Oct. 5, 2012
Recap | Final Stats | Quotes | Photo Gallery
="" alt="Twitter Logo" border="0" class="imported"> ="" alt="Facebook Logo" border="0" class="imported"> UCF Athletics Social Media Directory
By Brian Ormiston
UCFAthletics.com
| UCF vs. East Carolina Oct. 4, 2012 |
| From Bright House Networks Stadium | |||||
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final |
| ECU | 14 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 20 |
| UCF | 7 | 13 | 10 | 10 | 40 |
Knights for Pink
At Thursday night's football game, the only color UCF fans were more proud to don than black and gold was pink. October is National Breast Cancer Awareness month, so it was only fitting that the first football game of the month - UCF's conference opener against ECU - was dubbed the Knights for Pink game.
Working alongside game sponsor Florida Hospital and the Susan G. Komen Foundation, UCF aimed to bring awareness and educate the student body and local community about the second most common form of cancer among women.
Students were encouraged to wear pink to the game, post on social media with the #beatbreastcancer, and 10,000 pink cheer cards were given out at the gates.
Representatives from Florida Hospital's Pink Army had a strong display at IOA Plaza for fans to visit. As part of the Florida Hospital Breast Cancer Care Fund, the Pink Army is responsible for taking care of under-served women in the Central Florida community by allowing them access to medical care and mammograms. To date, they have served more than 500 women and saved 21 lives.
Also in attendance were representatives from Susan G. Komen for the Cure. The organization brings the biggest fundraiser in the region in its Race for the Cure to the UCF campus every year. At the football game, they encouraged Knights to donate their time and money to the fight against breast cancer.
"Being at UCF really allows us to educate the younger generation what to look for," said Natalie Phillips, events manager for Susan G. Komen. "Education is our number one goal."
The support for breast cancer awareness didn't stop as the game clock began. UCF's spirit team used special pink pompoms and wore pink UCF hats on the sidelines. Perhaps the most touching moment of the game came during halftime, as the Marching Knights formed a breast cancer ribbon on the field and were joined by very special guests: hundreds of Central Florida cancer survivors.
Breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer in the world today, with about 1.3 million people diagnosed annually. At this time, there is no cure. But, there is hope.
By: Hannah Sedigh
TEAM NOTES
-Thursday's game was "KNIGHTS for PINK" as UCF worked with Komen Central Florida to help spread awareness and support for breast cancer research.
-Edgar Mitchell, the sixth man to walk on the moon, presented a $10,000 check to UCF honors student Chris Frye as part of the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation during the game Thursday.
-With the win over ECU (3-3, 2-1), UCF improved to 3-2 on the year and 1-0 in Conference USA. The Knights' record in C-USA openers jumped to 5-3.
-ECU's lead in the series was trimmed to 9-3, as the 20-point victory was UCF's largest in the series.
-UCF entered the evening by receiving the kickoff in 13-straight games, but the streak ended when ECU won the toss and elected to receive.
-It was the 99th win for UCF as a member of the FBS (first joined the FBS in 1996).
-The Knights trailed 14-0 in the first quarter and came back to win. It was the first time since Nov. 14, 2009, vs. Houston that they came back from at least a 10-point deficit (trailed UH 17-3) and notch a victory.
-After punting on its first possession, UCF went on to score four touchdowns and four field goals on its next eight possessions.
-The offensive line did not give up a sack all night, which was the first time that happened since Nov. 3, 2011, against Tulsa.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
-Captains for UCF were: senior H-back Brendan Kelly and senior defensive end Cam Henderson.
-Senior safety Kemal Ishmael entered UCF's all-time top 10 for tackles by completing Thursday with nine tackles. For his career, the Miami native has 286 tackles to rank 10th as a Knight.
-Sophomore Shawn Moffitt connected on a career-high four field goals in a 4-for-4 performance, highlighted by a career-long 49-yarder in the fourth quarter. For the season, Moffitt is now 7-for-7 in field goals.
-Senior Quincy McDuffie ran back a 99-yarder to the house in the first quarter to tie Todd Cleveland for UCF's all-time record with four kickoff returns for a touchdown in his career.
-McDuffie's score was the 16th kickoff return for a touchdown in UCF history (since 1979). Six of those touchdowns went for 99 or 100 yards. Meanwhile, it was UCF's first kickoff return for a touchdown since Latavius Murray's 69-yard effort at Southern Miss Nov. 12, 2011.
-Sophomore cornerback Brandon Alexander picked off his first-career pass with an interception in the second quarter.
-Sophomore quarterback Blake Bortles was 15-for-21 with a personal-best 269 yards. He also had a career-long 33-yard rush in the second quarter (his previous long was 15 ), and finished with a career-high 62 rushing yards as well as his second-career rushing touchdown. He led all players in rushing Thursday.
-Bortles had 958 passing yards in 10 games as a freshman last year, and already has 1,204 this season in five games.
-Bortles found McDuffie on a 64-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter. It was Bortles' longest pass completion of his career, while it was McDuffie's longest reception ever in a Black and Gold uniform.
-With a receiving and kick return for a touchdown, it was McDuffie's third-career game in which he accounted for two touchdowns.
-Redshirt freshman Thomas Niles completed the night with seven tackles and amassed three quarterback hurries.
-Senior linebacker Jonathan Davis and redshirt freshman Deion Green each picked up a sack.
-Junior wide receiver Jeff Godfrey ended the evening with career-highs in catches (5) and yards (49). -Senior running back Latavius Murray saw action for the first time since the opener at Akron. He had 30 yards on nine carries and 31 yards on a pair of receptions.