UCF Loses on the Road Against ECU

UCF traveled to Greenville, North Carolina to face Eastern Carolina on Saturday night. The Knights dropped their first conference game of the season, in a 13-34 loss to the Pirates.

“They got after us. They beat us, really, in all three phases of the game. You know, what stood out to me was, they controlled the tempo, time of possession – we couldn’t get off the field on defense,” Gus Malzahn said postgame.

The Knights lost the time of possession battle handily, only possessing the ball for 24:49, while ECU had possession for 35:11. ECU was able to put together solid drives throughout the game, only punting once.

UCF’s loss to Louisville in week 2 was the only other game where the Knights lost the time of possession battle.

Turnovers were an issue for UCF throughout the game. The Knights turned the ball over four times, while creating zero turnovers defense. John Rhys Plumlee threw three interceptions and lost a fumble in their loss to the Pirates, although one of his interceptions came in UCF’s final drive of the game, which certainly doesn’t hold the same weight that the previous two interceptions held.

Malzahn explained, “You can’t turn the ball over. I mean the last one, it’s desperation, we’re throwing the thing up. But you know, can not turn the ball over and have a chance to beat a quality team, especially on the road.”

The four turnovers that the Knights gave up was their season high, while Plumlee threw a season high for interceptions as well. This comes after back-to-back weeks without turning the ball over.

Malzahn said, “We’ve done a good job protecting the football the last few weeks. Obviously tonight, it was a disappointing performance, as far as protecting the football.”

Certainly a disappointing performance, and most likely a performance that Malzahn and his staff, the players, and the fans were not expecting. With that said, the Knights were not far off statistically compared to ECU. The Knights were comparable to ECU in total yards, passing yards, rushing yards, and penalties. The time of possession battle and turnovers seemed to be the glaring differences between the two teams, from a statical standpoint.

UCF has a great opportunity for a bounce back game next week, as they take on No. 21 Cincinnati in the Bounce House.