession in scoring range, and with the crowd chanting “one more year” Bortles took a knee twice to seal the fiesta bowl.
Final: UCF 52 – Baylor 42
