ORLANDO, Fla. — In their continued undefeated run against the American Athletic Conference, UCF dominated the Temple Owls on the way to a 34-14 victory on Saturday night.
The win places UCF in shared possession of first place with East Carolina and is their eleventh straight conference victory since moving to the AAC.
At no point did the Owls look like they were any real threat to the Knights – who racked up 466 yards of offense in their third conference game of the season, the most since their Fiesta Bowl win.
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Not only was Temple unable to generate anything significant, they were massacred in the possession battle: The Knights held the ball for an insane 38:46. The offense’s prowess arrived after a revision with the team’s tempo this week in practice, a result of a flat out ugly showing against Tulane.
“These kids have to understand that there is a certain standard in this program and we weren’t meeting it as individuals or as a unit,” O’Leary said.
Coach O’Leary emphasized getting plays off quickly all week in an effort to spark anything other than what Knights’ fans had become accustomed to in this transitional season.
“We were high tempo. I wanted them off the line of scrimmage at 18 seconds and they were,” O’Leary said.
Charging out to make an early impression in their homecoming game, the new approach launched UCF up 17-0 in the first quarter with an attack so effective they did not have to punt until their fifth possession.
Justin Holman had another game that can be attributed to his massive learning curve this season, totally rebounding from last week’s dismal effort with a career high 25-39 day that netted him 336 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions and 25 rushing yards.
He too credited the offense’s change of pace in his own success, saying that the quick plays helped him get clearer read on the Temple defense.
“He owns the huddle,” J.J. Worton said. “He’s the focal point of this offense, and we go as he goes.”
His numbers don’t tell the entire story however, as Temple got their hands on an exorbitant amount of his passes. Luckily, and even somehow mysteriously, none of his passes were intercepted.
The run game continued to struggle, though not all the blame continues to fall on the skill players’ shoulders. Another meager effort by the offensive line led to a pedestrian 2.8 yards per carry. O’Leary’s lack of faith was displayed twice in bold fashion – electing to pass from the shotgun on fourth and two early on, and kicking a field goal on second down to finish the first half.
William Stanback did produce his second two touchdown game of the year while picking up his second 100 yard effort as well.
The most dominating unit on the field Saturday was clearly the Knights’ veteran defense. Through the first half, they allowed only six rushing yards on ten attempts; totaling 32 rushing yards and 150 passing yards allowed on the day.
UCF’s secondary has continued to improve exponentially, cemented by Jordan Ozerites and Jacoby Glenn locking down the aerial assault. Ozerites led the team with eight tackles and came up with an interception, while Glenn picked off a pass in the back of the end zone and forced a fumble.
The lack of action seemed to add some rust to punter Caleb Houston’s game, possibly playing a major role in his first two punts getting blocked by the Owls. The first was returned for a score to tighten the game at 14-24, the second managed to continue forward progress as it floated forward a good thirty yards.
In a honeymoon appearance to last year’s famous catch, J.J. Worton caught the Knight’s first touchdown of the day, a 25 yard catch and run. He would end the day with four receptions 42 yards and a touchdown, a performance marred only by his fumble late in the fourth quarter that would set up a tremendous goal-line stand.
Breshad Perriman repeatedly got open for huge chunks of yardage, torching the Temple secondary for 7 catches, 146 yards and a touchdown.
The first quarter buffer would be all UCF needed to finish the game. The initial 17 point lead was more than enough to secure the total team victory, as Temple would come closest with a ten point deficit.
“I thought offensively and defensively we put together the best game so far this year working as a team,” O’Leary said.
It was clearly the most effective this UCF team has appeared this year. The Knights will continue their quest for the Conference Title November 1 at UCONN.
Photos by Nick Russett.
