(Photo by Adrian J. Hernandez / New Day Review)
ORLANDO, Fla. – Week 9 was supposed to be a bye week for the University of Central Florida. Instead, the Knights hosted Austin Peay State University for what will be their 11th game of the year. However, it seemed as if some players approached the week like a bye.
The No. 18 Knights (7-0, 4-0 in American Athletic Conference) defeated the Governors (5-3) 73-33 on Saturday at Spectrum Stadium. It was UCF’s sixth blowout win of the year.
While the offense had a record-setting game, scoring a school record 73 points and becoming the first UCF team to score at least 60 points three times in a season, it was not a perfect performance.
Knights head coach Scott Frost was pleased with a win but was frustrated by his team’s defensive performance. He gave credit to Austin Peay, but the second-year head coach cited a lack of discipline and ill-preparedness by the coaching staff as reasons for his team’s performance.
Here are the takeaways from UCF’s record-setting win over FCS Austin Peay.
Knights’ Defense Had Worst Game of the Year
The Knights allowed Austin Peay to score 33 points in the blowout win on Oct. 28, the most any team has scored on UCF all season. Austin Peay wasn’t even a top FCS offense entering the Week 9 matchup, either, as the Governors ranked 61st in points and 65th in yards per game in the FCS.
On the other side, UCF’s defense was ranked 16th in scoring defense, holding FBS opponents to just 17.5 points per game. Yet, at halftime, Austin Peay already scored 26 points, one touchdown coming from a kickoff return. The Governors finished the game with 33 points and 352 yards.
UCF has now allowed its opponents to throw for 90 more yards than their season averages in consecutive weeks. In a 31-21 win over the Navy Midshipmen, Navy threw for 171 yards despite a season average of just over 80 passing yards per game.
“We just gotta do better at what we’ve been taught,” redshirt senior linebacker Shaquem Griffin said after the win. “I think we got beside ourselves in the beginning of the first quarter, and, you know, we had to bounce back from that. I think it’s good that come Monday, we can slow it down, get back to the basics and kinda just go over everything.”
UCF’s Tackling Was Glaringly Bad
The worst aspect of the UCF defense against Austin Peay was its tackling. On the Governors’ first drive of the game, they faced a third-and-18 and converted on a dump-off pass where running-back Kentel Williams broke four tackles and picked up 20 yards. On that same drive, the Governors faced a fourth-and-one at UCF’s seven-yard line. Not only did Ahmaad Tanner bulldoze his way in for an opening-drive, game-tying touchdown, but he also trucked safety Kyle Gibson and broke two arm tackles on his way in.
On Kyran Moore’s kickoff return for a touchdown, he broke three tackles. Frost said his team will first do tackling drills at Monday’s practice.
“I don’t think we tackled as well as we can tonight,” Frost said after the win. “Whatever it is, we’ll go back to work on Monday, and the first thing we’ll do is block-and-tackle circuit and try to get it fixed.”
Knights’ Kick Coverage Also Faltered
Despite Mike Hughes’ 91-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and Matthew Wright’s record 10 extra points, special-teams units were not immune to miscues. This was most apparent by UCF’s kickoff coverage.
Moore had himself a day, as he recorded 233 return yards and the first kickoff return for a touchdown against UCF since 2011 on eight returns. His long was the 91-yard touchdown, but he had two other better-than-average returns that were called back because of penalties.
Dredrick Snelson Is Proving to Be Legitimate No. 2 Option
The Knights’ offense likes to involve a host of threats, and wide receiver Tre’Quan Smith is, perhaps, UCF’s biggest. Apart from Smith, though, statistically, there hasn’t necessarily been another outright, go-to option. However, over the past two weeks, Dredrick Snelson is making a case for himself as a legitimate threat.
Against Navy, Snelson made a critical catch midway through the third quarter with the Knights up seven on a 24-yard pass that should have been intercepted. Instead, the sophomore snatched the ball from the defender’s hands, and the drive would end with a field goal.
This week, Snelson one-upped himself. With only seconds remaining in the first half, quarterback McKenzie Milton heaved a ball toward Snelson, the end zone and double coverage. Snelson was able to high-point the ball and plant a foot inbounds for a touchdown and the catch of the night. Later in the game, Snelson would beat his defender from the slot and score a 42-yard touchdown for his first multi-touchdown game of his career. He finished the game with five catches for 90 yards and two touchdowns.
“Snelson’s biggest catch for us was probably last week,” Frost said “That catch against Navy—that really helped us. He’s improved a ton from last year and made himself into a really fine football player. He had a few big plays for us tonight.”
After Relatively Low Outing Against Navy, UCF’s Offense Returned to High-powered Form
At the time, UCF’s Week 8, 31-point outing was approximately 19 points below its No. 1 offense average. It was the lowest scoring output for the Knights all season, as UCF’s other 30-point performance came in a 38-10 win over the University of Maryland.
Against Austin Peay, the offense scored 56 of the Knights’ 73 points. Milton was the most efficient he’s been all season. The sophomore quarterback threw for 275 yards, three touchdowns and only had two of his 26 pass attempts fall incomplete. Milton was also one completion away from tying Daunte Culpepper for most completions in a row with 15, as he started his night 14-for-14. UCF’s backups would enter the game by the fourth quarter.
“It’s a tribute to the play-calling,” Milton said after the win. “Coach Frost and Coach [Troy] Walters, they did an awesome job of getting the ball in space to our guys. Just taking what the defense was giving us. And our guys did a good job making plays after that.”
Edits Log:
- 10/31/17, 3:31 p.m.: Fixed number of points offense scored against Austin Peay from “59” to “56.”
For more on the Knights, as they prepare for the first of their final four games of the regular season, follow Ryan Weiss on Twitter at @NDR_RyanWeiss.
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