UCF Knights head into conference play

The Knights may have lost a game against Missouri that they seemingly had in hand, but there’s little time for reflection with a game coming up Thursday night against their first conference rival of the season.

The Knights left the gridiron Saturday with a stinging 21-16 loss after they led the SEC team at halftime. But that 10-7 lead came with a dose of demoralization as the Knights trudged into the locker room after arriving at the Missouri three-yard line with four plays to go and managed to run out the clock without scoring a point.

The next quarter, the Tigers took the kickoff and the momentum of the game, starting with a 66-yard Marcus Murphy punt return into the end zone and piling on with another drive started by a punt that ended three plays later in the end zone.

UCF would attempt a comeback in the fourth quarter, but fell short as they watched Mizzou’s offense run out the clock and UCF quarterback Blake Bortles buckle under clock pressure when the Knights had the ball.

“It seems every drive was second and nine, second and eight, and it’s hard to operate that way against a good defense,” Head Coach George O’Leary said to UCF Athletics.

Though the Knights outgained the Tigers and had nearly twice as many first downs, they managed to make Missouri’s scores look easy by comparison. Tigers quarterback James Franklin found receivers with open impunity for much of the game, while Bortles seemingly had to fight for every reception.

He’ll have to be extra careful as he shifts gears to take on the East Carolina Pirates on Thursday night, as the Pirates are coming off a game in which their secondary defense picked off three UTEP passes.

The Pirates are on top of the Conference USA standings after going 3-2 to start the season, though they’ve had a schedule noticeably less challenging than UCF’s so far, facing mostly losing teams. Against the strong passing game of North Carolina on Sept. 22, the Pirates gave up 321 yards in the air, throwing for only 124 yards in the process.

UCF vs. ECU kicks off at 8 p.m. Thursday in Bright House Networks Stadium.