Nov. 10, 2012
Recap | Final Stats | Photo Gallery
UCF Athletics Social Media Directory
By Brian Ormiston
UCFAthletics.com
UCF 31, UTEP 24
El Paso, Texas
Nov. 10, 2012
TEAM NOTES
-UCF won its sixth game in a row and improved to 8-2 on the year and 6-0 in Conference USA, while UTEP dropped to 2-8 and 1-5 in league play.
-Up next will be a trip to Tulsa, which leads the C-USA West Division with an 8-2 overall record and a 6-0 mark in league play.
-The UCF senior class now has a combined record of 32-17 (.653) from 2009-12 (three current Knights played in 2008), which is one win shy of tying the record by the 2010 class which went 33-20 (.623) from 2007-10. The best winning percentage by a class was set in 1990 when the Knights went 32-16 (.667) from 1987-90.
-The Knights had scored points in 12-straight quarters, but that was snapped when they were shutout in the third quarter.
-UCF had a punt blocked in the first half, marking the first time an opponent blocked a UCF punt since Miami on Oct. 11, 2008.
-At the end of the first half, UCF ran an 18-play, 88-yard drive, capped off by a 2-yard touchdown run on third down by Blake Bortles. It was the longest scoring drive in terms of plays since an 18-play drive at FIU Sept. 17, 2011.
-UCF led at halftime, 17-10. It has now led at the break in nine of 10 games this season.
-The Knights recovered three fumbles, and ended the game with a plus-three mark in turnover margin.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
-Captains for UCF were: senior running back Latavius Murray, senior center Jordan Rae and senior free safety Kemal Ishmael.
-Redshirt freshman Thomas Niles started his first game at defensive end (previous five starts were at defensive tackle).
-Senior safety Kemal Ishmael recorded 10 tackles, giving him 327 for his career. That moves him past Jason Venson (322 from 2005-08) for the most career tackles by a UCF defensive back. Ishmael also sits in sixth place on the UCF all-time list for tackles.
-Ishmael also intercepted his personal-best third pass of the year, which was the sixth interception of his career.
-Junior defensive tackle E.J. Dunston forced two fumbles, tying a UCF single-game record. It has now happened 11 times, including by Troy Davis vs. FIU earlier this season. Dunston and Davis both have three forced fumbles in 2012, which are tied for the eighth-most in single-season history.
-Sophomore safety Clayton Geathers forced a fumble in the second quarter, which was his second of the season.
-Senior running back Latavius Murray entered with a streak of 172-straight carries without a fumble. On Saturday, he extended that streak with 23 carries for 117 yards and a touchdown.
-Murray's streak of consecutive 100-yard rushing games reached four, which is tied for the fourth-longest streak in UCF history. It also was his eighth 100-yard rushing game of his career, tying for fifth-most in school history.
-With a 46-yarder that broke a 24-24 fourth-quarter tie, Murray now has 33 career rushing touchdowns, moving him closer to Willie English who sits in second on the all-time chart with 38. Murray has a rushing TD in five-straight games.
-Sophomore quarterback Blake Bortles went over 3,000 yards for his career and 2,000 on the season thanks to going 16-of-27 for 214 yards and a TD Saturday.
-On the ground, Bortles was the second-leading rusher on the night with 39 yards and a pair of rushing touchdowns. It was the second time this year he had two rushing scores in a game.
-Junior wideout Jeff Godfrey hauled in a career-long 46-yard pass in the first quarter, which resulted in a touchdown.
-Senior Jamie Boyle had a 64-yard punt in the second quarter, topping his previous-best punt by 10 yards.
-Sophomore Shawn Moffitt went three-straight games without a field-goal attempt. On Saturday, he went 1-for-2 with a 30-yarder prior to halftime.
-Redshirt senior Ray Shipman was everywhere Saturday night, registering a team-high and career-high 14 tackles. Ishmael and Jonathan Davis also joined in with 10 stops, while Lyle Dankenbring led the team with two tackles for loss.