The UCF Knights relied heavily on defensive efforts to defeat the Temple Owls 38-13 on Saturday night at the Bounce House.
In a game where parts of the Knights’ offense was slow to take off, the defense stepped in with two turnovers and a three-and-out in the first three possessions, puting the Knights in prime short-field position to jump out to a 21-0 start.
The Knights’ offense, which came into the matchup having the No. 1 total offense averaging 652 yards per game, suffered finding a rhythm early on in the game and relied on it’s defense to put them in a scoring position in the first half.
UCF sophomore linebacker Tatum Bethune split through two blocks and intercepted a pass during the first quarter of the matchup, while true freshman defensive back Corey Thornton intercepted a catch in the third quarter to get the offense back on the field.
After the game, Bethune said it’s a great feeling to see the team have confidence.
“It’s [great] being together and working together,” he said. “When the offense comes off the field, they come to us; and when we come off the field, we come to them — we just try to keep each other going.”
In the second half of the game, UCF’s offense rebounded, putting up 17 points to seal the win for the Knights and make relatively easy work of the Owls.
The victory marked the 46th straight game where UCF’s offense scored at least one passing and one rushing touchdown.
UCF sophomore quarterback Dillion Gabriel, who has averaged 417.7 yds a game heading into tonight, played significantly different than Knight Nation is used to seeing. The sophomore completed 5-of-14 passes for 84 yards at the end of the first half.
After the game, Gabriel said the defense played lights out and the team found a way to win.
“It was a complete team win,” Gabriel said. “Whether that’s me throwing the ball or us running the ball, I don’t really care about that — anytime we can put some points on the board, that’s our main goal.”
Gabriel came back strong in the second half scoring on the first drive of the third quarter and finished the game with 268 yards and two touchdowns through the air.
Gabriel completed 12-of-22 passes on the night — he was relieved by redshirt sophomore quarterback Quadry Jones early in the fourth quarter. Gabriel has now moved to sixth all time in passing yards at UCF.
UCF senior wide receiver Marlon Williams had another impressive night with his fifth game over 100 yards — the senior finished the night with 102 receiving yards along with two touchdowns to add to the Knights’ offensive display.
After the game, Williams said he thinks the teams did a good job adjusting on the fly.
The Knights’ offense may not have set new records during the matchup, but Williams said he’s happy.
“I think we’re kind of spoiled, averaging 700 yards a game, 400 yards isn’t bad,” he said. “I think we played pretty good, of course. We got stuff we can fix, we have to watch film, but other than that, I think we played good.”
UCF senior running back Greg McCrae had an impressive night adding two touchdowns to surpass former UCF running back Adrian Killins Jr. with 26 total touchdowns in his career as a Knight — McCrae now holds fifth most rushing touchdowns at UCF.
The Knights honored the military with special black ops stealth black helmets.
Each player chose the branch of military they wanted to represent on the bumper of their helmets — and had their hometown coordinates on the back bumper — as well to go along with their all black uniforms.
With the win, the Knights improved to 4-2 in the American Athletic Conference play and 5-2 overall, while the Owls fell to 1-5 overall and in conference play.
UCF will have a test on its hands when it takes on the unbeaten No. 7 Cincinnati Bearcats at the Bounce House on Nov. 21 at 3:30 p.m.
Update: Postgame press conference quotes were added to this article after publication.
