Field Level Media
Nov 14, 2020
Sophomore Dillon Gabriel passed for 184 of his game's 268 yards in the second half and UCF rolled past Temple 38-13 on Saturday night before a crowd of about 9,000 spectators at the Bounce House in Orlando, Fla.
Jaylon Robinson (113) and Marlon Williams (102) each enjoyed 100-yard receiving nights for the fifth time each as the Knights (5-2, 4-2 American) stretched their winning streak to three games going into next Saturday's key clash against conference leader Cincinnati.
Gabriel completed 12 of 22 passes with two touchdowns but UCF finished with a season-low 419 yards in total offense.
Linebacker Eriq Gilyard had three tackles for loss among his seven stops, including a strip sack that set up UCF's first touchdown, to lead a defensive effort that held the Owls to 290 total yards.
It was the fourth consecutive loss for the Owls (1-5, 1-5), who were without their No. 2 receiver Randle Jones and down to their No. 3 quarterback because of injuries. UCF was without injured veteran receiver Tre Nixon for a sixth consecutive outing.
With Anthony Russo and Trad Beatty sidelined, sophomore Re'al Mitchell got his first career start at quarterback for the Owls. He completed 10 of 23 passes for 107 yards with two interceptions. Freshman Matt Duncan made a brief appearance for his first collegiate action and threw two incompletions on his only pass attempts.
The Knights needed just over eight minutes to score three touchdowns to start the game. They forced a fumble and intercepted a pass to set up short fields for their first two, then drove 65 yards on seven plays for an early 21-0 lead.
UCF's offense then went into a funk, mostly due to poor field position and penalties, but the Owls were able to muster only a field goal the rest of the half and UCF went to the locker room up 21-3 at the break and stretched that lead to 38-3 after three quarters.
--Field Level Media