Oct. 24, 2015
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ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) -- A 24-point burst in 3:17, spanning the end of the second and beginning of the third quarters, allowed nationally-ranked Houston to take control and remain unbeaten in a 59-10 victory over UCF at Bright House Networks Stadium Saturday.
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Houston grabbed an early 7-0 lead, returning a fumble 80 yards for a score on UCF's opening possession. The Knights scored the next 10 points and held a 10-7 advantage. Freshman wide receiver Tristan Payton came back to a Justin Holman pass, breaking away from his defender for a 44-yard touchdown pass to tie it at seven. Matt Wright added a 48-yard field goal at the 4:38 mark of the second quarter to make it 10-7.
"The game plan was to move the ball and get first downs and tackle well," UCF head coach George O'Leary said. "We did that in the first half. Actually, I think we out-gained them in the first half, yardage-wise. Basically contain the quarterback and keep him in the pocket, which we did for the most part in the first half."
On the next Houston drive, a pair of personal foul penalties helped lead to a Houston touchdown. UCF's ensuing possession resulted in an interception and the Cougars needed just 52 seconds to turn it into a Greg Ward, Jr. TD run. Another interception, returned to the UCF 16-yard line with three seconds left in the first half, resulted in a 34-yard Ty Cummings field goal. Just like that, a three-point UCF lead became a 14-point halftime deficit.
The second half opened with runs of 20, 29 and 30 for Houston's Kenneth Farrow. The last of those was for a score, putting the Cougars up 31-10 just 50 seconds into the second half. Houston added three more touchdowns in the third quarter and one in the fourth to account for the 49-point margin.
"I think the trend I see is that they don't sustain," O'Leary said. "I think some of it has to do with lack of strength and the youth. I think the other part is mental toughness. Bad things are going to happen and normally you just recoup and the older kids get that. But we don't have a lot of them. I think too many easy things occurred today."
Story by Andy Seeley. Photos by Brad Helton. Video by Chip Fontanazza.