UCF Stumbles in Loss to Louisville

UCF opened up Week 2 of the college football season against Louisville on Friday night. The Knights stumbled in the second half, ending in a 20-14 loss to the Cardinals.

UCF played well in the first half, riding Bowser’s 2 touchdown first half performance. The Knights were in control of the game going into halftime with a 14-7 lead.

UCF struggled coming out of halftime, giving up 10 points to Louisville in the 3rd quarter, with little offensive production. Plumlee cooled off a bit from his great performance in their season opener against SC State, throwing for 131 yards, and completing 16 of 34 pass attempts. The senior quarterback still had a good day on the ground, leading the team with 83 rushing yards.

The Knights struggled with penalties throughout the game, with 2 touchdowns being called back as a result of penalties. UCF had 11 penalties for a total of 111 yards. Postgame, Malzahn shouldered the responsibility for their penalties, putting the onus on himself to discipline the team.

UCF’s defense kept them in the game, with their bend but don’t break defense throughout the night. The defense made multiple stops in the fourth to give the Knights a chance, but the offense was ultimately unable to punch it in the end zone.

Despite the tough loss, Malzahn and his players were clear that they would be putting this behind them and focusing on the upcoming games. Malzahn seemed optimistic in his team’s potential to finish off the season well, as he stated, “I’m very confident we’ll finish it off.”

“Were going to have to learn from this. We’re going to have to grow from this.”
– Gus Malzahn, UCF Head Coach

Ultimately UCF will be using the tough loss as a learning experience and an opportunity for the team to continue to develop. Malzahn explained, “We’re going to have to learn from this. We’re going to have to grow from this.” “We can’t let this divide us. We have a lot of football left.” – Sam Jackson