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 Fifteenth-ranked Central Florida made sure the sixth-ranked Bears
stayed uncomfortable on the field Wednesday night.
The Knights surged to a two-touchdown lead early in the fourth
quarter and held off Baylor 52-42 in the Fiesta Bowl at the
University of Phoenix Stadium.
UCF quarterback Blake Bortles passed for 301 yards, rushed for 93
and accounted for four touchdowns to upstage Baylor counterpart
Bryce Petty.
"He made big plays," UCF coach George O'Leary said of Bortles. "He
made plays with his legs and found a way to make some plays that
could've been bad plays into good ones."
After Baylor tied the game 28-28 early in the third quarter, Bortles
directed a nine-play, 76-yard touchdown drive that he capped with a
10-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Breshad Perriman.
Three plays into the fourth quarter, Bortles ran 15 yards for a
touchdown to re-establish the Knights' 14-point advantage.
Bortles looked back during the touchdown run and was surprised to
find he was by himself.
"We knew it was there," Bortles said. "The safety came down and I
bounced out, and I guess he fell down. I looked back and didn't see
him. Our guys just did a great job of blocking that play up."
Bortles completed 20 of 31 passes and threw two interceptions.
UCF (12-1) forced Baylor into an unfamiliar position. The Bears
(11-2) trailed only once in the second half previously this season,
and they lost that game at Oklahoma State. Petty kept firing, and he
finished 30-for-47 for 356 passing yards with two touchdown passes
and one interception.
However, Baylor was held back by 17 penalties for 135 yards.
"I'm disappointed in myself," Briles said. "I don't think I did a
good job of preparing our team. I can't remember the last time we
had this many penalties."
UCF running back Storm Johnson helped close out Baylor with a
40-yard touchdown run with 10:26 left in the fourth quarter. Johnson
rushed for 124 yards and three touchdowns on 20 attempts.
Johnson put the Knights in command from the start, capping the first
two drives with touchdown runs.
"The line did an awesome job of opening holes and creating space for
me to run through," Johnson said.
By defeating Baylor, UCF moved to 2-0 this season against teams
ranked in the top 10. The Knights also beat then-No. 8 Louisville
38-35, handing the Cardinals their only loss of the season. UCF's
only loss came against then-No. 12 South Carolina.
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O'Leary bristled in the postage press conference at a
question regarding UCF's legitimacy as a program.
"Any time you win 12 games in a season, it's great for your
program," O'Leary said. "A win like this is great. It's national
exposure. It's great for the players. It's great for the
school."
UCF dominated the line of scrimmage early to take a 14-0 lead
midway through the first quarter.
Johnson, who rushed for 59 yards in the first quarter, scored on
runs of 11 and 2 yards on the Knights' first two drives. UCF ran
on 10 of 11 plays on the two marches to take the initial
momentum.
Baylor climbed back by creating turnovers.
Bears cornerback Demetri Goodson intercepted a long Bortles pass
at the Baylor 3 to stop one Knights drive, and linebacker Eddie
Lackey set up a Baylor touchdown with an interception at the UCF
32.
Baylor needed just two plays to score after Lackey's pick. Petty
hit Levi Norwood over the middle, and the wide receiver evaded
the UCF secondary for a 30-yard touchdown.
Bortles made up for the two interceptions with some help from
wide receiver Rannell Hall (four catches, 113 yards). Bortles
connected with Hall on a short pass near the line of scrimmage
at midfield, and Hall slipped a defender and outran the Baylor
defense for a 50-yard touchdown.
Hall's score boosted the Knights' lead to 21-13 with 5:05 left
in the first half.
Baylor kept punching back, though. Petty answered Hall's score
by running for a 13-yard touchdown, accented by a flip into the
end zone when UCF defensive back Jacoby Glenn hit the diving
quarterback in the legs.
Bortles then led UCF on a nine-play, 83-yard touchdown drive,
capped by another catch-and-run touchdown to Hall, this one
going 34 yards. The extra point gave the Knights a 28-20
halftime lead.
NOTES: UCF and Baylor both began the season unranked and went on
to win their respective conferences. UCF finished 8-0 in the
American Athletic, while Baylor won the Big 12 with an 8-1 mark.
... Baylor has been ranked in the top 10 for eight consecutive
polls, a program record. ... UCF entered on an eight-game
winning streak, the longest in program history.
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