Sept. 11, 2004
ORLANDO - Senior tailback Alex Haynes moved into second place in career rushing at UCF with 137 yards vs. No. 10 West Virginia as the Golden Knights lost 45-20 to the Mountaineers Saturday night at the Florida Citrus Bowl. With the victory, West Virginia improved to 2-0 on the year while UCF dropped to 0-2.
Haynes rushed for his 12th career 100-yard rushing game vs. the Mountaineers. Haynes also moved into a tie for fourth place in career touchdowns at UCF (24) with Daunte Culpepper and Bret Cooper.
The game featured 460 yards of total offense by the Mountaineers, including a 14-of-18 passing night for 225 yards and four touchdowns by senior quarterback Rasheed Marshall.
West Virginia jumped out to an early 14-0 lead in the first quarter. Marshall hit Chris Henry on a six-yard touchdown pass and Marshall later scampered 17 yards for WVU's second touchdown of the contest.
The Mountaineers controlled the first period of play, totaling 161 yards of offense to UCF's 48.
UCF closed the gap to 14-7 with 12:50 remaining in the second quarter when junior quarterback Brandon Sumner hit Tavaris Capers on a 14-yard touchdown pass. The touchdown was the first of Sumner's career in his first career start. The first touchdown of the season for the Golden Knights came after an 80-yard drive.
The Mountaineers answered right back with another scoring strike from Marshall to Henry from 20 yards out. West Virginia used four plays covering 74 yards in 1:39 for the touchdown.
WVU scored its fourth touchdown of the game with 3:26 remaining before halftime when sophomore running back Jason Colson scored from one-yard out to give the Mountaineers a 28-7 lead.
Matt Prater booted his eighth straight field goal with less than 30 seconds remaining in the first half to cut the deficit to 28-10 at the half.
UCF recovered a fumble by Colson to start the second half and used two runs by Alex Haynes to close the lead to 28-17. Haynes scored on a 21-yard touchdown run, to give the Orlando native his 12th career 100-yard rushing game.
West Virginia again fired right back as Marshall hit Brandon Myles on a 57-yard touchdown pass to extend the Mountaineer lead to 35-17. On the touchdown play, UCF linebacker James Cook deflected the screen pass, but Myles made the adjustment and went the distance.
The offensive shootout continued with Prater's second field goal of the night, this time from 39 yards out, to slice the lead to 35-20. The field goal was the ninth consecutive made field goal for the Estero native.
Marshall's great performance continued with his fourth touchdown pass of the night, an 11-yard touchdown pass to Bryan Wright, to give the Mountaineers a 42-20 lead.
The Mountaineers added a 54-yard field by Brad Cooper with 11:18 remaining in the fourth quarter to extend their advantage to 45-20.
True freshman quarterback Kyle Israel entered the game in the fourth quarter and finished 4-for-4 passing for 44 yards in his collegiate debut. The Orlando native also rushed for 23 yards on six carries.
Sumner ended the game 9-for-21 for 86 yards and a touchdown.
UCF returns to action Saturday at Penn State. Kickoff is set for 12:10 p.m. from University Park, Pa. The UCF ISP Sports Network's coverage begins at 10 a.m. with the pregame show.