ORLANDO - The UCF football team, after having lost another starter to a season-ending injury last weekend in defensive tackle Kalia Davis, wasn't able to keep pace with the 3rd-ranked team in the nation Saturday, as Cincinnati won 56-21 in front of a crowd of 37,978 at Nippert Stadium.
The Bearcats (6-0, 2-0 AAC) defense forced UCF (3-3, 1-2 AAC) into a three-and-out on its first possession and took advantage of a short punt to take an early 7-0 lead on one of four rushing touchdowns by Jerome Ford.
Cincinnati didn't look back from there, sprinting out to a 35-0 lead, before the Knights got on the board late in the second quarter with a touchdown pass from Mikey Keene to Brandon Johnson.
UCF was only outscored 21-14 in the second half, getting rushing touchdowns from Isaiah Bowser and Mark-Antony Richards, but couldn't make up enough ground and fell to the 3rd-rated Bearcats 56-21 Saturday.
The Knights return to action next weekend, hosting Memphis Friday night in the annual #UCFinSpace game.
COACH MALZAHN
"Congratulations to Cincinnati on the win. They're as good as advertised, but we didn't play well. For us to have had a chance, we had to play really well. Offensively, in the first half, we didn't run the football and get anything going. Defensively, in the first half, I thought we did some solid things. We came out with a little bit of spark in the second half, but we've got to have big plays. They beat us handedly. We've got to take it like men. We're halfway through the season and we've got to get better."
SOUNDS OF THE GAME
UCF Knights · 2021 UCF Football at #3 Cincinnati – Highlights