--- Still unbeaten to start the season after our dominating win over Vanderbilt, it was time to crack open the seal on the 2019 conference schedule, as Central Florida came to town. UCF, on the surface, didn’t look like it could be considered much of a threat, but the Golden Knights were putting up good yards through the air to rank in the top 30 in the nation, that would certainly be some cause for concern with our defense. We won the coin toss and elected to kick.
A 23 yard return on the opening kickoff got UCF lined up at their 24 yard line to start the game. It turned out to be the poorest start to a game that a team could have. Will Davis took the ball on first down, tackled in the backfield for a two yard loss. Davis tried again on second down, and was tackled for a four yard loss this time, leaving UCF facing third and 16. Then the bottom fell out as the third down pass by Marcus Farris was intercepted by cornerback Jonathan Chambers at the UCF 42 yard line.
Taking over after the interception, the waterfall would continue for the Golden Knights, as Will Oliver took the first down handoff up the middle, finding the hole, spinning out of a tackle attempt by the middle linebacker, and thanks to a block on the safety, was able to cut outside and race into the end zone for a 42 yard touchdown, giving us a 7-0 lead with 8:09 left in the first quarter.
A 20 yard kickoff return left UCF starting from their 19 yard line this time around. It was another poor start as Davis was again tackled for a two yard loss, but he would recover that with a two yard rush to leave third and 10. The Golden Knights would get a first down this time, as Farris connected with Glenn Flowers for 11 yards, moving the chains to the 30 yard line. Davis started to find his rhythm after that, breaking off a pair of 7 yard rushes to move to the 45 yard line. Two more rushes by Davis gained three and two yards to set up third and 5. Central Florida made its biggest strike of the game thus far, as Farris threw deep to Mike Williams for 26 yards and a first down at our 24. Another pass by Farris, this time to Cameron Swanson went for 8 yards, before Davis was tackled for a two yard loss to leave third and four. Davis would get the job done on third down, picking up 7 yards on the ground to set up first down at our 12 yard line. That would be all the closer the Golden Knights would get, as three straight incomplete passes from Farris left the field goal unit coming out. The 29 yard field goal by Melvin Peterson was good, cutting our lead down to 7-3 with 5:06 left in the quarter.
A touchback on the kickoff gave us possession at our 25 yard line to start our next drive. This time around Oliver was unable to break free, quickly piled up on for only a three yard gain. Another rush by Oliver, this time for 7 yards left us just shy of the marker, facing third and inches. Eric Silva would just manage to get across the line on the third down play, picking up one yard on the carry to move the chains at the 36. With Central Florida stacking the box to the right, all it took was a simple cutback to the left side of the line by Oliver for him to punch through a hole and into the secondary for a 12 yard gain, moving us out to our 47. A 5 yard rush by Oliver was followed with a four yard gain to leave third and one. We got bad news after the play as Oliver needed helped off the field, diagnosed with a strained back, leaving him riding the bench for the remainder of the game. Taking over on third down for the injured Oliver, Silva was just barely able to get two yards on the play, enough to move the chains at the UCF 42. Looking to keep the defense cheating, we came out with play action pass, Joe Vaughn diving for the off-target pass from Brad Stephens, catching it for a 19 yard gain and a first down at the 23. Returning to the ground, Silva was able to pick up 5 yards on the first down carry. Going back to the air on second and 5, our drive would come to a crash as the pass over the middle intended for Eric Hayden was intercepted by middle linebacker Ashley Dean, returned 6 yards to the 17 yard line before he was tackled by Stephens.
Taking over at their 17 yard line after the interception, Davis tried to rush the ball on first down, but again the defense won, tackling him for a loss of three yards. Davis would manage to recover those lost yards with a three yard rush to leave UCF facing third and 10. That would be the final play as the clock hit zero, bringing the first quarter to an end, our lead only 7-3.
Opening up the second quarter, UCF saw their drive come to an uneventful end, as the third down pass from Farris was incomplete, bringing out the punt team. A fair catch by Hayden on the 41 yard punt got us set up at our 41 yard line.
