- March 29, 2024
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With 10 seconds left in the game, the dream of a conference title repeat on the gridiron was seemingly over for the UCF Knights. Then suddenly that dream was in Breshad Perriman's hands, and the Knights had another heart-stopping finish.
A wild 51-yard hail mary pass left UCF with 32-30 win, an American Athletic Conference championship and with East Carolina wondering what happened after a 21-point fourth-quarter comeback came apart.
East Carolina had come back from a listless first three quarters of the game, scoring three unanswered touchdowns in the final frame to lead 30-26 with just 10 seconds left.
The Pirates, after inheriting the ball following one of many failed UCF drives in the final quarter, tried to run the clock out. But they left a bit too much time, allowing UCF QB Justin Holman to find receiver Josh Reese for 14 yards, leaving enough time for one final play.
That's when Holman let fly a half-field-spanning pass that would land in the sticky hands of Perriman to shock the East Carolina crowd with an odds-defying win.
Holman's epic heave erased a quarter's worth of bad feelings when Perriman beat three defenders for the improbable touchdown catch.
Holman, who had dominated in the first half, had played like the inverse of East Carolina QB Shane Carden in the final quarter, leading the Knights to only one first down in the entire quarter before the final possession. Carden would score two touchdowns in the span of about three minutes to start the quarter, then scored the go-ahead TD with only a 2:17 left in the game.
The Knights' offense couldn't find a response, failing to gain any ground against the East Carolina defense, which seemingly had been powerless to stop them in the first half of the game. In the fourth quarter the ECU defense emerged energized, preventing the Knights from crossing half field, and causing a devastating turnover that would all but seal the game for the Pirates.
The Knights defense also suffered a horrific late collapse. After allowing -1 yard rushing in the first half of the game, they seemingly were letting ECU grab first downs at will in the final 15 minutes.
Meanwhile the Pirates, momentum in hand, emerged from a 26-9 deficit at the start of the quarter in what seemed like a historic comeback.
But with a hail mary catch for the ages, it all changed for the better for the moribund Knights. The Knights had been playing for a share of the American Athletic Conference championship, which they secured a share of with the win.
They also helped reverse a trend against the Pirates. Before Thursday's win, the Knights had only beaten them once on the road in seven tries.
On four receptions, Perriman would gain 139 of the 274 passing yards Holman would connect with in the game.
The Knights are now 9-3 overall, with a 7-1 record in the conference. They await a bowl game assignment, which they helped secure with their sixth win.