UCF Wins 38-31 Over Tulane
Few college football games can match the action of today’s UCF Knights 38-31 victory over the Tulane Green Wave. From the first half onward, the No. 22 Knights led in this game over the No. 17 Green Wave.
At the end of the first quarter, it was UCF up 17-7. At the half, UCF was winning 24-14. After three quarters, the Knights continued their lead at 31-17. At the final gun, UCF became victorious with a 38-31 final score.
How did the Knights get there? The rushing attack, offensively and defensively, led the way. For UCF, the Knights pounded the football for the vast majority of the contest. They went for a grand total 336 yards on the ground, and averaged 6.2 yards per attempt.
Most importantly, when the Knights needed a play, the running game came through time and time again. That was especially true during the final minutes of the contest, the Knights scoring their last touchdown of the game.
That celebration was all about Isaiah Bowser’s second touchdown of the contest, a one-yard score with 1:46 remaining in the fourth quarter. Bowser, just on that drive alone, ran the football 12 times.
Yes, 12 times. Bowser also caught a low pass from quarterback John Rhys Plumlee for nine yards that kept the drive alive just beyond midfield.
He finished the game with 19 carries for 54 yards, but that’s not the whole story. During the final stanza, Bowser was running the football when Tulane stacked the box and dared UCF to continue to come downhill. Bowser was up to the task as he helped the Knights grind out a touchdown and take off 8:07 off the fourth quarter clock.
The other part of UCF’s advantage over Tulane would be speed. UCF’s ability to turn the corner with players like Johnny Richardson, RJ Harvey, Ryan O’Keefe, Plumlee, and Javon Baker was a prime factor for the victory.
Tulane’s defense was in flux. The first half turned into a track meet for UCF, in fact. Plumlee had 114 yards just from two carries. Harvey was gashing the edges. O’Keefe and Baker were giving the Green Wave fits, too.
The speed, combined with the power from UCF’s offensive line overwhelming Tulane’s defensive line for a good portion of the contest, led to several players providing good yardage on the ground.
Plumlee finished with 176 yards on the ground, Harvey with 83, Bowser’s 54, O’Keefe with 17, and Richardson with 13.
The defense gave up some plays, but as usual, created havoc. There was much better pressure on the quarterback today with two sacks and five quarterback hurries. Tulane quarterback Michael Pratt was harassed for much of the game, and he finished with just a 6.1 yards per completion average.
On defense, UCF was able to bend and still come up with some key stops. After giving up a big 70-yard run to Tyjae Spears in the first quarter, UCF’s rushing defense held the opposition’s running game in check afterwards. For the game, Tulane gained 155 on the ground.
Maybe most importantly, the Knights came up with turnovers. Two of them – both fumble recoveries – that gave the football back to UCF and swung momentum back towards the Black and Gold.
UCF will come back to Orlando to face Navy (Nov. 19) on senior day. The Midshipmen are 3-7 after their 35-32 loss to Notre Dame today.
The final game will see the Knights travel to Tampa to play the USF Bulls (Nov. 26), a rival that’s struggling at 0-6 in the conference and 1-9 overall.
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