McKenzie Milton Throws 4 Touchdowns in Blowout Win Over FIU

Uncertainty in UCF Knights head coach Scott Frost's second season was met with a bombardment of points, as the Knights blew out the FIU Panthers at home to start the 2017 season.

By
Ryan Weiss
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University of Central Florida quarterback McKenzie Milton winds up to throw a ball during a 61-17 win over Florida International University at Spectrum Stadium on Thursday, Aug. 31, 2017. (Photo by Adrian J. Hernandez / New Day Review)
(Photo by Adrian J. Hernandez / New Day Review)

Game Recap

ORLANDO, Fla. – The University of Central Florida started its season off with a bang with a win over Florida International University. Led by sophomore quarterback McKenzie Milton and his four touchdowns, the Knights (1-0) trounced the Panthers (0-1) 61-17 at Spectrum Stadium Thursday night in front of 38,063.

Milton started his sophomore season on fire, going 8-for-8 for 167 yards and two touchdowns to start the game. UCF capped off its first drive, a six-play, 75-yard effort, with a 22-yard touchdown pass to senior tight end Jordan Akins. The Kapolei, Hawaii, native would finish with four touchdowns and 360 yards on 16-for-21 passing with one interception.

“Really, from McKenzie, there is a lot of people questioning things with, and people are always critical of coaches and quarterbacks,” UCF head coach Scott Frost said after the game. “I admire the kid for getting through what he got through last year. What you saw on the field today is what we have been seeing at practice for almost two years, and it carried over on the field tonight.”

For Milton, he attributes part of his successful performance to his offensive line.

“I did have a lot of time,” Milton said after the game. “Our O-line did an awesome job today, and they have been doing a great job since spring ball. The strides they have made from last year to this year is day and night, and I can’t appreciate them enough. I love those guys to death.”

The Knights utilized the deep ball throughout the game, completing eight passes of over 20 yards and three of at least 50 yards to four different receivers. That, first, came in the form of a 50-yard touchdown pass to Tre’Quan Smith in the first quarter on the Knights’ third drive of the game to give UCF a 14-7 lead.

UCF was not without its early missteps, though. Early in the first half, the Knights lost a fumble and threw an interception, gifting FIU’s 10 first-half points. FIU quarterback Alex McGough found Thomas Owens deep down the right sideline for a 75-yard touchdown pass after Knights running back Jawon Hamilton’s fumble. An interception at the start of the second quarter then helped FIU to a 39-yard field goal.

Behind first-year starting safety Tre Neal and his five tackles and the Knights’ lone interception, the Knights’ defense had a day for itself as well. Defensive back Kyle Gibson and Gabriel Luyanda each recorded one of the Knights’ fumble recoveries, as cornerback Mike Hughes broke up three passes. Shawn Burgess-Becker recorded the Knights’ only sack.

“I thought [the secondary] played pretty well,” Neal said after the game. “There’s always things you can work on—technique stuff, keys, you know, communication—but, for our first game, some of those guys were playing well beyond their years. I think, like some of those freshmen, Brandon [Moore], Mike Hughes, Chris Johnson, being his first time playing corner. I think they played really well. Kyle, he played really well. Also, Richie [Grant], Antwan Collier—I feel like our two deep is really gelling early on, and I think that’s a good sign going forward.”

Linebackers Pat Jasinski and Chequan Burkett each had five tackles, too, as they manned a position that Frost had doubts about going into the season. Both players helped Trysten Hill and a host of Knights defenders force a safety in the second quarter after a Mac Loudermilk punt pinned FIU on their own one-yard line.

“Middle backer was one of the places, at the end of last season, we were a little worried about,” Frost said. “You know, Chequan was living in Georgia with his wife and baby, Pat was about our only returning one coming back with Nate Evans. Having both those kids back, having Chequan back, now, is gonna make a huge difference for us. Both those guys had unbelievable offseasons, have gotten bigger, faster, stronger, had great camps. Nate Evans and Gabe Luyanda had great camps, too. So I think that went from a position we were worried about to a real strength on our team.

The Knights ran away with the game in the second quarter, out-scoring the Panthers 26-3 with three touchdowns and the safety. True freshman Gabriel Davis caught his first-career touchdown from Milton, a 10-yard pass with just under 12 minutes to go in the second. Then, after UCF forced a safety, Hamilton and Taj McGowan tallied rushing touchdowns ahead of Matthew Wright’s 44-yard field goal to end the half.

Smith, who had five touchdowns all last season, notched his second in the third. True freshmen Cordarrian Richardson and Greg McCrae scored their first-career touchdowns in the second half with Richardson’s coming in the third and McCrae’s happening at the end of the fourth.

Player of the Game: McKenzie Milton

In his second year as the starter, Milton looked more comfortable in his role. He was calmer in the pocket and did not unnecessarily scramble as much. Compared to his 360 passing yards in the win over FIU, Milton only rushed three times for four yards. He averaged 1.6 rushing yards per game with three touchdowns last season.

What’s next?

UCF will open American Athletic Conference play in Week 2 and take on the University of Memphis (0-0) next week at 8 p.m. at Spectrum Stadium. Last season, the Knights didn’t start conference play until Week 5.

Newcomers Mike Hughes, Gabriel Davis Perform Well in Knights Debut

In addition to his three pass breakups, Hughes had three punt returns for 50 yards, including a long of 43 yards. Hughes has only been with the team a short amount of time after transferring from Garden City Community College. For Hughes, his arrival in black and gold has been a lot to embrace, but it’s not been overwhelming.

