UCF Routs Arizona to Remain Unbeaten in Annual Space GameUCF Routs Arizona to Remain Unbeaten in Annual Space Game

UCF Routs Arizona to Remain Unbeaten in Annual Space Game

by Alex Clough
Box Score

ORLANDO – There’s just something special about UCF’s annual Space Game.

Entering the game with an undefeated record in the previous seven such games and a 28.8-point average margin of victory, the Knights or the Citronauts, the team’s moniker in their Space Games, had their sights set on making it 8-0 all-time.

From the opening drive, UCF (4-5, 2-4 Big 12) dominated en route to a 56-12 win against Arizona (3-6, 1-5) on wet Saturday at FBC Mortgage Stadium, eerily similar to last year’s Space Game victory versus No. 15 Oklahoma State.

The 44-point margin of victory is the largest in a Big 12 Conference game this season.

UCF jumped out to a 28-0 lead and never looked back, as the Citronauts held the advantage in nearly every statistical category. The ‘Nauts scored touchdowns on eight of their 10 drives, including seven consecutive possessions to take control of the game.

“First of all, I’m extremely proud of our players. We went through an extremely tough stretch, but they hung in there. I’m also real proud of our coordinators. Coach [Tim] Harris did an unbelievable job today leading our offense. Coach Addison [Williams] did an unbelievable job leading our defense. It was just a completely different feel on the sidelines and our players really responded well to them. Overall, it was quality win and I’m proud of our team. A lot of smiling faces in the locker room, so that’s a great thing to see.”

Gus MalzahnUCF Football Head Coach

Making his first career start, quarterback Dylan Rizk was ready for his moment and wowed Knight Nation throughout the game. He threw for a career-high 294 yards on 20-of-25 passing with three touchdowns. Additionally, he made some plays with his legs to pick up 55 yards rushing, highlighted by a career-long 33-yard scamper.

“That’s his first start,” Malzahn added. “He looked like he had started a lot of games. I mean, he really handled the offense well.”

 

 

Running back RJ Harvey continued his stellar season, as he rushed for 184 yards on 22 carries with three touchdowns. The Orlando native moved into second place on the career rushing yards list with 3,416 to pass Alex Haynes (3,359). Harvey eclipsed 100 yards rushing for the 14th time in his career and now owns 1,201 for the season.

For the first time this season, tight end Randy Pittman Jr. caught a touchdown pass as he reeled in Rizk's last-second heave right before halftime, bringing in the hail mary pass to pad UCF's lead. He found the end zone for the second time on the day in fourth quarter to record his first career multi-touchdown game.

“I think you can see, when we can be balanced on offense, we’re a really good offense and I think we had almost 300 yards passing, 300 yards rushing. R.J. [Harvey] did his thing again. He’s one of the best running backs in college football and our o-line did a good job.”

UCF put together its most balanced performance of the season with 308 yards rushing and a season-high 294 passing yards. It was the third time UCF has rushed for 300 or more yards this season and second in a conference game.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Citronauts held the Wildcats to just 261 yards of total offense, headlined by only five rushing yards. That rushing mark was the fewest for an opponent since Florida A&M had four in 2019.

 

 

In Arizona’s first four offensive drives, UCF’s defense forced three punts and a fumble, allowing just 58 yards. Captain Ethan Barr led the defense with 10 tackles, including seven solo to go along with a tackle for loss. Ladarius Tennison had five stops, while defensive end Malachi Lawrence had a career-high two sacks.

Quarterback Jacurri Brown opened the scoring in the contest with a four-yard rushing TD to cap an 11-play, 80-yard drive for the Citronauts. Three plays later, UCF scored again after Quadric Bullard forced a fumble and Barr recovered it on the Arizona 17-yard line. Harvey took the snap right up the middle for his first score of the day to push the ‘Nauts lead to 14-0.

UCF’s most impressive drive of the game was a 12-play, 99-yard drive after as the home team solidified its stronghold on the game. Backed up near its own end zone, Rizk found wide receiver Kobe Hudson for 13 yards on the first play to give the offense space to operate. Harvey gashed the defense with an 18-yard rush and followed with an eight-yard run to move the ball to the 40-yard line.

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Ja’Varrius Johnson had a nice rush on the drive to get the Citronauts into Arizona territory. Jacoby Jones, who surpassed 100 yards receiving for the second consecutive game with 106, reeled in a pass to get the ball down to the 32-yard line and a few plays later Harvey found the end zone for the second time on the day to extend UCF’s advantage to 21-0.

After leading 35-6 at halftime, the ‘Nauts kept their foot on the gas in the second half to pull away with the dominant 56-12 victory.

UCF has now outscored opponents in the Space Game by a cumulative score of 405-159 with a 30.7 average margin of victory in its eight Space Games.

The Citronauts return to action next weekend when they travel to Tempe, Arizona, to take on the Arizona State Sun Devils. The kickoff time and television designation has not yet been determined.