ORLANDO, Fla. – For the first time all season UCF outmatched an opponent in every way in route to a 41-7 victory Saturday night against Bethune-Cookman, continuing a streak of seven straight victories in the home opener.
An announced 44,510 fans filed into Bright House Networks Stadium for the victory.
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They out rushed, out passed and completely shut down the undefeated Wildcats, limiting BCU to 101 total yards and only a brief sniff of the end zone in the first quarter. UCF was able to rack up 351 yards of their own, almost split evenly between the rushing and pass attacks.
Justin Holman revived the spark he first created in Dublin by scoring two touchdowns, while completing six of eleven passes for 117 yards and no interceptions – a significant improvement over last week’s turnovers.
“The speed of the game is definitely slowing down for me,” Holman said after the game, explaining how he has been able to steadily progress with each start.
UCF didn’t rely on the signal caller by any means, however, instead leaning heavily on a ground-and-pound-attack-by-committee. In fact, Holman did not attempt a pass the entire third quarter and was taken out in the fourth after the game was well in hand.
Nick Patti saw limited action in mop-up duties and completed both of his pass attempts for 37 yards.
Seven different ball-carriers combined for 169 yard on the ground, though Stanback led the pack with 105 yards and two touchdowns on only fifteen carries. Cedric Thompson was able to find the endzone himself on his lone carry.
Even amongst a total team victory, the defensive line stood head and shoulders above all other units. Corralling quarterback Quentin Williams for six sacks, UCF took up residence in the BCU backfield early in the game and refused to leave. The Wildcat’s abysmal 1.7 yards per rush was the most effectively UCF was able to stuff the run this season.
Rannell Hall was flagged in the fourth quarter for targeting on a 61 yard Perriman reception, resulting in his expulsion from the game and the first half of UCF’s next game. The block was aggressive, but did not seem to be malicious or planned, prompting O’Leary to say after the game that he would look into appealing the suspension.
Breshad Perriman was not upset in the slightest by Hall’s penalty recalling his touchdown gallop, even going so far as to say he thought it was a solid play.
“At the end of the day, I thought it was a good block too, so I couldn’t be mad,” he said, continuing, “It gives us a lot of bragging rights, everyone is always trying to get a block like that.”
Though the Knights dominated BCU, O’Leary knows that this win is a mere drop in the bucket. The conference championship looms in the distance, the perennial goal of O’Leary’s Knights.
“The first win of the season is always a big win, especially at home. I feel like we have been away for two months. It’s a good win, but now we get into the conference season,” he said.
Conference play begins October 2 in Houston after the Knights’ bye week, against a Cougars team coming off of a 47-14 win against UNLV. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 pm
