Arizona State Sun Devils running back Cam Skattebo (4) runs for a touchdown against the Utah Utes in the fourth quarter at Mountain America Stadium.

With Cam Skattebo in question, Arizona State hosts UCF

Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham said his top running back, Cam Skattebo, is “doubtful to questionable” to play against UCF in a Big 12 game Saturday at Tempe, Ariz.

Skattebo did not play because of an undisclosed injury in the waning minutes of the Sun Devils’ 42-21 victory at Oklahoma State last week.

“He’s not gonna practice this week,” Dillingham said during his weekly press conference Monday. “Whether he plays or not, he’s gonna make an impact on our team because he’s one of the leaders on the team.”

Skattebo is coming off his fourth Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week honor this season in the game against Oklahoma State with 153 rushing yards on 23 carries and a touchdown. He also had four catches for 121 yards and two scores.

Skattebo is third in the Big 12 in rushing with 1,001 yards, which is behind UFC’s RJ Harvey (1,201) and Texas Tech’s Tahj Brooks (1,047).

Harvey rushed for 184 yards and three touchdowns in a 56-12 win last week over Arizona that snapped the Knights’ five-game losing streak.

UCF (4-5, 2-4) played its first game after coach Gus Malzahn fired defensive coordinator Ted Roof and replaced him with defensive backs coach Addison Williams and relinquished play-calling duties to offensive coordinator Tim Harris.

The Knights limited Arizona to five yards rushing on 25 carries while gaining 308 yards on 44 rushes.

Redshirt freshman Dylan Rizk made his first start and completed 20 of 25 pass attempts for 294 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions.

Rizk will make his first road start against Arizona State (6-2, 3-2).

“I think that’s the big thing, at home it’s a different deal,” Malzahn said about Rizk. “(At home) it’s quiet, and he can articulate the things. On the road, it’s going to be loud. You know Dillingham has that place where it’s going to be loud.

“Those people are going to show up. We’re going to have to handle the noise. That will be the biggest challenge, I think, for a new starter.”

–Field Level Media

Sep 21, 2024; Starkville, Mississippi, USA; Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier stands on the sidelines during the first quarter of a game against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Bush-Imagn Images

Florida moves past bye, hurricane to tackle UCF

Not even one of the most destructive hurricanes in memory kept Florida from getting work done during its open date.

“We didn’t coddle them,” Gators coach Billy Napier said. “I will tell you that. It was real in there for three days. So we worked extremely hard Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday in full pads. We got after it.”

Napier hopes Florida can get after it Saturday night when it hosts in-state rival UCF in a nonconference matchup in Gainesville, Fla.

Sitting on one of the hottest seats in sports, Napier went into the bye week with a win. The Gators (2-2) spanked Mississippi State 45-28 on Sept. 21 in Starkville, Miss. There was speculation Napier could be fired if Florida lost to perhaps the weakest team in the Southeastern Conference but with Graham Mertz hitting 19 of 21 passes for 201 yards and three touchdowns, the Gators rolled up 503 total yards.

Mertz has completed 75 percent of his passes for 487 yards in three games, missing the team’s 45-7 rout of FCS opponent Samford last month with a concussion.

While the Gators have had extra preparation time, the Knights (3-1) come in off an absolute clunker, a 48-21 Big 12 Conference defeat at home last week against Colorado. They never led and were shredded for 418 total yards.

The defense wasn’t good and the offense couldn’t take up slack. Quarterback KJ Jefferson tossed an end-zone interception to prevent UCF from taking an early lead, then lost a fumble in the fourth quarter that led to a tack-on touchdown for the Buffaloes.

“We’ve got to be efficient in the red zone and come away with points,” he said. “Whether that’s a touchdown or a kick, we’ve got to come away with something. That right there is totally on me.”

The Knights are third in FBS in rushing at 326 yards per game, led by RJ Harvey and his 525 yards.

