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ORLANDO — Shaking off a sloppy first quarter in its home debut, UCF nearly smashed a school record Thursday night in demolishing New Hampshire.
The Knights rushed for 454 yards, averaging 8.4 per carry, to pull away from the visiting Wildcats in a 57-3 rout. Only once before had UCF (1-0) piled up more yards on the ground in program history, totaling 461 in a 1992 blowout win over Gardner-Webb.
Sixth-year senior RJ Harvey led the way with 142 yards and two touchdowns on just 11 carries, Myles Montgomery scored twice and both Peny Boone and Johnny Richardson found the end zone once.
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UCF’s defense swarmed New Hampshire, a Football Championship Subdivision playoff qualifier two seasons ago, from the outset. The Wildcats gained just 162 total yards, allowed seven tackles for loss and converted twice on 15 third-down attempts.
“Our guys played hard, now. They played their guts out,” said UCF coach Gus Malzahn, who improved to 12-1 all-time in regular-season openers as a college coach. “Our defense was flying around, and I think you can see that we’ve got some playmakers and quite a few more experienced guys that have played a lot of football.
“Offensively, it’s learning to play with each other — new quarterback, new running backs, new receivers, new starters up front. It’s a matter of correcting things.”
Entering the night as a 41½-point favorite, UCF delivered a routine victory in dominant fashion, starting 1-0 for the ninth straight year. But the Knights still have questions to sort out, particularly in the passing department, ahead of next Saturday’s non-conference matchup with Sam Houston.
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UCF quarterback KJ Jefferson (1) runs the ball during the first quarter against New…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/rj-harvey-ucf-football-run-050532655.html
Author : Daytona Beach News-Journal
Publish date : 2024-08-30 05:05:32
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