Fighting his way through the middle of a mass of bodies, Silva was able to somehow weasel his way to a 7 yard gain on the play, followed by a three yard run to set up third and inches at the UCF 49. Despite sending the blitz, the Golden Knights weren’t able to contain Silva on third down, as he picked up 5 yards and the first down at the 44 yard line. Continuing with the running attack, Silva managed to pick up 7 yards, followed by a three yard rush to move the chains to the 34. Looking to catch the defense sleeping, Stephens dropped back to pass on first down, slinging a pass over the middle to Ryan Lewis, who caught it around the 15 yard line and turned up the middle of the field, racing the safety all the way into the end zone for a 34 yard touchdown and a 14-3 lead with 5:54 left in the second quarter.
UCF got lined up at their 19 yard line after the following kickoff. This time the Golden Knights came out firing, as Farris connected with Flowers for a 12 yard gain and an immediate first down at the 41. A four yard rush by Davis was followed with a 5 yard pass to Williams, leaving third and one. Davis would get the job done, rushing for four yards to move the sticks to the 44 yard line. After an incomplete pass on first down, our defense decided to help out, flagged for a 5 yards facemask penalty at the end of a 7 yard run, giving UCF a first down at our 44 yard line. Going back to the air, Sean Payne dropped the first down pass from Farris, but recovered the next play, catching the ball for a 12 yard reception and another first down, down to our 31. A pair of rushes by Davis went for gains of two yards and 11 yards, keeping the sticks moving to our 19. A 12 yard pass to Payne got UCF clear down to our 7 yard line, set up with first and goal. The Golden Knights would find the end zone on the next play, Farris connecting with Swanson for a 7 yard touchdown, cutting our lead to 14-10 with 3:38 left until halftime.
A touchback on the kickoff got us started at our 25 yard line. Coming out firing on first down, the pass intended for Hayden was off-target, falling incomplete. Vaughn would get us moving on second down, hauling in the pass from Stephens for a 16 yard gain and a first down at the 41 yard line. Throwing up a prayer down the right sideline, Hayden was able to get separation from his man hauled in the pass from Stephens around the UCF 30 yard line, racing towards the end zone before being tripped up at the 5 yard line, a 54 yard gain in total, setting up first and goal. Handing off the ball on first down, Silva was stood up for no gain, leaving second and goal. Taking another shot on the ground, we would only go backwards as Silva was swarmed in the backfield for a one yard loss, leaving third and goal from the 6. Coming out in shotgun on third down, Stephens got the pass off to Robert Harper, good for a 5 yard gain, but not enough as we faced fourth and goal from the one. While we would be very tempted to go for it just one yard out, with only a four point lead, we elected to play it safe and attempt the field goal, the 18 yard kick by Derek Glover good, extending our lead to 17-10 with 31 seconds left before halftime.
A touchback on the kickoff got UCF in action from their 25 yard line, just 24 seconds left. The Golden Knights decided to just cut their losses and head for the locker room, as Maurice Maynard rushed for a four yard gain, running out the clock and taking us into halftime with a 17-10 lead.
Opening up the second half, Jason Johnson returned the kickoff 24 yards, getting us set up at our 23 yard line to begin the third quarter. Silva took the ball on first down, rushing his way to a 5 yard gain, followed by a 7 yard gain to pick up the first down at the 35. Continuing with the ground attack, Silva was able to break through the line of scrimmage on his way to a gain of 6 yards. Passing on second down, Carl Barnes was able to haul down the pass from Stephens over the head of the outside linebacker, good for a 17 yard gain and a first down at the UCF 42. Returning to the ground, Silva could only manage three yards on the first down carry. Another rush by Silva picked up 7 yards, moving the chains at the 32. Dropping back on first down, the pass intended for Hayden was intercepted by cornerback Joe Jacobs, who was instantly tackled at the UCF 20 yard line.
Taking over after the interception, the drive got off to a poor start for UCF, as our defense won round by sacking Farris for an 11 yard loss, leaving second and 21 from the 9. Farris was able to make up some of the lost yards with a 7 yard pass to Payne, but the 16 yard line would be as far as they would go, a dropped pass by Williams leaving the punt team coming out on fourth and 14. A fair catch by Hayden on the 45 yard punt got us back in action from our 38 yard line.
