UCF Knights slash through conference

Uncertainty washed away as the Knights hosed Marshall 54-17 on Saturday night, and with it came a new confidence. After four Conference USA games against a variety of talent, they had their first big win. And it came in perhaps the last meeting the Knights (6-2, 4-0) would ever have with their longtime rival.

And now with SMU (4-4, 3-1) in their sights for Saturday’s homecoming game, the Knights are on the verge of one of their strongest seasons in years. And in the Mustangs, the Knights face a mercurial foe that has yet to define itself this season.

The Knights had no such trouble figuring out Marshall in Huntington, W.Va., on Oct. 27 reacting to a Thundering Herd field goal with an offensive revenge melee that brought the scoring differential to a prescient 27-10 by halftime, on the strength of a balanced offense coupled with an opportunistic special teams squad.

In the game the Herd would lead for 13 seconds. That’s how long it took for returner Quincy McDuffie to return a kick nearly the length of the football field for a demoralizing touchdown immediately following Marshall’s field goal. He would add another field-length scamper on a kickoff in the second half for another touchdown.

From the half it was all Knights, helmed by Blake Bortles at quarterback in another career game, throwing for 277 yards while connecting with nine different receivers. His favorite, wide receiver Jeff Godfrey, caught 71 yards worth. J.J. Worton had 68 yards on just three catches. Meanwhile the Knights dominated the run game with Latavius Murray continuing his tear from the last game, adding 156 yards on 16 carries, followed by Brynn Harvey with 62.

And when the Herd had the ball, the Knights’ defense went to work, sacking them four times for nearly 40 negative yards.

Coming up this weekend the Knights return home to face SMU, a team that lost to the struggling Tulane Green Wave (2-6, 2-2) by a score of 27-26, then annihilated Houston (4-4, 3-1) the next week in a 72-42 slugfest that may be the biggest offensive game of any C-USA team this season.

The Knights will be looking to neutralize SMU quarterback Garrett Gilbert on Saturday, as he’s proven capable of 300-plus yard games in the air, and isn’t afraid to go long. That kicks off at 7 p.m. at Bright House Networks Stadium. It will also be televised on CBS Sports.