Three Takeaways From UCF's Close Loss Against Kansas
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The UCF Knights remain in search of their first Big 12 win after Kansas came back to beat them in the Bounce House, 27-20, Saturday night.
Here are three key takeaways from the Knights' second loss of the season:
1. UCF Needs to Find a Way to Keep up Offensive Momentum
After getting points on all four of their first-half drives, the Knights' offense came out flat to start the second half. All four of their drives ended up cut short early, with three 3-and-outs and one fumble that set up Kansas for a touchdown to take the lead.
While success on third down declined for both teams in the second half, UCF found itself in that situation more often. After succeeding on half of their first-half third downs, the Knights went one for nine (11 percent) in the second half, all adding up to going four for 15 on third down of the whole game compared to Kansas' three for 11.
Quarterback Cam Fancher injected some life back into the UCF offense once he made his return to the field for the first time since the season-opener. However, while his entry into the game led to longer drives, it did not translate to points.
Most egregiously, Fancher and the Knights could not punch the ball into the endzone from the one-yard line after the two-minute timeout, despite getting three chances to do so. It was the Jayhawks' first red zone stop of the season, and it gave them a turnover on downs that preserved their one-score lead.
2. The Rushing Attack Practically Disappeared
The Knights looked poised to take advantage of a Kansas rushing defense ranked 78th in the nation and 10th in the Big 12, with running back Myles Montgomery getting 96 yards in the first quarter alone.
However, starting as soon as the second quarter, the Jayhawks started cracking down. Outside of a 46-yard rushing play by Jaden Nixon, the Knights' rushing attack only ran for 52 yards in the game's latter three quarters.
The Knights went from averaging 10.1 yards per rush in the first half to 1.6 yards per rush in the second half.
This forced the Knights to try more passing plays to gain yardage, and while Jackson and Fancher were able to average eight yards per completion, Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels was averaging 13.1 yards per completion.
A battle of air superiority favored Daniels, and once the UCF rushing attack was neutralized, the game became just that.
3. The Defense Of The First Quarter Isn't Moving Into The Second
The Knights' streak of shutting opponents out in the first quarter continues, but just like last week, their opponent found its way to score with time.
Just like with Kansas State last weekend, following the first quarter, the UCF defense started giving up scores on consecutive drives, but rallied late in the game to give the offense a chance.
While this can work when an offense is productive, that has not been the case with this Knights offense. Last weekend, UCF got off to a slow start, which allowed the Wildcats to get out ahead first and force the Knights to play from behind.
This time around, the Knights had the early lead, but thanks to those opponent mid-game scoring drives once again showing themselves, that put pressure on the offense to stay ahead of them.
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The Knights (3-2, 0-2 Big 12) hit the road next Saturday to face Cincinnati at noon as they remain in search of their first Big 12 conference win.
Catch up on more UCF News below:
Three Things To Know About The Kansas Jayhawks
How Scott Frost Is Preparing For Kansas' Jalon Daniels-led Offense
Bryson Turner is a sports journalist who covers UCF Athletics. Turner has contributed to the Black and Gold Banneret, the home for UCF Athletics on SB Nation. He has called the Orlando area home since the age of 8 and received his bachelor's and master's degrees from UCF.
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