Picking right back up on the ground, Silva rushed for a 6 yard gain on first down, followed by a two yard run to leave third and two. Lining up on third down, a quick pass to Vaughn was broken up by the cornerback, leaving our punt team coming out as our offense ran into a brick wall. No return on the 48 yard punt left UCF buried deep at their 6 yard line.
UCF immediately found themselves in a very precarious position, as Williams was tackled for a four yard loss, leaving the Golden Knights facing second and 14 from the two yard line, but Davis would avert disaster, rushing for 6 yards to leave third and 8 from the 8. That was when a disaster of our own occurred, Josh Hicks blowing up our defense down the right sideline, hauling in a pass from Farris and racing down the sideline for a 92 yard touchdown, tying the game up 17-17 with 2:20 left in the third quarter.
A 17 yard kickoff return by Johnson gave us the ball at our 23 yard line as we tried to reclaim the lead. Coming out passing on first down, the disaster would only grow, as the pass from Stephens intended for Vaughn was intercepted by outside linebacker Bobby Boyd, returned 6 yards to our 27 yard line. With a newfound swagger, Farris threw up a pass on first down to Flowers for a 13 yard gain and a first down at our 14 yard line, the Golden Knights smelling blood. A four yard rush by Davis was followed with a 5 yard rush by Farris, leaving third and one from the 5 yard line. Central Florida would take the lead for the first time today as Farris connected with Flowers for a 5 yard touchdown, giving UCF a 24-17 lead with 1:21 left in the third quarter.
A 19 yard kickoff return by Johnson left us starting at our 20 yard line, looking for anyway to dam the river that was currently drowning us. That dam would be nonexistent as the defense blew through on first down and sacked Stephens for an 8 yard loss. We would end up going even further backwards, as Silva was stuffed for a 6 yard loss on second down, leaving third and 24 from the 6 yard line. Throwing up a pass to Vaughn to avoid the sack, the pass was broken up by the cornerback, bringing up fourth down. A 5 yard return on a 44 yard punt left UCF in great position, starting from our 46 yard line.
Davis got the drive started for UCF with a 7 yard rush, before the defense bit back, tackling Farris for a three yard loss to leave third and 6. Our defense would win a much needed victory as they forced an incomplete pass on third down. That play would bring the third quarter to an end, UCF leading 24-17.
Opening up the fourth quarter on fourth down, the UCF punt sailed 50 yards into the end zone for touchback, giving us the ball on our 20.
Going into the air on first down, the pass to Hayden was batted down and incomplete, leaving us off to a poor start. A second down pass intended for Silva ended up sailing long, bringing up third and 10. Lewis would end up being our savior, getting his hands on the pass from Stephens for a 21 yard gain and a first down at the 41. Kyle Jones kept us moving with a 10 yard reception and another first down at the UCF 49. Continuing the aerial attack, Hayden was able to pull down the first down pass for a 13 yard pickup, moving the chains to the 36. Switching back to the ground game, Silva received the handoff on first down, but had no chance of yards, tackled instantly for a one yard loss to leave second and 11. Forced back into the air, the pass intended for Hayden sailed long and out of bounds, bringing up third and long. Stephens was able to avoid a sack on third down and got the ball off to Barnes, but a quick play by the safety limited the gain to 7 yards, leaving fourth and four from the 29. Taking our biggest risk of the game, the gamble paid off as Stephens was able to hook up with Harper for a 10 yard gain, giving us a first down at the 19 and keeping our drive alive. Taking the handoff on first down, Silva was held to a gain of only two yards, leaving second and 8. A quick strike to Vaughn gained 6 yards and set up third and two from the 11. Harper would come through once again when needed, grabbing the pass from Stephens for a 5 yard gain, giving us first and goal at the 6 yard line. Silva took the ball on first down, but again never had a chance, tackled for a one yard loss to push us back to the 7. Coming out in shotgun, J.D. Faulk caught the pass for a three yard gain, setting up third and goal at the four. Lewis would come through in the clutch, grabbing the pass and hanging on while being pulled down from behind for a four yard touchdown, tying the game back up at 24-24 with 4:34 left to play.
