Central Florida 35, Memphis 28
(AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
By PHIL STUKENBORG
The Associated Press
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Mikey Keene passed for 219 yards and three touchdowns and RJ Harvey rushed for 151 yards and a score to lead No. 25 UCF to a 35-28 win over Memphis.
UCF (7-2, 4-1 American Athletic Conference) handed Memphis (4-5, 2-4) its fourth consecutive loss, the Tigers' longest losing streak since 2013.
Keene was pressed into his first start of the season after quarterback John Rhys Plumlee suffered an injury in last weekend's upset of nationally ranked Cincinnati. Plumlee sustained a possible concussion in UCF's 25-21 victory over the Bearcats.
Keene rallied the Knights, who were held scoreless in the third quarter, by tossing two fourth-quarter touchdowns. The first was a 13-yard pass to Kobe Hudson early in the fourth quarter for a 28-21 UCF lead.
Hudson's second TD reception of the game came after the Knights stopped the Tigers on downs at the UCF 39 in the closing minutes of the third quarter. Keene added his third TD pass - and second of the quarter -- with 4:58 left by finding Javon Baker on a perfect strike to the left corner of the end zone for a 35-21 advantage.
Keane, who completed 22 of 28 passes, was aided by a UCF defense that ranks No. 1 nationally in red zone defense. The Knights held Memphis scoreless on three trips inside the UCF 10-yard line in the first half.
Quarterback Seth Henigan passed for 284 yards and a touchdown to lead Memphis, but was intercepted twice. Henigan also led the Tigers with 69 rushing yards and a touchdown.
Harvey capped UCF's opening drive with a 22-yard touchdown run, turning a busted play into a score by reversing field and breaking a tackle before reaching the end zone. He set up another TD with a 61-yard run.
UCF stopped a potential Memphis scoring drive late in the first quarter as nose tackle Anthony Montalvo dropped running back Jevyon Ducker for a one-yard loss on 4th-and-1 from the UCF 6.
The Tigers put together the first scoring drive of the second half to tie the game, 21-all, wth Ducker's 1-yard run.
THE TAKEAWAY
UCF: Playing without Plumlee, the Knights' offense was productive enough behind Keene. Despite being limited to 38 yards in the third quarter, the Knights recovered to score the go-ahead touchdown with 12:19 to go.
Memphis: Entering the game with a three-game losing streak that has placed pressure on coach Ryan Silverfield, the Tigers kept pace with the Knights before faltering.
November 5, 2022
| Scoring Summary |
| First Quarter |
UCF | Mem |
| UCF |
TD |
10:52 |
RJ Harvey 22 yd run (Colton Boomer kick) |
7 |
0 |
| Mem |
TD |
5:59 |
Brandon Thomas 7 yd run (Chris Howard kick) |
7 |
7 |
| Second Quarter |
UCF | Mem |
| UCF |
TD |
