|
 Blake Bortles passed for one touchdown and ran another Thursday
night, helping the Knights win 41-17 to remain unbeaten in league
play.
UCF (9-1, 6-0) won for the sixth straight time following a
three-point loss to South Carolina, retaining sole possession of
first place in the AAC — one game ahead of Louisville and
Cincinnati.
"I thought Blake was pretty much on the whole game," UCF coach
George O'Leary said. "They put a lot of pressure on him, but he was
exceptional as far as taking plays that weren't there and making
something good out of them."
Bortles threw a 4-yard TD pass to Breshad Perriman in the opening
quarter and UCF scored on its first four offensive possessions to
build a 28-7 lead.
Rutgers (5-5, 2-4) trimmed its deficit to 14 before the half when
Andre Patton recovered a blocked punt in the end zone. However, that
was as close as the Scarlet Knights got.
"There's no surprise why they're having the season they're having,"
Rutgers coach Kyle Flood said. "Their quarterback is an exceptional
player, excellent decision-maker, and very accurate passer. We had
opportunities to get him on the ground in the first half, and we
couldn't do it."
Flood's team has lost four of five following a 4-1 start. The
Scarlet Knights have been outscored 166-58 in the losses, all
against conference opponents.
For the second straight week, they fell behind early and were forced
to abandon the running game. Paul James was limited to 20 yards
rushing on 12 attempts.
Bortles, meanwhile, completed 21 of 30 passes for 335 yards and no
interceptions. The redshirt junior scored on a 7-yard run in the
second quarter, finishing one of three TD drives he led covering 79
or more yards.
J.J. Worton, whose one-handed, highlight-reel catch in the back of
the end zone helped UCF rally for a victory over last-place Temple
five days earlier, had his second straight 100-yard receiving game
with five catches for 117 yards. Storm Johnson rushed for 75 yards
and scored on runs of 1 and 12 yards.
UCF has won five games by seven or fewer points this season, but
this one was never in doubt.
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The Knights moved 69 yards in eight plays
following the opening kickoff to take an early lead on Bortles'
TD pass to Perriman and marched right down the field again to go
up 14-0 on Johnson's first TD after Clayton Geathers intercepted
Gary Nova when Rutgers' quarterback threw into double coverage.
Johnson's 11th rushing touchdown of the season completed a
14-play, 86-yard drive that made it 21-0 midway through the
second quarter.
Despite amassing a season-best 657 yards of total offense
against Temple, Bortles had to lead his team to 10 points in the
final 66 seconds to beat the Owls 39-36 to remain atop the
conference standings last Saturday. Two weeks ago, the Knights
held off Houston after leading 6-0 at the half.
"I think this team needed this kind of game," O'Leary said. "We
got a chance to play a lot of kids," O'Leary said. "I told the
kids luck runs out, talent usually wins."
Bortles agreed.
"Nobody would script a game the way the last couple have gone.
I'd rather win this way," Bortles said. "I like the script more
the way it went tonight. That's why we work so hard all week, so
we can come out and execute the way we did."
Rutgers was unable to move the ball with any consistency. Nova
was 11 of 34 passing for 107 yards, no touchdowns and one
interception. The Scarlet Knights' biggest gainer was Michael
Burton's 38-yard run on a fake punt play that accounted for more
than half the 71 yards Rutgers marched to score on Paul James'
1-yard run on fourth down.
Anthony Cioffi blocked the punt that Patton recovered for a TD,
cutting UCF's lead to 28-14 just before halftime.
"There was a lot of positive energy in the locker room," Flood
said. "We had a lot of momentum."
But the Scarlet Knights couldn't sustain it and didn't score
again until Kyle Federico kicked a 35-yard field goal in the
final minute.
Bortles finished the rout by leading drives that produced two
second-half field goals and leading another long drive that
William Stanback capped with a 1-yard TD run early in the fourth
quarter.
[Associated
Press; FRED GOODALL, AP Sports Writer]
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