A touchback on the kickoff left UCF starting at their 25 yard line, a field goal potentially only being needed to claim a win today. It was a bit of a rough start for the Golden Knights as Farris was tackled for a two yard loss, but he recovered on second down with a 5 yard rush to leave third and 7. Our defense would once again step up in the moment, forcing an incomplete pass to bring up fourth and 7. A fair catch by Hayden on the 44 yard punt gave us back the ball at our 27 yard line, 3:46 left on the clock.
The first down pass intended for Hayden hit him in the hands, but he couldn’t hang on, bringing up second down. Throwing deep, Hayden was again was able to get his hands on the ball, but the cornerback made a great play to knock the ball loose, leaving third and long. A simple out pass to Lewis would end up being the defining moment of this game, as he was able to escape a tackle attempt by the outside linebacker, beat the cornerback outside to the sideline, got a huge block by Hayden to knock the cornerback out of the play, and then outraced the safety down the sideline for a 73 yard touchdown, giving us a 31-24 lead with 3:28 left in the game.
A 17 yard kickoff return left UCF lining up from their 15 yard line, the Golden Knights once again trailing and facing a dwindling clock. In one play, the hopes and dreams of a Golden Knight victory were dashed, as cornerback Allen Moore intercepted Farris on first down, giving us possession at the UCF 20 yard line with 3:11 to go.
Looking to chew up clock on the ground, Silva took the first down handoff for a 6 yard gain, running the clock under three minutes. Another run by Silva went for 8 yards, picking up the first down and setting us up with first and goal from the 6 yard line, 2:26 left on the clock. Silva took the ball for the third straight play, rushing up the middle for a four yard gain, setting up second and goal at the two yard line, UCF calling their first timeout with 1:54 left. Silva would receive the handoff on second down and take it into the end zone standing up for a two yard touchdown, increasing our lead to 38-24 with 1:52 to play.
A 20 yard kickoff return set UCF up at their 23 yard line, any hopes of a win now all but destroyed. After an incomplete pass on first down, Farris was able to find a target in Swanson, the pass complete for an 8 yard gain, but the Golden Knights still faced third and short. The would pick up a first down at the 39 after an 8 yard completion to Williams, but time was short as the clock ran down to 1:19. Our defense landed a blow on first down, sacking Farris for a 7 yard loss to bring up second and 17. Two straight incomplete passes left it all on the line for UCF, as the Golden Knights faced fourth and 17 from their 32 yard line, 57 seconds left to play. Central Florida would fail to convert the fourth down as the pass intended for Payne was broken up, turning the ball over on downs at the 32 yard line, 51 seconds remaining.
Stephens came out and took to a knee on first down, but the Golden Knights proved not yet ready to throw in the towel, calling their second timeout with 50 seconds left. Handing the ball off on second down, Silva was stood up for no gain, leaving third and 12, UCF’s final timeout stopping the clock with 48 seconds left. Another rush by Silva resulted in a loss of one yard, leaving fourth and 13 from the 36 We let the play clock run out, calling our first timeout with 6 seconds left to play. Punting the ball out of the back of the end zone for a touchback, UCF got the ball back at their 20 yard line with a single second left on the clock.
An incomplete pass on first down by Farris would be all she wrote as the clock hit all zeroes and the game came to an end, our 38-24 victory official.
With the win, we improve to 3-0, 1-0 in Big East action. With the loss, Central Florida drops to 1-2, 0-1 in Big East play. Up next, we hit the road for the first time this year with a trip to Arizona State. The Sun Devils enter at 1-2, 0-1 in Pac-12 play. Arizona State opened their year with a 37-3 loss to Stanford, recovered by beating FCS Midwest 45-24, before losing 31-20 at East Carolina.
Final Score
38,
24
Stat(s) of the Game:
- Tulsa Offense – A rather bad day for Stephens. While he did go 16-27 for 297 yards and three touchdowns, he also threw three interceptions that killed drives and led directly to at least one touchdown. Rushing, Silva ended up top dog today after Oliver's injury, rushing for 81 yards and a touchdown on 27 carries. Oliver ended the game with 73 yards and a touchdown on six carries before being injured. Receiving, it was all Lewis today, ending with 132 yards and three touchdowns on four receptions. In all, seven receivers caught a ball today, six receivers ending up with double digit yards or better.
