UCF 61 (1-0) vs. FIU 17 (1-0)
Aug. 31, 2017 | Spectrum Stadium | Attendance: 38,060
Weather: Partly Cloudy | Temp: 92 degrees | Wind: 11 MPH from East/Southeast
General
- UCF captains: Taj McGowan, Rashard Causey, Mac Loudermilk, Michael Colubiale
- Coin Toss: FIU won the toss and deferred to the second half. UCF defended the north end zone.
- Thursday was the first game for the Knights at the newly named Spectrum Stadium.
- Scott Frost is 2-0 in season openers with UCF.
- The Knights have won 10 of the last 12 season openers and nine of the last 10 home openers.
- UCF improved its series record to 4-2 over FIU with a 2-1 mark in Orlando.
- The 18,756 students in attendance set a new record for Spectrum Stadium.
Team
- The Knights scored on their opening drive of the year, a six-play, 75-yard, drive that included two passes of 20 yards or more.
- The Knights tallied 40 points in the first half, out-gaining the Panthers 447 to 156 yards in the opening 30 minutes.
- The last time the Knights scored 50 points was against FIU in a 53-14 on Sept. 24, 2016.
- UCF scored 60 points for the first time since Oct. 26, 2013, in a 62-17 win over UCONN.
- The Knights last topped 500 yards of total offense was against FIU in 2016.
Offense
- Akins scored his fourth touchdown against FIU in the last three years.
- McKenzie Milton set a new career high with 360 yards passing and four touchdowns
- Milton started the game 8-of-8 with 167 yards and two touchdowns, through first 7:32 of game.
- Milton tallied the 24th most passing yards in a single game.
- Gabriel Davis hauled in his first career touchdown on a 10-yard pass from Milton with 11:44 in the second quarter.
- The freshmen receiving core of Davis, Otis Anderson and Emmanuel Logan-Greene combined for 10 catches for 106 yards and one touchdown.
- Defensive linemen Trysten Hill and Jamiyus Pittman set blocks for Taj McGowan's one-yard touchdown with 53 second remaining in the first half.
- Tre'Quan Smith notched his second career multi-touchdown game in his career.
- Three different running backs found the endzone for the Knights.
- Dredrick Snelson led the way with 98 yards receiving, a new career high.
Defense
- Pat Jasinski and Trysten Hill tackled Alex Gardner in the endzone for a safety. The last time the Knights recorded a safety was at ECU on Oct 1, 2016.
- FIU quarterback was under pressure all night long, holding Alex McGough to 9-for-17 and one interception in the opening half.
- FIU tallied 134 yards of rushing, but that included a 51-yard run by Napoleon Maxell late in the fourth. Take that out, the Knights held the Panthers to 3.3 yards per carry.
Special Teams
- Mac Loudermilk converted a two-point conversion in the first quarter to Jordan Franks to put UCF up 8-0.
- The Knights were 3-for-4 on two-point conversions in 2016.
- Loudermilk, in his first game as the starting punter dropped all three of his boots inside the 20.
- Matthew Wright was 1-2, with a 44-yard field goal, and four touchbacks.
- Mike Hughes returned his first punt as a Knight 43-yards, finishing his first game with the Black and Gold with three returns for 50 yards, including a 17-yard run on the kickoff.