3 things learned after UCF comes unraveled in Big 12 loss at Kansas State
UCF suffered its first loss, dropping its Big 12 opener on the road against Kansas State on Saturday night at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
The Wildcats jumped out to a 21-10 lead in the first half before UCF stormed back to take a 24-21 lead in the third quarter. But the Knights could not hold the advantage as the home team scored 23 points in a row to cruise to a 44-31 victory.
Here are three things learned from the result:
Big 12 atmosphere is no joke
From the start, the atmosphere differed from UCF’s previous home in the American Athletic Conference.
The sellout crowd of 51,912 — primarily decked in purple — made its presence known, mainly when UCF was on offense.
The Knights struggled with clock management, sometimes snapping the football with one or two seconds left on the play clock. The team also was flagged several times for delay of game, especially in the second half.
Coach Gus Malzahn wasn’t willing to credit the crowd noise for the team’s difficulties.
“We didn’t get the plays to him [Timmy McClain] fast enough,” he said. “That was on us as coaches.”
The players definitely could feel a different vibe.
“The stadium is bigger with many more fans,” said senior guard Lokahi Pauole. “On the bus coming in, the tailgates [in the parking lots] were bigger. The atmosphere just feels better. It’s nothing different. It’s still football.”
Added senior linebacker Jason Johnson: “The home crowd brought it.”
UCF fans descended on Kansas State to celebrate Big 12 opener
Lack of discipline
UCF finished with a season-high 10 penalties for 80 yards, many of which occurred at crucial times.
The offense was flagged six times with three for delay of game, once for holding, illegal procedure and an illegal snap penalty. On defense, the unit was called for four penalties, including offside on a fourth-and-1 that gave Kansas State a first down and led to a touchdown.
There also was a roughing-the-passer call after UCF stopped the Wildcats on third-and-6 that extended the drive for the Wildcats.
“We have got to play with discipline,” said Malzahn. “We didn’t do the things that it takes to get a quality win against a really good opponent on their home field. We got to go back and we have got to clean the things up.”
Said Johnson: “We had a chance to get off the field and win the game, but we didn’t because we [expletive] ourselves.”
UCF also had two turnovers in Kansas State territory: One was by running back RJ Harvey, who fumbled the ball at the 40 and quarterback Timmy McClain threw an interception that ended another drive on the Wildcats’ 39 with 1:23 left in the first half.
Rushing defense needs a tuneup
UCF’s defense only allowed 116 rushing yards per game through the first three games, but Kansas State rushed for a season-high 281 yards.
Most of the damage was done by tailback DJ Giddeon, who set career-highs in yards (207) and rushing touchdowns (4). It was the first time UCF had allowed an opponent to score four rushing touchdowns in a game since Syracuse’s Walter Reyes on Sept. 20, 2003.
“I thought we would do a better job stopping the run,” said Malzahn. “Give them credit. The running back had 207 yards. We didn’t stop them. We’ve got some things we have to correct in the run defense and we will.”
“They gave us some different looks that we didn’t see them do,” said Johnson. “They did a good job against us.”
Email Matt Murschel at mmurschel@orlandosentinel.com or follow him on Twitter at @osmattmurschel.