ORLANDO (UCFKnights.com) – The No. 21/22 UCF football team dominated in every aspect of the game, defeating visiting ECU by a score of 63-21 Saturday night at Spectrum Stadium. The Knights improved to 5-0 for the first time since 1988 and the first time ever in their Division I era.
Here's Why We Won
Our top ranked offense backed it up
We came into the weekend with the top ranked scoring offense in the nation, averaging 47.5 points per game. On Saturday, we backed that up and then some with 63 points in the win over the Pirates.
- We averaged nearly 10 yards per play in the first half en route to a 42-14 lead at the break.
- We totaled over 600 yards for the second time this season and had over 500 yards of offense for the third straight game, the first time achieving that feat since 1998.
- It was the second game in a row scoring 50 or more points, the first time doing so since 1997.
- The 63 points were our most since scoring 63 against Liberty in 2001.
Our pass defense stepped up
ECU came in averaging 307.7 passing yards per game and we held them to just 160 through the air. Their starting quarterback, Thomas Sirk, went just 9-of-21 for 91 yards with an interception.
We totaled one sack, four tackles-for-loss, seven pass break-ups and one interception. Tre Neal took his second pick of the season back 50 yards for a touchdown.
Money Milton was dominant…again
McKenzie Milton dominated yet again as our signal caller. After being added to both the Manning Award and Maxwell Award watch lists, the sophomore quarterback went 21-of-27 for 324 yards with two touchdowns through the air and one on the ground.
- It marked KZ's third 300-yard game of the season, after only eclipsing 300 yards in one game as a freshman.
- He has now thrown multiple touchdowns four times in 2017.
We scored in all three phases of the game
Yes, we had seven offensive touchdowns from seven different players. That's awesome. But we also added a defensive score in Neal's pick-six and a special teams touchdown when Mike Hughes took a punt return to the house in the third quarter. It was our first punt return for a TD since Joe Burnett in 2007.
"It's definitely something I'm thinking about. Special teams is a game changer. A lot of people don't realize it, but it can change the game around. That's what I want to do so I like being back." – Mike Hughes
Other offensive touchdown scorers
- Greg McCrae
- Adrian Killins
- Taj McGowan
- Noah Vedral
- McKenzie Milton
- Jordan Akins
- Jamiyus Pittman
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