The UCF Knights (6-2; 4-0 C-USA) handed a crushing 54-17 defeat to the Thundering Herd of Marshall (3-5; 2-2 C-USA) on Saturday in Huntington, West Virginia. The Knights stifled Marhall’s prolific offense, which ranked #4 in the country prior to Saturday’s matchup and also put a screeching hault to Marshall’s talented quarterback Rakeem Cato, who was #2 in the nation in pass completions and passing yards. Here’s a quick synopsis from Orlando Sentinel‘s Paul Tenorio:
As Latavius Murray caught the screen pass in the third quarter and turned up field, left guard Jordan McCray came across and leveled a Marshall safety, knocking the defender out of the play as Murray coasted 20 yards into the end zone. While Murray and QB Blake Bortles stood out offensively on Saturday night, McCrays block was an example of the play up front that spurred the offense to its best performance of the season. I thought they did some different things that we werent expecting, OLeary said of Marshall. Our offensive line coach, Brent Key, made some adjustments, really didnt take a lot, just a different line call to control some of the movement they were putting on us.
UCF coach George OLeary praised the unit multiple times during his weekly television show on Sunday. The adjustments worked, and the Knights controlled the game the rest of the way. I got to give credit to the offensive line, thats where it starts, Murray said after his second straight standout performance. I think they keep blocking the way they are, there are yards to be made. The offensive line generated a great push against Marshall, and as a result UCF racked up its most impressive numbers this year. The Knights had season-high marks in rushing yards (278), yards per rush (6.9), passing yards (290), yards per pass (13.2), total offense (568) and yards per play (9.2).
The Knights move back to campus this Saturday to celebrate Homecoming by taking on the Mustangs of SMU (4-4; 2-1 C-USA). SMU is a talented team that will most likely give the Knights their biggest remaining challenge before they head into Tulsa (7-1; 4-0 C-USA) on November 7th. Below, take a look at highlights of Saturday’s one-sided victory of Marshall from Conference USA’s Point After:
Picture and Story Highlights Courtesy Orlando Sentinel.