Florida owns a 2-1 lead in the all-time series, including a 2-0 mark at home.

–Field Level Media

Dec 28, 2022; Annapolis, Maryland, USA; Duke Blue Devils wide receiver Jalon Calhoun (5) rushes during the first half against the Central Florida Knights in the 2022 Military Bowl at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

Duke has no problem with UCF in Military Bowl

Riley Leonard totaled 236 yards of offense as Duke topped UCF 30-13 at the Military Bowl in Annapolis, Md., on Wednesday.

Leonard completed 19-of-28 passes for 173 yards, carried the ball 10 times for 63 yards and scored two rushing touchdowns.

The victory for Duke (9-4) marked its first bowl win since 2018 and gave the Blue Devils their first nine-win season since 2014. It was just the seventh time in program history that Duke won nine or more games in a single season.

John Rhys Plumlee led UCF (9-5) with 203 yards of total offense, including 182 passing. Isaiah Bowser scored both of the Knights’ touchdowns on short runs.

Duke rushed for 177 yards and each of its three touchdowns came on the ground. Leonard’s first score of the day, a 1-yard second quarter punch-in, gave Duke 30 rushing scores on the season to set a program record. The score put Duke on top 17-7.

The Blue Devils extended that mark when Leonard scored from 3 yards out to seal the victory with 2:29 to play in the game.

Jacquez Moore got the Blue Devils on the scoreboard with 7:47 remaining in the first quarter on a 14-yard TD run. Moore had 43 yards on 12 carries.

Following a career-long 48-yard field goal from Todd Pelino, Duke took a 20-7 lead into halftime. The Blue Devils benefited in the first half from a Tre Freeman sack – the first of his career – a reversed call on a fumble, and a roughing-the-passer call against UCF on a third down.

UCF didn’t tally a tackle-for-loss until the third quarter and had difficulty stopping Duke’s offense.

The Blue Devils had six sacks and a late fourth quarter interception by freshman Chandler Rivers.

Duke won despite playing without leading tackler Shaka Heyward, who was recovering from a tonsillectomy.

–Field Level Media

Nov 12, 2022; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; UCF Knights running back Johnny Richardson (0) runs the ball against the Tulane Green Wave during the fourth quarter at Yulman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rebecca Warren-USA TODAY Sports

No. 20 UCF keeping focus squarely on Navy

By picking up its biggest win of the season, UCF took over the driver’s seat for the Group of Five conferences’ New Year’s Six berth.

After the Knights moved up two spots to No. 20 in Tuesday night’s rankings, they won’t get caught looking any further ahead than their next game against Navy on Saturday morning in Orlando, Fla.

The highest-ranked champion from the non-Power Five conferences will earn a berth to a New Year’s Six bowl. Last week, the team in line for that honor was then-No. 17 Tulane, but UCF went into New Orleans and pulled out a 38-31 victory.

Now UCF (8-2, 5-1 AAC) is tied with Cincinnati and Tulane atop the American Athletic Conference and owns the head-to-head tiebreakers over both. The Knights will host the conference championship game so long as they win out.

“That’s what I told our guys the other day: We’re not talking about anything (else),” UCF coach Gus Malzahn said. “We’ve got our hands full with this group (Navy). Last home game is really important for our seniors, really important for our program. It happens to be a really, really important game in the conference, so run with it.”

After missing the previous game due to injury, starting quarterback John Rhys Plumlee returned against Tulane and ran for 176 yards and two touchdowns on 18 attempts, in addition to throwing for 132 yards and another score. He broke off a 67-yard rushing score in the first quarter.

“There’s not a lot of quarterbacks around the country that are running like him as a run threat,” Malzahn said. “He’s really opened up things, and opened up some things on the perimeter later in the game. He played at a really high level.”

Navy (3-7, 3-4) knows a thing or two about running quarterbacks through its well-established triple-option offense. Malzahn pointed out that the Midshipmen are ranked not only 10th in FBS in rushing offense (238.7 yards per game) but also sixth in the country in defending the run (85.8 yards per game).

