After a costly mistake in the fourth quarter halted a valiant comeback effort, the Knights remained win-less and fell to the Tulsa Golden Hurricane 45-30.
Early on, Tulsa looked like the team that they have been all season long with their fast-paced offense working the UCF defense to the tune of 24 points in the first half. Meanwhile, the University of Central Florida’s offense sputtered due to Justin Holman’s poor decision making and the run game’s inability to get anything rolling.
However, this was a game of two halves as the Knights came out of halftime looking like the team that’s been missing in action since winning consecutive conference championships. A Brendin Straubel interception of Tulsa’s QB Dane Evans on the first drive of the third quarter seemed to shift the momentum in the UCF’s favor.
The Knights offense then proceeded to capitalize on Tulsa’s mistake as they drove down field and Taj McGowan punched the ball across the goal line to make the game 24-10. The Knights have been notoriously bad in the second half this year and had not scored a touchdown in the third quarter this season until McGowan’s 2-yard plunge.
The momentum continued through that score as the ensuing kickoff saw a Ramadi Warren fumble recovered by the Knights. A strong goal line stand from Tulsa forced UCF to settle for a field goal though which brought the score to 24-13. True freshman kicker Matthew Wright bounced back in a big way this week against the Golden Hurricane, knocking down all three of his field goal attempts.
Sophomore linebacker Chequan Burkett made one of the biggest plays of the game when he recorded UCF’s second interception of Tulsa QB Dane Evans in the third quarter. The confidence that was swilling through this young Knights team had them playing the best offensive football they’ve played all season. Justin Holman completed a 35-yard pass to Tristan Payton and then connected with Tre’Quan Smith from 11 yards out to pull UCF within four points.
The Knights outscored the Golden Hurricane 17-0 in the third quarter and reeled one of the fastest offenses in the NCAA. Unfortunately, Tulsa’s Ramadi Warren had other plans and carried the ball six times for 47 yards on the following drive leading to an early fourth quarter score.
That score wasn’t enough to shake the win-less Knights from continuing to dig for their first win of the season. Imbued with confidence, Justin Holman and Nick Patti willed the Knights down the field for another Matthew Wright field goal pulling the team within eight. Nick Patti and the Wild Knight formation proved to be effective against Tulsa with the QB-turned-WR picking up 24 yards on just four carries.
The Knights were a defensive stop away from having a chance at evening up the game with the offense running on all cylinders for the first time this season. The UCF defense was up for the challenge and held Tulsa, but it was all for naught as returner Blake Tiralosi muffed the punt and gave the Golden Hurricane the ball back in scoring range.
That muffed punt was a crushing blow for the Knights and took the wind out of their sails for the remainder of the game. The fight was gone and the game returned to its first half form as Ramadi Warren scored his third touchdown of the game following the unfortunate blunder. Even the offense came out flat on the following drive which led to a Justin Holman interception and 86-yard return for a touchdown by Tulsa’s senior safety Michael Mudoh.
The Knights managed to score one more time with just over a minute to go when Holman connected with Jordan Franks for a 10-yard score. But the game was firmly out of hand after the pick-six and the Knights will remain winless entering their first bye week of this grueling season.
While much of the talk this season has been the tale of two halves, this game it was the tale of two teams: the confident Knights vs. the deflated Knights. Little mistakes spelled defeat for this young Knights team against Tulsa, but this game proved that when they get on a roll they can contend with the stronger teams in the American Athletic Conference.
Photo credit: Aileen Perilla
