UCF (1-0) opened the season Thursday night with a 38-7 showing against the Akron Zips (0-1), winning their eighth home opener in a row, and improving to 23-12 all time in the inaugural home game.
“Always, the first game is the unknown,” O’Leary reiterated after the game. There is only so much speculation that may go into the pre-season, and it would appear that UCF sent a strong message tonight.
The Knights’ offense meant business from the start, bouncing back from allowing a first-play sack for a record-setting 91 yard passing touchdown on the second play of the game.
Blake Bortles was able to hit a streaking Breshad Perriman in stride along the right sideline, and it was obvious Perriman had no intentions of stopping once he caught the ball. The sophomore receiver added over 50 yards after the catch to take the ball all the way in.
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Incredibly enough, the 91 yard journey was the longest play from scrimmage in UCF history.
The signal caller was impressive again in the second quarter, turning a play where the pass protection had broken down completely to a highlight reel touchdown.
During the play, Bortles was forced to elude heavy pressure and shake off a tackle while rolling right before hitting JJ Worton right between the numbers for a 39 yard touchdown pass.
ON OFFENSE
In his first game of the season Bortles looked calm, poised and collected in the pocket, passing for a career high 314 yards in a highly efficient manner. The quarterback left the game in the early fourth quarter, finishing 18 for 24 on with 3 touchdowns.
He entered the game tied for first in the nation with 174 consecutive pass attempts without an interception, another UCF record, and extended the streak to 198 straight pass attempts without a pick.
Storm Johnson was consistent if not impressive in the first half. The running back was only able to find a big gain once in the half, seeing the field well for a 17 yard gain in the first quarter.
However, the back was unable to gather any more significant momentum, averaging only 2.8 yards per carry on every other rush before halftime.
The rushing attack came back with a vengeance in the third quarter, looking like a new unit. Protecting a 24-0 lead, the second half ground and pound approach amassed 93 yards and put the ball in the end zone twice.
Johnson was able to set his own personal records, setting career-highs in carries with 20 and in yards with 99, giving him 101 total yards on the game to complement his 2 touchdowns.
After flashing the blazing speed that made Perriman such a valuable vertical threat in his freshman year, the second year receiver dropped the next two passes thrown his way.
Perriman, however, showed a truckload of potential as the youngest of Bortles’ trusted corps of returning receivers ended the game with 113 receiving yards and 1 beautiful, galloping touchdown.
The UCF offensive line allowed four sacks on the night. Not a stellar number by any means, but Coach O’Leary attested one of the sacks to a missed block by the running back and another to simply holding the ball too long.
ON DEFENSE
For the majority of the game UCF’s stalwart defense held strong, refusing to let Akron reach the end zone until there were a mere 42 seconds left on the clock.
The pass rush was a bit weak, as the Knights were only able to come up with one sack through the entire affair, barley putting any pressure on the Zips’ passing attack. Deion Green came up with the big hit, and it was his only tackle of the night. Even with the mild pass rush, the secondary was able to keep Akron to a mere 116 yards through the air.
The lone scoring drive for the boys from Ohio came on an 11 yard pass from backup quarterback Nick Hirschman after the starters had been removed deep into the fourth quarter.
On the ground however, was a different story. The Zips were able to get into a groove in the second half after being held to only 83 yards in the first two quarters, ending the night with 134 rushing yards.
Terrance Plummer established himself as a bona-fide presence on this defense, leading the team in both tackles, of which he had 10, and tackles for loss, which accounted for 4 of those takedowns.
In addition to the linebacker’s success cutting ball- carriers down, his position mate Troy Gray recorded 7 of his own while making his first career interception in the third quarter.
UCF now moves to 1-0 on the year, and will travel to Miami next week to play FIU.
