Knights destroyed by UConn in upset shocker

After one of the tougher conference games on their schedule, the Knights hit the road for what was expected to be the easiest. They were wrong.

The UConn Huskies dominated the Knights Nov. 1 in a rain-soaked game that set precedents for UCF losing to a losing team and giving up interceptions. UConn would win it 37-29.

Knights quarterback Justin Holman threw a career-high four interceptions for 72 yards, coupled with a missed field goal, to give UConn two of their scores in the game. Those scores would prove the difference in a game that had been predicted to be a blowout.

Holman would complete just more than half his pass attempts for 228 yards, while running back Will Stanback had a career day, posting 141 yards on the ground.

The embarrassing loss dropped the Knights out of sole possession of the conference lead, putting them at 5-3 overall and 3-1 in American Athletic Conference play. They also snapped numerous winning streaks in the process. The Knights had never lost in an AAC game.

That came as a stark contrast to just a week before.

The Knights rolled over Temple with ease on Oct. 25, posting 17 points in the first quarter and then cruising from there to a 34-14 victory. The win extended their all-time home winning streak in the Bright House to eight games.

“Offensively and defensively we put together the best game so far this year,” UCF head coach George O’Leary said after the game.

Quarterback Justin Holman found his groove and threw for his second-straight career-high game with 336 yards in the air, finding Breshad Perriman for 146 of those yards and a 54-yard TD reception — the longest for Holman in his career, and Perriman this season.

The win was the biggest of the year for the Knights, who went into their fourth American Athletic Conference game on top of the conference standings. They'll now be looking for a way back there after the UConn loss.

UConn was at the bottom of that same ladder, now at 2-6 overall and 1-4 in conference play. UConn’s only win this season before the Knights was 19-16 against FCS school Stony Brook.

Last year, in a season in which the Knights escaped with seven wins by a margin of a touchdown or less, they hammered the Huskies, posting up a 62-17 blowout that would be the largest of the season.

The Knights have a bye week before returning home to host Tulsa at 8 p.m. Nov. 14.