- March 28, 2024
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The UCF Knights walked onto the gridiron in Ann Arbor, Mich. to face one of the highest-ranked teams they’d ever played, and they left with a loss that hearkened back to the doomed season of 2015.
Down 51-14 against No. 5 Michigan after flailing offensively, particularly in the air, the Knights watched as the game clock spared them a wider margin.
The Wolverines had scored early and often as the Knights allowed them to run up a 31-0 rout before they finally responded with 11:10 left in the second quarter. After Justin Holman started the series by throwing his eighth incomplete pass of the game in 11 attempts, Adrian Killins took the handoff and rushed 87 yards down the right sideline to stun the Michigan defense and put UCF on the scoreboard.
The electrifying run by Killins would be his only carry of the day, as Dontravious Wilson ground out 83 yards on 17 carries and Holman raced to 67 yards on seven carries after being repeatedly flushed out of the pocket. Holman was sacked twice and fumbled once, though he never managed to put any passes into Michigan hands.
Nick Patti replaced Holman after the starting quarterback left with a hamstring injury following a 35-yard run — his longest of the day. Patti went 3-11 for 37 yards and no touchdowns. The Knights’ passing corps would combine for just 56 yards in the air, with a completion rate of 27 percent.
On the ground the story was more exciting, with the Knights racing to 275 net yards in the game, or 312 positive yards if you don’t count quarterbacks dropped in the backfield with the ball still in their hands.
Those air and ground numbers combined to make for one of UCF’s most convoluted transitions from last season. In their winless 2015 campaign, the Knights’ QBs and receivers outgained their rushers by 2,246 yards to 975. One of those games, when the Knights threw for 392 yards and netted negative 35 yards rushing against Tulane on Oct. 3, may have been the most lopsided in team history. Only twice in the entire season did the Knights gain more yards on the ground than in the air.
Now that trend seems to have reversed. Though the Knights lost their starting quarterback midway into the second quarter against Michigan, contributing to their reliance on running, by then Holman was 3-for-11 with his highlight reel play only traveling 13 yards.
That was a far cry from Holman’s performance in this season’s opener against South Carolina State, when the senior threw for 193 yards on a .500 completion rate, including two touchdowns and a 37-yard bomb while sharing field time with Patti.
After the game UCF football head coach Scott Frost was reticent to explain the extent of Holman’s injury, only to say that he was taken out early to improve his chances of healing more quickly. Holman’s prognosis as of Wednesday was still uncertain, though UCF officials indicated that he was being evaluated to see whether he’d be available to play when Maryland comes to the Bright House on Saturday.
The Terrapins (2-0) have already demolished their first two opponents this season, including last weekend when they won 41-14 over the same FIU team that lit the fuse on UCF’s implosion last season with a 15-14 win in game one. The Knights have never faced Maryland, but are 2-2 in their last four meetings with Big 10 teams. The game kicks off at 7:02 p.m. Saturday, broadcast on CBS Sports Network and 96.9 The Game FM.
Winter Park football
The Wildcats have bounced back well from a one-point loss to start the season, improving to 2-1 after beating West Orange two weeks ago and then Freedom in a 46-13 win Sept. 9.
Jordan Pouncey contributed heavily to that win with 120 yards and a touchdown on the ground on only eight carries, plus another 27 yards receiving. The game quickly turned into the Pouncey show when he took a kickoff and ran it back 95 yards into the end zone. He also returned a punt 30 yards, giving him 125 kick return yards on the game to add to his 147 yards on offense. Jonathan Griffin-Heard snatched an interception and ran it back 22 yards and recovered a fumble in the same game.
The Wildcats face off against Colonial this week, again on the road for a scheduled home game as they wait for Showalter Field renovations to be completed. The game kicks off at 7 p.m. Friday.
Edgewater football
A third-straight massive blowout loss dropped the Eagles to 0-3, after Jones ripped them 60-0. The Eagles travel this week to Ocoee for their first road game at 7 p.m. Friday.