PHILADELPHIA – Unlike the previous two outings away from home, the UCF football team went on the road and left with a win on Saturday, defeating Temple 63-21 at Lincoln Financial Field to improve to 6-2 overall and 3-1 in American Athletic Conference play.
"I'm most proud of the way the guys continue to compete for 60 minutes," UCF head coach Josh Heupel said after the game. "We came out and had a dominating third quarter. Defensively, the turnovers were critical. Offensively, it was great to see us get some explosive runs going."
Leading just 28-21 at halftime, the Knights dominated the final 30 minutes, outscoring the Owls 35-0 in the final two periods.
In fact, UCF held Temple to less than 20 total yards in the second half and recorded two interceptions to keep the Owls off the board.
Aaron Robinson was responsible for both picks, his second and third interceptions of the season. The team as a whole recorded four sacks, one off of the season high, and seven tackles for loss.
The 63 points marked the most for UCF this season, thanks to another season high of 385 rushing yards.
That was done without leading rusher Greg McCrae for the entire game and second-leading rusher Adrian Killins Jr. for most of the game after suffering an injury in the first half.
Otis Anderson and Bentavious Thompson stepped up and then some. Anderson rushed for a career high 205 yards and a score. It marked the first 200-yard game for a Knight since McCrae ran for 206 in the American Athletic Conference Championship last season.
Thompson, meanwhile, scored twice and nearly had a season high in yardage, finishing with 87 yards on 10 carries.
Killins and Darriel Mack Jr. also ran for touchdowns in the win.
Dillon Gabriel did his just under center as well. The freshman threw three touchdowns and had 218 yards passing with no interceptions. It marked the fourth time this season he has thrown for three or more touchdowns.
Mack also threw for a touchdown as four different Knights caught touchdown receptions in the win. Surprisingly, none were leading receiver Gabriel Davis. Davis finished with three catches for 83 yards.
Marlon Williams, Tre Nixon, Jake Hescock and Jonathon MacCollister all caught touchdowns, the latter on his first career reception.
UCF finished with 614 yards of total offense, eclipsing the 600-yard mark for the second straight game, while Temple only gained 266 yards in the game, the second best defensive performance by the Knights, trailing only the shutout of Florida A&M.
The Knights improved to 6-2 on the season, making it the fourth straight season that the team has earned six or more wins. UCF is also 3-1 in league play heading into next week's matchup with Houston.
The Knights will return to action on Saturday, Nov. 2 for the #UCFinSpace game at Spectrum Stadium. The 12 p.m. contest will air on ESPN2 and FM 96.9 The Game.
