Home Win Streak Ends as Football Falls to UCF

Saturday, October 26

Philadelphia, Pa.

7:00 P.M.

Temple University

5-3 , 2-2

UCF

6-2 , 3-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

UCF

Temple

Photo by: ZAMANIFEELINGS.NET

Home Win Streak Ends as Football Falls to UCF

10.26.19 | Football

Box Score Full Schedule Buy Tickets Game Book Rod Carey Press Conference Chapelle Russell Audio Shaun Bradley Audio Anthony Russo Audio Jovahn Fair Audio Josh Heupel Audio Dillion Gabriel Audio Aaron Robinson Audio Otis Anderson Audio

PHILADELPHIA – In a key American Athletic Conference East Division showdown, UCF broke away from Temple in the second half for a 63-21 win on Saturday night in front of 29,949 fans at Lincoln Financial Field. The Owls, which saw their eight-game home win streak come to an end, fall to 5-3 overall and 2-2 in AAC play. The Knights improve to 6-2 and 3-1 in conference play.

After tightly-contested first 30 minutes which saw UCF take a 28-21 lead into the locker room, the Knights broke things open in the third quarter, scoring four touchdowns on their six possessions while holding the Owls off the scoreboard. UCF tacked on another touchdown on its first possession to account for the final score.

How it Happened

Temple took the opening kickoff and marched quickly down the field with an eight-play 70-yard touchdown drive to make it 7-0. Redshirt-junior QB Anthony Russo (12-24-2, 199 yds, 2 TDs) hit senior WR Randle Jones in stride down the right hash marks for a 32-yard touchdown. The other big play to set the score up was a Russo to senior WR Isaiah Wright 25-yard catch and run to the UCF 45.
UCF answered that with a 76-yard, seven-play drive to even the score on a 20-yard touchdown reception by Jake Hescock touchdown. Knights QB Dillon Gabriel was four-of-four for 68 yards on the drive.
UCF took the lead, 14-7, late in the first quarter on a 48-yards touchdown run by Arian Killins, Jr. It was the first play of the Knights drive after forcing a Temple punt from its own end zone.
Redshirt sophomore QB Todd Centeio rotated in for a possession and led the Owls to midfield before UCF forced a punt. Temple downed the Adam Barry punt at the one, but two consecutive big plays, a 54-yard run by Otis Anderson (17 rushes, 205 yds, 1 TD) and a 25-yard reception by Gabriel Davis put the ball on the TU 13. Reserve QB Darriel Mack, Jr. finished the drive with a six yard TD run on a third and three play to put the Knights ahead 21-7.
On the ensuing possession, Russo hit redshirt junior WR Branden Mack (5 catches, 104 yds) down the left sidelines for a 75-yard touchdown. Mack, who tied the TU single season record with his fourth 100-yard receiving game on the play, made the catch around the UCF 25 and then broke a tackle by Zaman Maxwell for the score. It was the longest TD reception of his career.
UCF again answered, driving 75 yards on 11 plays with Gabriel hitting Tre Nixon for a 25 yard touchdown on a fourth-and-five play to make it 28-14.
With Temple's drive stalled at its own 39, Barry punted to 43 yards to Anderson, who muffed it directly into the hands of redshirt junior Isaiah Graham-Mobley at the UCF 18. Six plays later redshirt senior Jager Gardner carried it in from one-yard out to cut the deficit to 28-21 right before halftime.
UCF pushed the lead back to two touchdowns early in the third quarter when Gabriel connected with Marvin Williams on a 73-yard touchdown to 35-21.
Following a Temple punt to its own 40, Bentavious Thompson broke free on the second play of the drive for a 34-yard touchdown run to extend the UCF lead to 42-21.
The Owls were stopped short on a fake punt on fourth and three at its own 32 which set up another UCF score. This time it was Otis Anderson who rushed 47 yards to paydirt to make it 49-21.
UCF's Aaron Robinson picked off Russo on the Owls' next possession and it took just four plays before Thompson rushed it in from 11 yards out to increase the Knights lead to 56-21.
Following another interception, UCF drove 70 yards on 11 plays with a four-yard touchdown catch by TE Jonathan MacCollister capping the drive.
That accounted for all of the scoring as both teams cleared the benches for the remainder of the game.