Three Key Takeaways From UCF's Loss To Kansas State

The UCF Knights were met with a refreshed Kansas State squad Saturday afternoon in their Big 12 opener, ultimately falling to the Wildcats, 34-20.

Here are three key takeaways from the Knights' first loss of the season:

1. Capitalizing on Mistakes

Despite no scores in the first quarter, the Knights captured momentum early thanks to their defense, forcing two turnovers on the Wildcats' first two drives: an interception and a turnover on downs. However, the Knights' offense could not take advantage of those turnovers to take an early lead.

The Wildcats ended up getting their first score of the day on their third drive with a 38-yard field goal. Additionally, when their defense came up with an interception midway through the second quarter, quarterback Avery Johnson led them down the field for a touchdown. Throw in a Kansas State field goal off a UCF turnover on downs in the fourth, and the Wildcats generated 10 points off turnovers.

Instead of the Knights taking an early two-score lead off of Wildcat errors, they ended up going down by two scores thanks to one of their own turnovers. Plus, Kansas State's drives, even though they were ending in turnovers, were going longer than UCF's responses, putting it in a time of possession hole.

2. Forced to Play Catch-Up

With a more worn-down UCF defense, the Wildcats pounced late in the second half.

After a second-quarter interception, Kansas State not only scored on the ensuing drive, but also on its next two drives after that. Now down multiple scores, the Knights had to take measures to try and close the gap, leading to two drives that ended in turnovers on downs.

There were also a pair of drives that, due to offensive errors, ended in field goals, courtesy of kicker Noe Ruelas, instead of touchdowns. Before a third-quarter 53-yard field goal, quarterback Tayven Jackson was sacked twice, and before a 40-yard field goal in the fourth quarter, UCF drew a false start that turned a third and short into a third and long.

3. Wildcats Run Wild

While this applies more to the first half than the second, Kansas State's rushing attack had its way with UCF's defense.

Rushing Yards	UCF	Kansas State
First Half	31	158
Second Half	174	108

Not including his 75-yard rushing touchdown that put his team up 31-10 late in the third quarter, Wildcat running back Dylan Edwards ran for 91 yards on his 19 other carries. Meanwhile, quarterbacks Avery Johnson and Blake Barnett got their licks in as well, with Johnson averaging 6.3 yards per carry and Barnett averaging 4.6 yards per carry. Such yards proved crucial on Kansas State's longer drives.

Meanwhile, UCF's rushing attack was more big-play dependent. Discounting their longest runs of the day, Knights running backs Myles Montgomery and Jaden Nixon ran for a combined 86 yards.

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