“You look at them this year, very similar,” Malzahn said. “Offensively they do a few more things. They’ve kind of opened up their offense a little bit as far as that goes.”

The main way the Midshipmen have opened it up has been by passing more often than normal. They’ve thrown for eight touchdowns, already higher than their total of six in each of the past two seasons. They’re on pace to attempt more passes than any season since at least 2016.

One week after Clemson was manhandled by Notre Dame and shut out for three quarters, Navy quarterbacks Xavier Arline and Maasai Maynor each threw for a touchdown before Notre Dame ultimately hung on 35-32. Notre Dame led 35-13 at halftime but Navy generated a stirring comeback that fell one score short.

UCF has a 2-1 edge in the all-time series, but in last year’s meeting, the Midshipmen rallied from a 30-17 fourth-quarter deficit to win 34-30 at home.

“We know (they have) a lot of good players, we know how fast they are,” Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo said. “We saw them in person last year, but again they’ve got some new players too. They’re playing really well now, that’s the tough part. They’re playing really well right now.

“So it’s gonna be a great challenge for us. We’re watching last year’s tapes … hopefully it’ll give us some tangible evidence that it can be done.”

–Field Level Media

Nov 5, 2022; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Memphis Tigers quarterback Seth Henigan (5) runs the ball as UCF Knights defensive end Tre'mon Morris-Brash (33) attempts to make the tackle during the first half at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports

QB Mikey Keene leads UCF over Memphis

Mikey Keene threw three touchdown passes and RJ Harvey ran for 151 yards and a score on 17 carries to lead No. 25 Central Florida to a 35-28 victory over host Memphis on Saturday.

Keene went 22-for-28 passing for 219 yards with scoring strikes of 24 and 13 yards to Kobe Hudson, who finished with six receptions and 85 yards for the Golden Knights (7-2, 4-1 American Athletic Conference). Keene, who had one interception, also tossed a 24-yard touchdown pass to Javon Baker in the fourth quarter to secure the victory.

Running back Isaiah Bowser also threw a touchdown pass for Central Florida, which won for the sixth time in its past seven games.

Ryan O’Keefe had 10 catches for 75 yards for UCF, which never trailed while handing the Tigers (4-5, 2-4) their fourth straight loss.

Seth Henigan went 26-for-39 passing for 284 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions in addition to rushing for 69 yards and a score on 16 carries for Memphis. Asa Martin finished with seven catches for 61 yards.

Trailing 21-14 at halftime, the Tigers tied the game on Jevyon Ducker’s 1-yard touchdown run that ended an 11-play, 77-yard drive with 6:53 left in the third quarter.

The game remained tied until early in the fourth quarter, when Keene hit Hudson in the back of the end zone for a 13-yard touchdown pass and a 28-21 lead with 12:19 left in the game.

Keene’s 24-yard scoring strike to Baker extended the lead to 35-21 with 4:58 left before Henigan’s 14-yard scoring strike to Joe Scates cut the lead to 35-28 with 3:18 left.

Central Florida ran out the clock on its ensuing possession.

After Harvey’s 22-yard touchdown run gave Central Florida a 7-0 lead on its first possession, the Tigers tied the game on Brandon Thomas’ 7-yard run with 5:59 left in the first quarter.

The Golden Knights regained the lead thanks to Bowser’s 4-yard touchdown pass to Stephen Martin out of the wildcat formation. The short toss finished an eight-play, 89-yard drive with 11:23 left in the first half.

Henigan’s 1-yard run tied the game at 14 with 8:18 left in the second quarter.

The Golden Knights struck back in less than two minutes, with Keene tossing a 24-yard touchdown pass to Hudson for a 21-14 lead with 6:39 left in the half.

