With the roles being reversed, UCF looked to play spoiler to a Southern Miss team who beat them at home last year.
However, a Blake Bortles last second touchdown came up short as the Knights (4-6, 2-4 C-USA) failed on what would have been a game-winning two point conversion, falling 30-29 to the No. 25 Golden Eagles (9-1, 5-1 C-USA) Saturday in Hattiesburg.
Coming off a tough loss at home to Tulsa, UCF was looking to bounce back and get their first win on the road, something that has alluded them all year. Unfortunately, a failed two-point conversion doomed them and a comeback and upset bid fell a point short against Southern Miss, who won their eighth consecutive game.
Led primarily by redshirt freshman Blake Bortles, who went 24-of-34 for 248 yards and two touchdowns, UCF was able to hang in the whole game despite three turnovers and 11 penalties. Nick Cattoi shook off some early season struggles, going three-for-three on field goals- his best effort since October of 2009. He hit a season-long 48-yard field goal attempt.
Latavius Murray made a big specials team play returning a kickoff for 69 yards with 13:28 left in the ball game. This was big for a unit that has struggled all season long in this department and was able to show some diversity in the offense.
Despite this, as well as the Knights having an advantage in time of possession and holding USM to just three-for-14 on third-down conversions, Southern Miss still gained 523 total yards, resulting in 30 points.
After an exciting and chaotic final drive, Bortles threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to J.J. Worton as time expired, but his two-point conversion pass was deflected as the controversial call ended up sealing the Knights fate.
The Knights lost their fourth straight game to the Golden Eagles.
WIth only two games remaining, the Knights need to win both in order to become bowl eligible. This means they will need to break their losing streak on the road in order to do so, and with a battle against rival ECU, this may be difficult.
The Knights have lost four of their last five matchups against the Pirates. The season finale is a home game against UTEP on Nov. 25.
If the Knights do not win both games, they will fail to reach a bowl game a season after winning the Conference-USA Championship and reaching their first top 25 national ranking. In what has been a continuing disappointment, the clock will soon strike midnight on the could-have-been Cinderella if they do not win their final games.
UCF faces East Carolina next Saturday at 7 p.m.
