SportsDirect Inc. staff
Nov 28, 2014
Central Florida 16, South Florida 0: Justin Holman threw for one score and the visiting Knights kept their American Athletic Conference title hopes alive with their first shutout of the season.
Rannell Hall rushed for 65 yards and a touchdown and Micah Reed added 57 yards on the ground as UCF (8-3, 6-1 American) defeated its rivals for the second straight season. The Knights, who entered the game ranked 12th in the nation in scoring defense and limited SMU to four first downs last week, held their third straight opponent under double digits in winning their third straight behind 149 yards passing from Holman, who finished 20-of-29.
The Bulls (4-8, 3-5) struggled to get much going offensively as Mike White was 11-of-25 passing for 107 yards before leaving late in the third quarter with a rib injury. Andre Davis, who finished his career with 13 receiving records at USF, grabbed six passes for 57 yards.
UCF scored on a two long drives in the second quarter to take a 14-0 lead into the half. Holman capped a 17-play possession with a 7-yard scoring pass to Breshad Perriman to open the scoring and Hall scored at the end of their next drive on an 21-yard run to extend the lead.
The Knights made it 16-0 with 5:45 left in the third quarter when White was called for intentional grounding while in the end zone trying to avoid a sack by Thomas Niles. Steven Bench replaced White and finished 7-of-13 for 88 yards but the Bulls were denied four times inside the red zone, including once on a first-and-goal from the 1-yard line with five minutes to play.
GAME NOTEBOOK: UCF held the ball for 18:24 in the first half and limited the Bulls to 200 total yards. ...UCF wraps up the regular season next week at East Carolina. ...The Knights didn't play either Memphis or Cincinnati this season, both of which also have one conference loss.