Dr. Blackwell's BLOG

The UCF Knights (7-3; 5-1 AAC) pummeled the Mustangs of SMU (0-10; 0-6 AAC) 53-7 in-front of a rain-soaked crowd of just 31,000 at Bright House Networks Stadium on Saturday.

Per the Orlando Sentinel: The veteran defense and special teams unit helped the Knights force a season-high five turnovers and limited SMU to just 116 total yards, a UCF opponent’s lowest output since 2009. Equally damaging, the Knights allowed the Mustangs just four first downs during a rain-drenched, three hour and 17 minute game before an announced attendance of 30, 920 fans. UCF’s defense has held its past two opponents to just 14 points and limited an opponent to less than 10 points three times this season. The Knights collected just 47 team tackles to SMU’s 97 because the UCF offense dominated the clock with 40 minutes of possession time to the Mustangs’ 19.

The Knights move on to preparations for what many fans consider to be the biggest game of the season–Saturday’s Noon matchup against rival USF (4-7; 3-4 AAC). USF has struggled all season and are coming off a 31-20 loss to Memphis, a team that currently shares the top-spot of the American Athletic Conference alongside UCF and Cincy. UCF vs. USF will take place at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida on ESPN2. There is currently a 0% chance of rain with a \ high of 70 degrees. Below, check-out video highlights of UCF’s 53-7 win over SMU courtesy of ESPN:

The UCF Knights (6-3; 4-1 AAC) took care of the Golden Hurricane of Tulsa (2-8; 2-4 AAC) handily Friday night 31-7 on a matchup that was broadcasted nationwide on ESPN2. The Knights started off slow, scoring just 3 points in the entire first quarter (after taking Tulsa to the red zone 3 times). But UCF turned on the heat for the rest of the game, holding Tulsa to just 7 total points. Quarterback Justin Holman was 6-of-27 passing for 291 yards, zero interceptions and three touchdown passes to J.J. Worton, Breshad Perriman and Josh Reese. Reese hauled in a 77-yard touchdown reception, the ninth longest in school history. Bright House Networks Stadium wasn’t quite as packed as usual with only 36,000 fans on hand to watch the game; the loss to UCONN two weeks ago took its toll on attendance. But the Knights should have a nice packed stadium when they play their final home game next Saturday against SMU. The Friday after that, the Knights travel to Raymond James Stadium to take on their rival USF, who has been struggling this season. The Knights now sit on-top of the American Athletic Conference along with Memphis (6-3; 4-1 AAC) and Cincinnati (6-3; 4-1 AAC).  Photo and excerpts courtesy Orlando Sentinel.