The UCF Knights (4-3; 2-1 AAC) defeated the Huskies of UCONN (3-4; 1-3 AAC) 24-16 in-front of a national audience on ESPN News Network today after getting out of a 13-0 slump that saw the Knights scoreless in the first quarter. The win comes after last week’s heartbreaking 26-25 homecoming loss to the Temple Owls (5-3; 3-1 AAC), a team that soundly defeated the Bulls of USF last night. UCF struggled mightily against the Owls in the second half of last week’s game. UCF”s anemic offense didn’t put a single point on the board in the final 2 quarters; and with just :41 left on the clock and no time outs, Temple drove 70-yards to seal the game. But the Knights made adjustments today when UCONN decided to execute Temple’s game plan. Although they first succeeded, UCF’s offense started making gains, including a 91-yard touchdown drive that lasted less than 90 seconds and ended the first half with the Knights down 16-14. The defense also showed they could end the success UCONN had with the run during the first half by making adjustments to all but shut down UCONN’s running game in the second half. And an incredible third-and long pass kept UCF’s scoring drive alive in the first possession of the third quarter, allowing the Knights to score. UCF’s stout defense also stopped UCONN on the majority of their second half 3-1 and 4-1 situations, allowing UCF to run the clock and outscore the Huskies. UCF now moves on to #11 Houston (6-1; 2-1 AAC) next week in a game that sees the Knights playing their toughest opponent since their play in the Big House against Michigan in week 2. That game will be nationally televised on ESPNU with kickoff at Noon. Below are highlights from the game courtesy of the American Athletic Conference:
