ORLANDO, FL – Dillon Gabriel passed for 332 yards and two touchdowns completing 25 of 38 passes and added a 44-yard rushing touchdown to lead the Knights to a 63-14 victory over Bethune Cookman.
UCF won the toss and elected to receive the ball to start the game. The Wildcats kicked it off, and the party got started right away, as Johnny Richardson returned it 39 yards to set the Knights up at their own 45-yard line.
It would then take the Knights just four plays before Isaiah Bowser took it through the defense for a 17-yard touchdown run. This made it 7-0 only one minute and 18 seconds into this one.
Despite the rapid strike on offense, the UCF defense looked a bit asleep at the wheel starting this one. The Wildcats took advantage of an early pass interference as they worked their way into Knight’s territory. Quarterback Shannon Patrick led BCU inside the red zone before facing a 4th and one at the Knights 16-yard line. He would pick up the 1st down with a two-yard gain on a scramble.
Patrick would then drop a dime in the basket for Darryle Powell Jr. in the back left corner of the endzone to tie this one up a seven.
Following consecutive punts from either team, UCF got back to work. They went 58 yards on seven plays, capping the drive with a 22-yard touchdown pass from Gabriel to Brandon Johnson across the middle of the field as he split two defenders for the score.
Bethune Cookman would answer the score with a solid drive of their own. However, after getting to the UCF 29-yard line, Patrick would get rushed and escape the initial pressure before rolling to the right sideline. Still being pursued, he threw across the field, and it was picked off by Tatum Bethune at the 20-yard line.
The Knights would then methodically drive 80-yards downfield in 11-plays, with Bowser pushing it in again for six from a yard out. This made its 21-7 with 9:37 left in the 1st half.
The rout was just getting started, with UCF taking a 35-7 lead into the locker room at the half. Gabriel Was 18 of 28, passing for 253 yards and a touchdown. Bowser had tallied up 62-yards on 12 carries, with a third of those carries going for touchdowns. The Knights had 329 yards of total offense compared to just 146 from the Wildcats.
In the second half, it was more of the same, as UCF’s defense stifled the Wildcats on the opening drive. Then Gabriel went wild on Bethune Cookman with a 44-yard touchdown run that saw him go from the left sideline all the way to the right sideline before he took it into the endzone for the score to make it 42-7.
BCU would answer the score with a six-play 75-yard drive, culminating in a 34-yard touchdown pass from Patrick to Daveno Ellington. This would be the Wildcats’ final score of the game. Though the same could not be said for UCF.
The Knights would tack on two more touchdowns before calling off the dogs in the 4th quarter. The Knights totaled 671 yards of total offense, nine touchdowns, and 290 rushing yards. They had just three penalties for 42 yards.
The Knights will now head on the road for the first time this season next week when they face ACC foe Louisville on Friday night, September 17th. The last time UCF went to the Ville’ they upset the Cards 38-35 behind the arm of Blake Bortles in a magical season that culminated with an upset of Baylor in the Fiesta Bowl.
Written by Adrian Beecher
