After a promising start to the season, the UCF football team’s season continues to spiral. A last minute field goal by UAB kicker Ty Long gave the Blazers their first victory of the season and sent the Knights season into disarray.
The Blazers, who have never beaten the Knights (3-4, 1-2 C-USA) before, escaped with a 26-24 win Thursday night at Legion Field on a 40-yard FG by a freshman kicker with 27 seconds remaining in the game.
UCF falls to a 3-4 on the year and remains winless on the road this season.
The Knights came out of the gates strong with Brynn Harvey leading the rushing game, who finished with 73 yards and two touchdowns. Harvey rushed for two first quarter touchdowns to give the Knights an early 14-7 lead.
The night went downhill from there for the Knights.
The UCF defense could not contain the UAB (1-6, 1-3 C-USA) offense throughout the game as the Blazers amassed 500 yards of total offense. Their offense proved to be potent as the Knights secondary was once again dominated in the air, allowing 329 passing yards.
UAB quarterback Jonathan Perry was picking apart the UCF secondary at will, completing the game with 327 yards on 42 pass attempts.
After a 46-yard field goal by Long with six seconds left in the first half, the Blazers took a 16-13 lead going into halftime.
The third quarter was relatively slow, although UAB dominated UCF in virtually all categories, including time of possession, first downs and net yardage.
UAB took a 23-16 at the beginning of the fourth quarter after a 70-yard drive led to a four-yard Jackie Williams touchdown run.
Sophomore quarterback Jeff Godfrey struggled throughout the game, completing only 13-of-22 passes with 133 yards and an interception.
Coach George O’Leary had freshman quarterback Black Bortles take over in the fourth, and he had a mediocre performance, throwing for 102 yards and an interception.
Despite struggling on both sides of the ball for most of the game, the Knights fought their way back into the game after a Latavius Murray touchdown run that put UCF two points.
After a crucial stop by the UCF defense late in the fourth, the Knights got the ball back and drove down the field. Bortles led a big drive that put the Knights in the red zone, but once again UCF failed to convert a touchdown out of it, ultimately settling for a Shawn Moffitt 24-yard field goal.
The Moffitt field goal gave the Knights a golden opportunity to win the game, but the UCF defense couldn’t slow down the Blazers offensive attack, especially the ground game. UAB finished the game with 171 rushing yards, led by Darrin Reaves 82 yards.
The Blazers converted two third-and-longs after taking over at their own 16 with 4:57 left that set up the game-winning kick.
It was another disappointing loss for the Knights, who had undefeated aspirations before the season began. Now, the Knights find themselves searching for answers after losing four out of their last five contests.
UCF will look to turn its season around when they begin a two game home stand, starting next Saturday against Memphis and then a Nov. 3 matchup against Tulsa. The Knights are 3-0 at Bright House Networks Stadium this season and are outscoring their opponents 108-9, so hopefully some hometown support will fix the Knights woes.
