ORLANDO (UCFKnights.com) – The No. 12/14 UCF football continued its dominant season on Saturday, going on the road and winning 45-19 against Temple. The Knights improved to 10-0, setting a new program record for consecutive wins.
Here's Why We Won
We forced a season high five turnovers
We had four different players record interceptions in the win. Nevelle Clarke and Pat Jasinski both grabbed their first career pick, Shaquem Griffin tallied the second of his career and his first of the season, and Kyle Gibson snatched his team-leading fourth interception of the season.
With 16 interceptions on the season, we rank sixth in the nation. In total turnovers we are fifth with 25, and we now lead all teams in FBS with a 1.60 turnover margin.
Gibson's four interceptions on the season rank 10th in the nation, and the safety has also added two fumble recoveries in 2017.
Griffin added a forced fumble to the scorebook this week, jarring the ball loose for Titus Davis to pick-up the recovery in the second quarter. It was the fourth forced fumble of Griffin's career and the first career recovery for Davis.
We turned those turnovers into points
Our offense turned in a season low of just 384 total yards, but that was because the defense kept giving them such great field position. The defense forced three second quarter turnovers all inside the Temple 25-yard line.
The offense then turned around and put 17 points on the board, following the three turnovers. McKenzie Milton found Otis Anderson and Gabriel Davis for touchdowns and Matthew Wright nailed a 44-yard field goal during the stretch.
"I was worried a little bit in the first quarter when our offense sputtered on the first drive. I looked up with four minutes on the clock, and we had only touched the ball once. I've been in those games before when teams play keep away. That's where turnovers come in. I haven't seen stats yet, but I can't imagine that we had very many yards. The defense kept giving it to us deep in their territory, and the offense did a good job of finishing it off. Turnovers are the biggest stat in football and that played out today." – Scott Frost
Milton was as efficient as ever
Our quarterback did what he's done all season long…dominated. McKenzie Milton went 16-of-23 for 208 yards and four touchdowns through the air on Saturday. KZ also added 23 yards and a score on the ground in the victory.
For the season, Milton has thrown for 2,928 yards and 26 touchdowns with just five interceptions. The sophomore, who was named a semifinalist for multiple national player of the year awards the last few weeks, ranks second in the nation in both passing efficiency and completion percentage.
We continued to spread the wealth
Six different guys found the end zone in the win on Saturday
- Otis Anderson: 9-yard touchdown reception
- Gabriel Davis: 5-yard touchdown reception
- McKenzie Milton: 4-yard touchdown run
- Tre'Quan Smith: 22-yard touchdown reception
- Dredrick Snelson: 2-yard touchdown run
- Marlon Williams: 8-yard touchdown reception
"We talked about it last night. We don't normally talk about big picture things. We talked about how hard it was to get to 10-0. Not very many people do it. Just a handful teams have a chance to do it. It's hard to win that many in a row. What these guys have done this year is really amazing." – Scott Frost
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