UCF head coach George O’Leary couldn’t help but crack a smile despite a 34-27 loss to NC State in the Bitcoin St. Pete bowl.
When his senior wide receiver and team captain Josh Reese was asked about his favorite moment in his UCF career, Reese quickly acknowledged the huge blocks he made in the Baylor game that led to a UCF BCS-bowl victory.
“Good answer,” O’Leary told Reese. “Most people would say a catch.”
The “team-first” mentality guys like senior captain Reese has helped instill in O’Leary’s program led to fourth quarter resiliency once again in a game they were much out-played in.
Down 31-13 heading into the fourth quarter, the Knights scored two late touchdowns to put the Knights within one touchdown of tying the game.
Unfortunately for the cardiac Knights, there would be no Cinderella story on Friday night as scrambling quarterback Jacoby Brissett and his well-balanced offense paced the Wolfpack to their first bowl victory since 2011.
Check out UCF highlights from the game!
NC State virtually led in all offensive categories, outgaining UCF 487-373 in total yards and had 26 first downs compared to UCF’s 21.
“We missed way too many tackles on defense and we did too much too late offensively, obviously I thought the protection wasn’t where it needed to be,” said O’Leary. “Give credit to NC State, I thought they played well.”
NC State quarterback Jacoby Brissett proved to be the Knights’ defense kryptonite, hurting the Knights with both his agile mobility in the pocket and ability to make deep throws.
When the Knights seemed to gain momentum on offense throughout the first half, Brissett always seemed to have an answer back.
“This is a good springboard to next season because the year before we lost our bowl game and last year we didn’t get to one,” Brissett said. “But this shows you the level that we can play at, and UCF is a very good team that won the Fiesta Bowl last year. This is a great victory. It’s no telling how far this team can go.”
UCF will lose a majority of their defense heading into next season and most of a senior wide receiving corps that is one of the most explosive in the country.
Josh Reese, leader of that wide receiver corps, finished his career with a bowl record three touchdowns and UCF MVP.
“We always prepare for that bowl game and we did that, but we wanted to have a 10-win season. It is bittersweet we didn’t get that,” said Reese.
