Vs. South Carolina (09-03) - Images by UCF KnightsORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – The new era of UCF football began with a bang on Saturday night in Bright House Networks Stadium. And we're talking about more than just the pyrotechnics the Knights implemented to the game presentation for the first time ever at the Bounce House.
The UCF defense -- led by the Griffin twins – Shaquill and Shaquem, recorded a shutout and tallied three takeaways. The offense -- paced by Justin Holman's three total touchdowns -- took a while to get their own fireworks going. But UCF's 91 offensive plays eventually ended up in a 38-0 victory over South Carolina State.
"I thought we played well, but we can play a lot better," Frost said. "Particularly the first half offensively, we missed a lot of opportunities, but we played better in the second half. At times we looked good and other times we shot ourselves in the foot. We have to keep getting better but that is a huge first start, getting that monkey off our back to get this win, so I'm really excited."
Placekicker Matthew Wright provided most of the offense – and all of the points for UCF in the first 20 minutes of action. He booted field goals of 46, 34 and 45 yards to put the Knights on top 9-0 after one quarter. His fourth field goal at the 10:07 mark of the second quarter tied a school record for most in a game and put UCF up 12-0.
While the defense continued to shut down South Carolina State, the offense finally started clicking late in the second quarter. Shaquem Griffin's strip sack and recovery by Jamiyus Pittman gave UCF the ball back with 4:34 remaining in the half. Consecutive Bulldog penalties pushed UCF deep into SCSU territory and Holman finished the drive with a 10-yard touchdown scamper.
The Knights put three touchdowns on the board in a span of 5:37 in the second half. Dontravious Wilson finished an 11-play, 77-yard march with a 1-yard plunge. Holman connected with Tre'Quan Smith on a 37-yard strike late in the third and hit Tristan Payton with a 5-yard toss early in the fourth quarter to finish the scoring.
UCFast
- The UCF offense stayed busy, running 91 plays for 462 yards. In 2015, the Knights averaged 65 plays per game. It was the most offensive plays by a Knight squad since Nov. 16, 1992 vs. Kent State.
- Holman heated up in the second half, going 8-11 for 165 yards and two touchdowns.
- The Knights rolled up 462 yards of offense, their biggest output since putting up 490 against SMU on Nov. 22, 2014.
- While Holman passed for 193 yards, he accounted for 217 yards through the air. His first career reception on a reverse pass from Smith went for 24 yards.
UCFierce
- The UCF defense recorded its first shutout since Nov. 28, 2014 when the Black and Gold blanked USF in Tampa.
- The Knight defenders got stronger as the night rolled on, allowing just 15 of South Carolina State's 223 yards in the fourth quarter.
- Shaquem Griffin tallied his first career sack in his first career start. He ended up with a team-high six tackles, a forced fumble, a pass breakup and a quarterback hurry.
- Twin brother Shaquill Griffin recorded a highlight-reel interception off a ball he tipped. He also broke up a pass in the secondary.
The Wright Stuff
- Wright became one of nine UCF kickers to make four field goals in a game. The last was Shawn Moffitt on Dec. 4, 2014 at East Carolina.
- He was also 2-of-2 on point-after touchdown attempts.