New starting quarterback John Rhys Plumlee made the most of his UCF Debut where he threw for 4 touchdowns and ran in one as well as the Knights dominated the FCS South Carolina State Bulldogs 56-10 in the season opener on Thursday night.
It was rain-soaked beginning to the night at FBC Mortgage Stadium in Orlando, but that didn’t deter a fast start from the Knights in the team’s opening possession as Plumlee threw a 12 yd pass in the corner of the endzone to Junior WR Javon Backer to an opening lead of 7-0.
Any hopes of a competitive contest were quickly dashed as the Knights quickly ran up the score with another touchdown pass from Plumlee who then showed off his dual threat capabilities that won him the starting quarterback job, running 17 yd touchdown at the 3:10 mark of the 1st quarter to blank the Bulldogs 21-0.
Plumlee and the Knights would never look back as the Bulldogs could never get anything going on the offensive and defensive side of the ball to get back in the game as UCF picked up their first win of the 2022 campaign.
Plumlee finished the game with 308 yards through the air for 4 touchdowns while also leading the way for Knights rushing for 86 yards and a touchdown in an overall impressive debut for the Senior Ole Miss transfer.
UCF Head Coach Gus Malzahn said that while Plumlee hadn’t played quarterback in almost the past couple years, he was impressed overall by performance.
“Everybody can see what he can do with his legs, but I thought he made some really good throws,” Malzahn said. “There were a couple of times you could tell he hadn’t played quarterback in a year and a half, but he’ll learn from it.”
Senior running back Isaiah Bowser also had a strong start to the season running in two touchdowns of his own along with Junior Johnny Richardson ran for 59 yards and caught a touchdown pass as well.
Malzahn said he liked the speed and ability shown in tonight’s game by the two key players and thinks it will be a big advantage for the Knights going forward in the season.
“They’re a one-two punch,” Malzahn said. “Bowser’s a big bruiser and Johnny’s electric. He’s got some different speed.
The Knights will be back home next Friday Sept. 9 at 7:30 p.m. to take ACC foe, The Louisville Cardinals.
The game will be broadcast on ESPN2.