–Field Level Media

UofL quarterback Malik Cunningham is sacked during the first half Friday evening as the Louisville Cardinals took on the University of Central Florida at Cardinal Stadium. The Cardinals led 21-14 at halftime. Sept. 17, 2021

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Louisville stuns UCF with late game-winning pick-6

Louisville’s Jaylin Alderman stunned the home crowd by returning an interception 66 yards for the game-winning score in the closing seconds Friday night, lifting the Cardinals to a 42-35 win over the UCF Knights in Louisville, Kentucky.

UCF’s Tre’mon Morris-Brash batted a pass and intercepted it inside the last minute, but on a rare blitz by Louisville, Gabriel’s pass on the next play bounced off receiver Amari Johnson and right to Alderman, who took it the distance for the win with 13 seconds left.

Playing injured most of the fourth quarter, Louisville’s Malik Cunningham was 23-of-38 for 265 yards and one touchdown. He rushed for 99 yards and two touchdowns.

Jalen Mitchell rushed for one, and Marshon Ford (career-high eight catches, 100 yards) and Trevion Cooley caught scores for the Cardinals (2-1).

UCF (2-1) saw Dillon Gabriel go 21-of-28 for 188 yards, with TD passes to Ryan O’Keefe, Jaylon Robinson and Brandon Johnson. O’Keefe also tossed a scoring pass to Gabriel.

Gabriel connected with O’Keefe for a 41-yard strike on the Knights’ second play from scrimmage at 12:22, but Cunningham tied it with a 7-yard scramble with 1:47 remaining.

However, on a fourth-down play early less than a minute into the second quarter, Gabriel tossed a pass 15 yards in the end zone to Robinson, who made a spectacular one-handed grab.

Mitchell plunged in from two yards to knot it at 14 at 9:38, and Cunningham guided the Cardinals 56 yards in six plays, flipping a 1-yard TD pass to Ford for a 21-14 halftime lead.

UCF scored on its first series of the second half with trickery, as Gabriel — after a lateral throw to O’Keefe — took a return pass from the wide receiver and scooted 20 yards at 10:59.

Cunningham’s second rushing TD was Louisville’s only score of the third, and Gabriel’s 6-yarder on a slant to Tennessee transfer Johnson made it 28-all early in the fourth.

Louisville countered UCF’s earlier trick play as receiver Braden Smith took a lateral from Cunningham and put the Cardinals back out front with a 45-yard score to Cooley with 9:15 to play.

Gabriel rushed six yards for the tying score with 1:21 remaining in regulation.

–Field Level Media

Sep 26, 2020; Greenville, North Carolina, USA;  UCF Knights wide receiver Jaylon Robinson (1) is congratulated by UCF Knights quarterback Dillon Gabriel (11) after his second half touchdown against the East Carolina Pirates at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports

Memphis looks to end losing streak vs. UCF

Neither team is ranked but the game between Central Florida and Memphis on Saturday figures to be another competitive meeting between the American Athletic Conference schools.

The programs met four times in 2017 and 2018, in the regular season and AAC championship games, with UCF victorious each time. The Tigers (1-1, 0-1 AAC) have lost 13 consecutive games to UCF (2-1, 1-1) and trail in the series 13-1.

The teams, both coming off bye weeks, did not meet last season.

A crowd of approximately 10,000 is expected in the 61,008-seat Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis, reduced because of COVID-19 restrictions.

“I think a lot of us do have a chip on our shoulder when it comes to UCF because of what’s occurred with them in the past,” Memphis coach Ryan Silverfield said. “It’s going to be a battle. I don’t care if we win the game 3-2, just as long as we come out with a win.”

Silverfield, in his first year after replacing Mike Norvell (who is now at Florida State), mentioned that UCF’s speed is of the utmost concern, especially with receiver Jaylon “Flash” Robinson, a transfer from Oklahoma, and running back Otis Anderson.

Memphis followers are aware of Anderson, who had 113 yards on 15 carries, including a 62-yard run and the game-winning touchdown in overtime of the 2017 AAC championship game.

