Led by Tatum Bethune, UCF Holds on to Defeat Tulane in Hard Fought Victory

The UCF defense makes the final stand to preserve victory, winning 14-10 over Tulane.

Author:
Brian Smith
Publish date:
Nov 6, 2021 8:26 PM EDT

ORLANDO - Another close game for the Knights, and the third victory in a row, placing UCF at 6-3 on the season and eligible for a bowl game.

As for the contest’s twists and turns, there were a few, mostly during the second half. So let us start there. For full first half information, you can read this article.

Tulane Dominates Third Quarter

UCF’s rushing defense allowed 132 yards to Tulane, and the Green Wave really wanted to establish the run during the third quarter.

By breaking a tackle and the Knights uncharacteristically not covering each of the gaps, running back Cameron Carroll rumbled 47 yards to his left, finally being pushed out of bounds at the 11 yard line by cornerback Brandon Adams. That play ended with about 6:17 remaining in the third quarter.

Four plays later, it was 10-7 Tulane with the lead after field goal kicker Merek Glover knocked a field goal through the uprights from 25 yards. After the Knights played so well during the first half, the third quarter absolutely belonged to the Green Wave, but not before Mikey Keene passed to Brandon Johnson down the left sideline for 50 yards.

Running back Johnny Richardson would make a spectacular run that reached the end zone, but a penalty moved the football back to the 21, and a third down and 17 saw Richardson lose a few yards before kicker Daniel Obarski came up short when attempting a 42 yard field goal.

Of note, the Knights generated just 65 yards of offense in the third quarter, with 50 of those yards coming from Johnson’s reception. To say the least, Tulane possessed the momentum heading into the final quarter of play. To the fourth quarter we go, in a three-point game…

Fourth Quarter Fireworks

Running back Mark Antony-Richards blocked a punt and UCF took over at the Tulane 29, but back-to-back sacks by the Green Wave placed UCF in a third down and 27 from near midfield, and a screen to Richardson garnered little and led to yet another punt.

Going into the fourth quarter, the Knights were completely out of sync offensively against a Tulane team that quite frankly was a bad defensive team heading into the contest, with a total defensive ranking of No. 124 out of 130 FBS teams.

UCF needed to come up with something different, something to spark them.

Another big special teams play helped the Knights, as the punt was downed at the Tulane one, and that would be when the UCF defense would hold yet again. That led to a Tulane punt and great field position for UCF.

After moving the football to the 23 of Tulane, that’s when the big play happened. With a streaking Brandon Johnson going down the right seam of the field, Keene threw a strike.

From that point forward, UCF really made a conscious effort to tackle well, play its run gaps properly, and keep the football in front of them. Tulane had to punt after three plays produced only six yards. That's when it became clear that one of UCF's best players would not be returning.

The Knights did play without the services of Isaiah Bowser down the final stretch of the game. He missed the last portion of the third quarter and the final quarter altogether, and there's no defintive injury update from UCF Head Coach Gus Malzahn's postgame press conference.

With just 2:05 remaining, Tulane began its final drive on their own 21, and with three nice passes by Michael Pratt, plus a big scramble for 12 yards, the Green Wave were in Knights' territory near the 40 yard line. Then Pratt was sacked by Quadric Bullard for a loss of 11 yards. That led to one last heave down the field, but it fell incomplete.

Once again, the UCF defense came up big. During the past three games, UCF allowed just 24 points, sacked the quarterback 15 times, and simply did not allow teams to find a way to make game-changing plays.

Knights 14 Green Wave 10

UCF Player of the Game

There would be no doubt, linebacker Tatum Bethune played tremendous football with his second game of the season with 10 or more tackles. Bethune registered 11 total tackles, one-half-a-sack, a pass breakup, and two tackles for loss.

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