The Memphis Tigers (1-6, 1-2 C-USA) had ambitious dreams when they scheduled the UCF Knights (5-2, 3-0 C-USA) as their Homecoming game at the Liberty Bowl in Memphis.
The Knights crashed that party with a 35-17 victory over the struggling Tigers.
Latavius Murray was a man on a mission, rushing for 192 yards on 23 attempts with two touchdowns, including an 83-yard sprint right down the center of the defense.
Blake Bortles completed 15 of 26 passes for 122 yards and two touchdowns. J.J. Worton led the receivers with five catches for 56 yards and one touchdown reception.
UCF DB Clayton Geathers had 13 tackles and forced a fumble that A.J. Bouye returned for a 79-yard touchdown. Bouye also had an interception that he returned 32 yards.
UCF’s first touchdown was the result of a 9-play 81-yard drive on their second possession. Murray punched in a 1-yard TD to give the Knights a 7-0 lead.
Memphis answered the call on their next drive, driving 73 yards to the UCF 1-yardline before fumbling the ball. Kemal Ishmael recovered the fumble that stopped the Tigers in their tracks.
Four plays after the Knights recovered the fumble, Latavius Murray blasted through a gapping hole in the middle of the line for an 83-yard dash, out sprinting the Memphis DB’s to the house.
The Tigers drove 60 yards in 13 plays to kick a 34-yard field goal to get on the board in the second quarter.
Memphis brought the Knights within reach when UCF RB Storm Johnson fumbled the ball while stripping tackles in the backfield and bleeding yardage. After dancing backwards while breaking his fourth tackle in the backfield, Johnson was stripped by the onslaught of Tigers. Robert Steeples picked up the ball and carried it 27 yards for a Memphis touchdown.
UCF would then score three straight touchdowns to pull away from the impending Tigers. J.J. Worton caught the first on a 29-yard pass from Bortles in the third quarter.
The next touchdown came on a heads-up play by A.J. Bouye who recovered a fumble from a Memphis receiver who had just caught a pass right outside of the UCF red zone. Bouye picked up and ball and the defense transformed into punt return mode, clearing the path for the score.
Freshman TE Justin Tukes caught a six-yard pass from Bortles to cap off the scoring for the Knights at 35 points.
In what first seemed like a game too close for the Knights comfort, similar to the double overtime Southern Miss game, UCF managed to pull away thanks to sound defense and a consistent run attack from Latavius Murray. It also helps that Bortles made big passes in clutch situations to keep the Tigers under their thumb.
Next week the Knights will head to Huntington, West Virginia to face the Marshall Thundering Herd, the game is scheduled for 8PM.