Robinson is averaging 20.3 yards per reception.

Knights sophomore quarterback Dillon Gabriel has passed for 1,155 yards in only three games while completing 62.6 percent of his passes with nine touchdowns and two interceptions.

“They play fast on offense, they’re going to try and get 100 plays,” Silverfield said. “They got playmakers, they are fast. (People) always make the comment that Florida teams are fast and they are.”

UCF is coming off a 34-26 loss at home to Tulsa following road wins at Georgia Tech and East Carolina.

Memphis defeated Arkansas State at home in the season opener and lost at SMU 30-27 on Oct. 3.

Brady White is third on Memphis’ career passing list with 7,970 yards.

Damonte Coxie, who caught eight passes for 85 yards against SMU, is second on the Tigers’ career receiving yards chart with 3,052 yards. Antony Miller is the Tigers’ leader with 3,590 receiving yards.

“Memphis is a good football team,” UCF coach Josh Heupel said. “I think they have skilled players on the offensive side of the ball, and they’ve done a good job on special teams over the last couple of years.

“For us, it is about us. We have to do things better than we did (against Tulsa). Things that are correctable. We’ve got a lot of really good football players who will be ready to play.”

–Field Level Media

Sep 26, 2020; Greenville, North Carolina, USA;  UCF Knights head coach Josh Heupel reacts during the first half against the East Carolina Pirates at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports

No. 11 UCF bids to bounce visiting Tulsa

After posting two big road wins over Georgia Tech and East Carolina, 11th-ranked UCF gets to play at home for the first time this season when they host Tulsa in an American Athletic Conference matchup on Saturday.

The game will be contested in Orlando at what is now officially “The Bounce House,” formerly Spectrum Stadium.

UCF coach Josh Heupel thinks the atmosphere will not be the same with attendance limited because of COVID-19 protocols.

“I think what’s different for us (is) you’re running out of the tunnel at the home stadium and you’ve got a crowd in there at 20 to 25 percent capacity,” Heupel said. “However, it’s not going to look the same. So we’ll have to create our own energy.”

The Knights (2-0, 1-0 AAC) have scored an even 100 points in their first two outings and racked up 1,292 yards in total offense in a 49-21 win over Georgia Tech on Sept. 19 and 51-28 last week at East Carolina.

Quarterback Dillon Gabriel has completed 67 percent of his 88 pass attempts for 825 yards and eight touchdowns against only one interception.

But one figure stood out for Heupel in his team’s win over the Pirates.

The Knights were penalized a school-record 19 times for 139 yards, saddling them with 27 penalties for 190 yards in just two games.

“The penalties do stand out,” Heupel said. “We’ve got to get them corrected.”

Tulsa (0-1, 0-0 AAC) also was heavily penalized in its only outing with 15 for 120 yards in a 16-7 loss to Oklahoma State on Sept. 19. The Golden Hurricane’s game against Arkansas State last week was postponed because of the coronavirus issues among the Red Wolves.

Tulsa has won the last three meetings against UCF, edging the visiting Knights 34-31 last year by rallying from a 31-24 fourth-quarter deficit.

“I think we lost that game last year on both sides of the football,” Heupel said. “If you look at how they played the second half of last year, every game was tight. And the way they played against Oklahoma State, a real good football team, they’re getting better.”

Tulsa’s Zach Smith was 10 of 14 passing for 127 yards last year against UCF before leaving with a leg injury. He was 18 of 28 passing for 165 yards and a touchdown against Oklahoma State.

The Hurricane were within 13-7 late in the fourth quarter at Oklahoma State before giving up the ball on downs deep in their own territory. The Cowboys kicked a clinching field goal to cap the scoring.

“It’s frustrating,” Tulsa coach Philip Montgomery said. “But we’re going to learn from it. From an effort standpoint, you can’t question the effort we gave throughout the game in all three phases. Now we just have to learn and get better.”

–Field Level Media