Maybe it was the opponent: UCF now has beaten Memphis in 14 of their last 15 meetings dating back to 2005.
Maybe it was the venue: The Tigers have never defeated the Knights in Orlando (now 0-8 overall, 0-7 at the Bounce House) and UCF is now 27-2 on its home grass since the start of the 2017 campaign.
Maybe it was those once-a-year Space Game uniforms: Maybe only coincidentally UCF is 5-0 in those Space Games.
Maybe it was the near-100% return of running back Isaiah Bowser: Certainly his 111 rushing yards on 26 carries played a huge role in the Knights' ground domination (a 215-77 advantage in net rushing yards).
Maybe it was the explosion of the UCF defense: Six sacks, three interceptions, three fourth-down stops (plus eight passes broken up and three quarterback hurries) enabled the Knights to shut down a Memphis offense that had been averaging 487 yards an outing (10th in the country) and nearly 36 points per game.
Maybe it was the short week: UCF needed extra focus for this Friday night assignment coming off a one-sided loss at Cincinnati.
Maybe UCF coach Gus Malzahn had the right idea: Forget about the crazy Boise State comeback, the painful last-second losses in Louisville and Annapolis, the long list of injuries to key players, even the lightning delays.
Malzahn painted a picture of the second-half-of-the-season opportunity.
His Knights (4-3, 2-2 AAC) made good on their promise to put all the rest behind them in a promising 24-7 victory over Memphis (4-4, 1-3 AAC) Friday night at the Bounce House.
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"I want to see you have some fun tonight," UCF offensive line coach Herb Hand said in a challenge to his linemen.
"You're straining, but that's where the fun is. Let's fly around and have some darned fun."
Malzahn said, "This is the start of our second season.
"Everybody's ready to go. Remember, all we've gotta do is be us.
"Take care of ourselves, play a clean game, play the next play and let's flat get after these guys."
UCF scored twice in the first period—and that assuredly set the tone.
The Knights drove 68 yards after the opening kickoff—with quarterback Mikey Keene completing all three of his passes (the last to Brandon Johnson for 11 yards and a touchdown) on UCF's longest TD drive of 2021 (4:40).
Then, when Tiger all-star receiver Calvin Austin III muffed a punt return, UCF took over on the Memphis 27.
Joey Gatewood's flip (his first TD pass since he wore an Auburn unform versus Arkansas in 2019) to speedster Ryan O'Keefe good for 13 yards made it 14-0.
While Bowser was not yet completely healthy for his 13-carry, 27-yard rushing outing a week ago at Cincinnati, he wasted little time showing how far he had come with 44 rushing yards in the opening period.
The home team punted three straight times in the second period—then missed a field goal (Daniel Obarski's only misfire so far in 2021) with nine second left until halftime after a bizarre substitution situation cost UCF a delay-of-game penalty.
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Offered Malzahn at intermission, "We gotta convert third downs (one of five in the first 30 minutes) and we'll win this game.
"We're at home, we're up 14-7, we're doing a great job on defense and, offense, we're really close to busting this thing open.
"Let's go do this thing in the third quarter—and it's gonna be a lot of fun."
UCF made it a two-score advantage midway through the third period—almost exclusively thanks to Bowser. The transfer from Northwestern carried the ball on the first five plays of the possession (after one of those fourth-down stop by the Knights) for a combined 35 yards.
O'Keefe did the rest on a nifty 31-yard scoot on an end-around play (the first rushing score of his career).
That made it 21-7 and forced Memphis quarterback Peter Parrish (making his first start in place of injured Seth Henigan) to take matters into his own hands.
Obarski added a field goal from 24 on the third play of the final period—and that allowed the UCF defense to tee off on Parrish the rest of the way.
Parrish threw for 110 yards (13 of 19 passing) in the final 15 minutes and almost personally accounted for 10 Memphis first downs in the last period—but he and his Tigers paid a heavy price.
First Davonte Brown, then Divaad Wilson (in the end zone after Memphis had reached the UCF 13) and finally Dyllon Lester (also in the end zone on a ball deflected by Corey Thornton) recorded interceptions within a 9:10 span.
The Knights had not recorded three picks in a single game since 2018 (Florida Atlantic). Brown's marked the first of his career, while Wilson's qualified as his first since wearing a Georgia uniform and intercepting a Notre Dame pass in 219.
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"That was a real defense, with a capital R," said Malzahn with a smile after it was over.
"That was an unbelievable job by the defense, harassing that quarterback. That was a thing of beauty we're going to build on.
"Offense, good job with explosive plays. And that's the way to end a game.
"Special teams? What did we say? 'Do your job.'
"I'm real happy for you guys.
"The second half of the season we're 1-0. Very few teams get better the second half of the season, but we showed we will.
"I'm real proud of you."
Bowser finished with 111 yards (his sixth career 100-yard game), while O'Keefe again exhibited his big-play abilities in scoring twice.
Somewhat lost in the translation was how well the UCF defense shut down Austin, whose seven catches (on 14 targets) for 44 yards had little impact.
Parrish threw for 215 yards and ran for 60 and created four first downs on third-down runs—but the scoreboard told the real story.
Malzahn's players after the game presented their head coach with his own Space Game jersey with the number 1 on it and his name on the back.
While the Knights roared, the UCF head coach struggled a bit to pull it over his head and stretch it out.
No matter.
His Knights are 1-0 in the second half. For one night, that's all that counted.