“It’s pretty crazy. They threw a lot at me,” Hughes said after the game. “You know, I was able to pick up on a lot of things, so I think I did a good job on that. Just go out there and do what I do. The coaches put me in the right position to make good plays.”

As for Davis, he scored his first collegiate touchdown at a moment when the game was still in question. Davis’ second-quarter score and Milton’s third touchdown gave the Knights just a 21-10 lead. For Davis, he knew he was going to be in the position he is now.

“Yes, I knew that since Day 1 that I was gonna work hard and put everything into it and then just see the results,” Davis said after the game. “I knew that it was also gonna be good because I’ve always done that my whole life. I’ve always been hard-working, always went above what I thought I was gonna do. So I was surprised when I got the 1 spot, but, at the same time, I knew that it was gonna come.”

Dedrion Bacote Sustains Serious Injury

Linebacker Dedrion Bacote was sidelined for the rest of the game with a leg injury. He was near the team’s entry tunnel with a leg cast after he was carted off and entered an ambulance before the end of the first half. He finished the game with one solo tackle.

“I didn’t see it happen. I know it was a personal-foul penalty,” Frost said. “You hate to see a kid get hurt on a situation like that. We don’t know the extent of the injury yet, but he’s a great kid, and he’s a really good football player. So, hopefully it’s not as bad as we’re expecting.”

247sports.com’s Juan Toribio reported Bacote could be out for the season.

Highlights

NDR Notes

  • Milton had a career night, throwing four touchdown passes, eclipsing his previous high of three against the University of Connecticut in last year’s 24-16 win.
  • UCF recorded its first safety since notching one in a 47-29 win over the ECU Pirates last season.
  • Davis, Richardson and McCrae scored their first-career touchdowns in the win over FIU.
  • On McGowan’s touchdown run, UCF sent in a heavy set that consisted of starting defensive linemen Jamiyus Pittman, Tony Guerad and Hill. After the game, Pittman said the package was called “Tank” because, “When you go to war, you gotta have a tank.”
  • UCF’s longest scoring drive of the game with starters lasted just 2:39.
  • The last time UCF scored at least 60 points was in 2013 when the Knights won 62-17 over UCONN.
  • UCF has now won 9 of its last 10 home-openers. The Knights’ last loss was against FIU in 2015.
  • With the win on Thursday, the Knights take a 4-2 all-time series advantage over the Panthers.

Scoring

Time Team Play PAT Score
Q1, 12:43 University of Central Florida McKenzie Milton to Jordan Akins, 22-yard pass Mac Loudermilk to Jordan Franks, 2-yard pass 8-0, UCF
Q1, 9:30 Florida International University Alex McGough to Thomas Owens, 75-yard pass GOOD 8-7, UCF
Q1, 7:28 University of Central Florida McKenzie Milton to Tre’Quan Smith, 50-yard pass NO GOOD 14-7, UCF
Q2, 12:49 Florida International University Jose Borregales, 39-yard FG n/a 14-10, UCF
Q2, 11:44 University of Central Florida McKenzie Milton to Gabriel Davis, 10-yards GOOD 21-10, UCF
Q2, 7:52 University of Central Florida SAFETY n/a 23-10, UCF
Q2, 5:13 University of Central Florida Jawon Hamilton, 16-yard run GOOD 30-10, UCF

 
Q2, 0:53 University of Central Florida Taj McGowan, 1-yard run GOOD 37-10, UCF
Q2, 0:00 University of Central Florida Matthew Wright, 44-yard FG n/a 40-10, UCF
Q3, 11:01 University of Central Florida McKenzie Milton to Tre’Quan Smith, 3-yard pass GOOD 47-10, UCF
Q3, 6:16 University of Central Florida Cordarrian Richardson, 10-yard run GOOD 54-10, UCF
Q3, 4:25 Florida International University Napoleon Maxwell, 51-yard run GOOD 54-17, UCF
Q4, 2:00 University of Central Florida Greg McCrae, 6-yard run GOOD 61-17, UCF

Statistics

Passing

Player Team Completed Attempted Yards Touchdowns Interceptions
McKenzie Milton University of Central Florida 16 21 360 4 1
Alex McGough Florida International University 18 29 201 1 1
Noah Vedral University of Central Florida 10 12 76 0 0

Rushing

Player Team Rushes Yards Yards/Rush Touchdowns Long
Jawon Haimlton University of Central Florida 12 56 4.7 1 16
Taj McGowan University of Central Florida 8 6 0.8 1 6
Adrian Killins University of Central Florida 4 31 7.8 0 15
Cordarrian Richardson University of Central Florida 7 26 4.0 1 10
Alex Gardner Florida International University 9 20 2.2 0 11
Napoleon Maxwell Florida International University 4 61 15.3 1 51

Receiving

Player Team Catches Yards Yards/Catch Touchdown Long
Tre’Quan Smith University of Central Florida 3 72 24.0 2 50
Gabriel Davis University of Central Florida 4 53 13.3 1 26
Dredrick Snelson University of Central Florida 4 98 24.5 0 61
Cam Stewart University of Central Florida 1 60 60.0 0 60
Jordan Akins University of Central Florida 2 45 22.5 1 23
Thomas Owens Florida International University 4 99 24.8 1 75
Julian Williams Florida International University 6 49 8.2 0 14

For more on the Knights, as they look to open conference play against Memphis, follow Ryan Weiss on Twitter at @NDR_RyanWeiss.

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