UCF scored 31 second-half points, came back from a 28-7 deficit and along the way picked up one of the biggest victories in school history Friday night at Papa John鈥檚 Cardinal Stadium. The Knights鈥� 38-35 victory over No. 6/8 Louisville marked the highest-ranked foe UCF has ever defeated.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a great win in a tough environment,鈥� UCF head coach George O鈥橪eary said. 鈥淥vercoming a packed house and the No. 8 team in the country, is a great win for our program. I鈥檓 just happy for the kids. We went into the game with one motto, 鈥楪reat effort, great effort, great effort and compete and that鈥檚 what I thought they did.鈥�
O鈥橪eary was impressed with the way his team rallied from a 21-point deficit.
鈥淲e got down 28-7 and they could have just hung their heads, but no they didn鈥檛,鈥� the head coach said. 鈥淭hey got after it. We took some breaks and got some things done and kept pounding.鈥�
After trailing for the first time all season, Louisville took a 35-31 lead going 88 yards in nine plays. Dominique Brown took it around left end for a 15-yard touchdown run. But they left three minutes for Blake Bortles and the Knights, which was just enough time to mount the game-winning drive.
UCF took over at its own 25-yard line and calmly drove 75 yards. Bortles was 6-of-8 for 66 yards on the Knights鈥� final drive. UCF faced third-and-goal at the 2-yard line. Bortles took the snap, rolled right, bought some time and found wide receiver Jeff Godfrey alone in the back-right corner of the end zone for a TD. Earlier in the possession Bortles found Godfrey for an 11-yard gain to reach the red zone. On 3rd-and-10 from the 19-yard line, Reese hauled in a 15-yard aerial to move it to the 5-yard line. A spike and a 3-yard Storm Johnson run set up the scoring play.
鈥淲e had some good runs and some nice passes, especially that last series,鈥� O鈥橪eary said. 鈥淏lake made some really good throws and we made some good plays, getting some (yards) after the catch.鈥�
Bortles gave credit to the running game, which set up a lot of his success.
鈥淲e had a good plan,鈥� Bortles said. 鈥淲e were able to run the ball and that鈥檚 something that nobody has been able to do on them. Give the offensive line and the running backs credit.鈥�
The defense then held on, as Louisville moved to midfield with 5 seconds remaining. But a Teddy Bridgewater Hail Mary fell incomplete in the end zone as time expired.
The fourth quarter was set up by a wild third period and end of the second quarter. The Cardinals took a seven-point edge into the locker room at intermission, 14-7. But Louisville added to the lead quickly after the break. Dominique Brown slipped up the middle for a 20-yard TD run to push the Louisville advantage to 21-7 with 9:26 remaining in the third quarter.
The Cardinals pushed the lead to 28-7 on a special teams miscue. UCF punter Caleb Houston fumbled before he could get a punt off. It was recovered by Louisville鈥檚 James Quick, who returned it for a score, giving the Cardinals their third touchdown in a span of just more than eight minutes.
Then, it was UCF鈥檚 turn to put together a scoring streak. Storm Johnson got the Knights started with 4:50 remaining in the third quarter, plowing in from one yard out. UCF created a turnover less than a minute later. Clayton Geathers forced a Louisville fumble at the 15-yard line where Sean Maag recovered. After a false start, the first offensive play of the Knights鈥� possession was a 20-yard screen pass for a touchdown from Bortles to Johnson. Two TDs in 1:10 made it 28-21.
Running back Will Stanback made a couple big runs after a stop from the Knight defense. Included in those plays by the freshman was a 12-yard scoring run to tie the game at 28-28. UCF鈥檚 three TDs came in a matter of 4:20, besting Louisville鈥檚 three TDs in eight minutes. The 21 unanswered by the Knights made it a one-quarter game. The winner of the fourth quarter would take the victory and UCF outscored Louisville 10-7 in the final period.
Louisville grabbed a 7-0 lead with 5:29 remaining in the first quarter on a Bridgewater-to-Eli Rogers touchdown pass of 18 yards. The Louisville scoring drive came following a UCF possession to open the game that ended with an interception in the end zone.
The first quarter came to an end with Louisville holding on to that 7-0 advantage. The UCF defense came up with a huge turnover late in the quarter. Safety Brandon Alexander forced a fumble inside the Knights鈥� 5-yard line that rolled into the pylon, which resulted in a touchback and UCF regained possession.
The Knights tied things up 7-7 with 4:13 remaining in the first half. Stanback then made back-to-back big plays. Rannell Hall took a reverse inside the Louisville 10, but fumbled. Stanback recovered at the Cardinal 4-yard line. On the next play, Stanback bowled into the end zone for the game-tying score.
Louisville regained the lead 14-7 with just less than one minute left in the half. Bridgewater capped a 10-play, 75-yard drive with a 10-yard touchdown pass to DeVante Parker, setting the stage for all the second-half fireworks.
UCF tallied 446 yards of total offense to 445 for Louisville. Offensively, Johnson rushed for 109 yards and a touchdown, while hauling in four receptions for 79 yards and a score. Stanback rushed for 65 yards and two TDs. Bortles finished the game 21-of-32 for 250 yards and two TDs. Defensively, Sean Maag tallied 10 tackles, half a tackle-for-loss and a fumble recovery.