- Tulsa Defense – We had a defense that couldn't make up its mind today. Decent in the first, so-so in the second, horrendous in the third and immaculate in the fourth. That fourth quarter defense was what thankfully saved us while allowing the offense to get us back in it.
- Tulsa Kicking – A perfect day for Glover, going 1-1 in field goals, kicking an 18 yard field goal while going 5-5 in PATs.
Scoring Summary
| Team |
1st Quarter |
2nd Quarter |
3rd Quarter |
4th Quarter |
Final Score |
|
3 |
7 |
14 |
0 |
24 |
|
7 |
10 |
0 |
21 |
38 |
| Time |
Team |
Result |
Play |
Score |
| First Quarter |
| 8:09 |
|
Touchdown |
W. Oliver, 42 yard run (D. Glover kick) |
7-0 |
| 5:06 |
|
Field Goal |
M. Peterson, 29 yard field goal |
7-3 |
|
| Second Quarter |
| 5:54 |
|
Touchdown |
R. Lewis, 34 yard pass from B. Stephens (D. Glover kick) |
14-3 |
| 3:38 |
|
Touchdown |
C. Swanson, 7 yard pass from M. Farris (M. Peterson kick) |
14-10 |
| 0:31 |
|
Field Goal |
D. Glover, 18 yard field goal |
17-10 |
|
| Third Quarter |
| 2:20 |
|
Touchdown |
J. Hicks, 91 yard pass from M. Farris (M. Peterson kick) |
TIED 17-17 |
| 1:21 |
|
Touchdown |
G. Flowers, 5 yard pass from M. Farris (M. Peterson kick) |
24-17 |
|
| Fourth Quarter |
| 4:34 |
|
Touchdown |
R. Lewis, 4 yard pass from B. Stephens (D. Glover kick) |
TIED 24-24 |
| 3:38 |
|
Touchdown |
R. Lewis, 73 yard pass from B. Stephens (D. Glover kick) |
31-24 |
| 1:52 |
|
Touchdown |
E. Silva, 2 yard run (D. Glover kick) |
38-24 |
| Central Florida |
Stat |
Tulsa |
| 24 |
Score |
38 |
| 12 |
First Downs |
17 |
| 289 |
Total Offense |
441 |
| 27 - 75 - 0 |
Rushes - Yards - TD |
35 - 144 - 2 |
| 13 - 29 - 3 |
Comp - Att - TD |
16 - 27 - 3 |
| 214 |
Passing Yards |
297 |
| 2 |
Times Sacked |
1 |
| 7 - 14 (50%) |
3rd Down Conversion |
7 - 12 (58%) |
| 0 - 1 (0%) |
4th Down Conversion |
1 - 1 (100%) |
| 0 - 0 (0%) |
2-Point Conv |
0 - 0 (0%) |
| 3 - 2 - 1 (100%) |
Red Zone - TD - FG |
5 - 2 - 1 (60%) |
| 2 |
Turnovers |
3 |
| 0 |
Fumbles Lost |
0 |
| 2 |
Intercepted |
3 |
| 5 |
Punt Return Yards |
0 |
| 99 |
Kick Return Yards |
60 |
| 393 |
Total Yards |
501 |
| 4 – 43.3 |
Punts - Average |
3 - 42.7 |
| 0 - 0 |
Penalties |
2 - 10 |
| 14:14 |
Time of Possession |
21:46 |
| Fail Impact |
Goal |
Progress |
Pass Impact |
 |
21+ points per game in each season |
43 |
 |
|
Win 10 games in one season |
3 |
|
|
3300+ passing yards each season |
 |
 |
|
65% pass completions over the entire contract |
60% |
|
 |
Win 6 games in one season |
 |
|
|
15+ rushing TD in each season |
8 |
|
 |
3200+ total offensive yards each season |
1348 |
 |
|
3400+ total offensive yards each season |
1348 |
 |
64%
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by SmoothPancakes
prestige team, Troy is only a 
prestige team. So I have no clue why he chose to leave West Virginia and go to the same position at Troy, especially coming off an 11-2 season.
I think I'm gonna be going out with a BANG in my last season at Tulsa. 
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