ORLANDO - The UCF football team scored 14 points in the first quarter and had its best defensive performance in nearly two years to defeat visiting Memphis 24-7 Friday night at the Bounce House.
The Knights (4-3, 2-2 AAC) remained perfect at home, at 4-0, and stayed undefeated in the annual Space Game, winning for the fifth time since starting the out-of-this-world tradition during the 2017 season.
UCF scored on its first possession for the fourth time in seven games, as Mikey Keene found Brandon Johnson in the end zone for an 11-yard score, and then took a two-touchdown lead when Joey Gatewood hit Ryan O'Keefe with a shovel pass that went 13 yards for the score late in the first quarter.
Memphis (4-4, 1-3 AAC), which like UCF was playing without its starting quarterback, cut into the lead before halftime with a nine-yard touchdown run by Brandon Thomas.
O'Keefe scored on the ground in the third quarter to make it 21-7, scampering in from 31 yards out, and kicker Daniel Obarski added three to the lead with a 24-yard field goal in the fourth quarter to virtually put the game away.
IMPRESSIVE DEFENSE
- The seven points for Memphis marked the least amount of points for a UCF opponent since South Florida scored just seven points against the Knights Nov. 29, 2019.
- UCF forced four turnovers, which were the most this season and most since forcing four against ECU Sept. 26, 2020.
- It was also the first time UCF has had three interceptions in a game since doing so Sept. 21, 2018 against Florida Atlantic.
- The Knights' six sacks were the most they have had since Jan. 1, 2018 against Auburn in the 2018 Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.
COACH MALZAHN
"I'm really proud of our team. It was a hard-fought win against a good Memphis team. Our crowd was phenomenal, and our players really fed off our crowd. It was an unbelievable home field advantage."
BIG KAT BRYANT
"We are getting better as a team. We know what we can and cannot do. The lows made us stronger, and we can build off of it. It's a big confidence booster."
SOUNDS OF THE GAME