UCF’s defense jumped all over Tulane and embarrassed
quarterback Glen Cuiellette en route to a 37-6 win in Orlando. UCF’s
sometimes sputtering offense proved nearly irrelevant – even one of the
touchdowns scored by the Knights’ secondary would have been enough to
secure the win.
Things started slow for UCF. Freshman running back Adrian
Killins fumbled on the first play from scrimmage, and Tulane running
back Dontrell Hilliard capped the ensuing Green Wave drive with a
fourteen yard touchdown run. It turned out that this would be the only
points Tulane could score – even the extra point was blocked.
Freshman QB McKenzie Milton threw a pick on the next
drive. The offense was fitful, though McKenzie Milton ran in a touchdown
about midway through the second quarter. The half closed at a tight 7-6
Knights lead.
In the third quarter, the Knights took over. Safety Drico
Johnson played his assignment perfect, snatching Cuiellette’s pitch
from the air and running it back thirty yards for the Knight’s first of
three defensive touchdowns. Tulane never had a shot to recover. On the
next drive, Cuiellette tossed an interception to Shaquill Griffin – who
returned it 33 yards for a touchdown. And early in the fourth quarter,
Johnson grabbed his own interception and took it 86 yards back to add
the third defensive touchdown of the evening for the Knights.
UCF would add a Matthew Wright field goal, and Shaquill
Griffin would tack on another pick, this time in UCF’s end zone. It was
also nice to see senior quarterback and former starter Justin Holman in
for a drive during garbage time. He got to showcase his big arm with a
50 yard pass to Hayden Jones and ran in a touchdown.
Adding to the fun was the fact that UCF ran fake pass plays three times.
The first two, Milton handed the ball off behind his back to Adrian
Killins for some nice runs. On the last, Holman also faked the behind
the back hand off and kept it.
Oh: and the Knights looked awesome in all black uniforms.
For Tulane, Cuiellette would end an abysmal 5 of 21 for
68 yards, the three interceptions, and the lost fumble on the pitch
Johnson grabbed. Goodness.
Tulane remains winless in away games at UCF. The Green
Wave continue to demonstrate that they are among the dregs of the AAC;
with their next two games against Houston and Tulane, the Green Wave’s
season finale against East division bottom dweller UConn is their only
reasonable opportunity to get a conference win this year.
With the win, UCF looks very likely to get bowl eligible,
a tremendous relief after last year’s winless slog. The Knights need
only one more win, and UCF will be rightly favored against Cincinnati
next week (and other chances will come - Tulsa is probably a toss-up,
though the season finale against USF a likely loss).
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