11:23 |
Stephen Martin 4 yd pass from Isaiah Bowser (Colton Boomer kick) |
14 |
7 |
| Mem |
TD |
8:18 |
Seth Henigan 1 yd run (Chris Howard kick) |
14 |
14 |
| UCF |
TD |
6:39 |
Kobe Hudson 24 yd pass from Mikey Keene (Colton Boomer kick) |
21 |
14 |
| Third Quarter |
UCF | Mem |
| Mem |
TD |
6:53 |
Jevyon Ducker 1 yd run (Chris Howard kick) |
21 |
21 |
| Fourth Quarter |
UCF | Mem |
| UCF |
TD |
12:19 |
Kobe Hudson 13 yd pass from Mikey Keene (Colton Boomer kick) |
28 |
21 |
| UCF |
TD |
4:58 |
Javon Baker 24 yd pass from Mikey Keene (Colton Boomer kick) |
35 |
21 |
| Mem |
TD |
3:18 |
Joseph Scates 14 yd pass from Seth Henigan (Chris Howard kick) |
35 |
28 |
| Team Stats |
| |
UCF |
Memphis |
| First downs |
24 |
27 |
| Rushing |
9 |
7 |
| Passing |
14 |
16 |
| Penalty |
1 |
4 |
| 3rd Down Efficiency |
7-15, 47% |
9-14, 64% |
| 4th down efficiency |
0-0, -% |
0-2, 0% |
| Rushes-Yards |
42-204 |
36-149 |
| Passing Yards |
223 |
284 |
| Return Yards |
62 |
63 |
| Completions-Attempts-Int |
23-29-1 |
26-39-2 |
| Sacks-Yards Lost |
2--18 |
0-0 |
| Punts |
4 |
2 |
| Punts-Average |
44.3 |
47.5 |
| Fumbles Lost |
0-0 |
0-0 |
| Penalties - Yards |
6-66 |
3-25 |
| Time of Possession |
29:07 |
30:53 |
| UCF Passing |
| Player |
Cmp |
Att |
Yds |
TDs |
Int |
| M. Keene |
22 |
28 |
219 |
3 |
1 |
| I. Bowser |
1 |
1 |
4 |
1 |
0 |
| Memphis Passing |
| Player |
Cmp |
Att |
Yds |
TDs |
Int |
| S. Henigan |
26 |
39 |
284 |
1 |
2 |
| UCF Rushing |
| Player |
Carries |
Yds |
Avg |
TDs |
| R. Harvey |
17 |
151 |
8.9 |
1 |
| I. Bowser |
15 |
67 |
4.5 |
0 |
| X. Townsend |
1 |
5 |
5.0 |
0 |
| R. O'Keefe |
2 |
-3 |
-1.5 |
0 |
| J. Richardson |
1 |
-3 |
-3.0 |
0 |
| M. Keene |
5 |
-11 |
-2.2 |
0 |
| Memphis Rushing |
| Player |
Carries |
Yds |
Avg |
TDs |
| S. Henigan |
16 |
69 |
4.3 |
1 |
| B. Thomas |
8 |
33 |
4.1 |
1 |
| J. Ducker |
4 |
30 |
7.5 |
1 |
| A. Martin |
5 |
18 |
3.6 |
0 |
| S. Smith |
1 |
1 |
1.0 |
0 |
| G. Rogers |
1 |
-1 |
-1.0 |
0 |
| E. Lewis |
1 |
-1 |
-1.0 |
0 |
| UCF Receiving |
| Player |
Rec |
Yds |
Avg |
TDs |
| K. Hudson |
6 |
85 |
14.2 |
2 |
| R. O'Keefe |
10 |
75 |
7.5 |
0 |
| J. Baker |
3 |
38 |
12.7 |
1 |
| A. Holler |
2 |
14 |
7.0 |
0 |
| R. Harvey |
1 |
7 |
7.0 |
0 |
| S. Martin |
1 |
4 |
4.0 |
1 |
| Memphis Receiving |
| Player |
Rec |
Yds |
Avg |
TDs |
| C. Prieskorn |
5 |
76 |
15.2 |
0 |
| E. Lewis |
4 |
62 |
15.5 |
0 |
| A. Martin |
7 |
61 |
8.7 |
0 |
| J. Scates |
4 |
38 |
9.5 |
1 |
| G. Rogers |
5 |
34 |
6.8 |
0 |
| J. Ivory |
1 |
13 |
13.0 |
0 |
| UCF Interceptions |
| Player |
Int |
Yards |
| D. Wilson |
1 |
12 |
| D. Brown |
1 |
0 |
| Memphis Interceptions |
| Player |
Int |
Yards |
| D. Ross |
1 |
0 |
| UCF Punting |
| Player |
Punts |
Yards |
Avg |
| M. McCarthy |
4 |
177 |
44.3 |
| Memphis Punting |
| Player |
Punts |
Yards |
Avg |
| J. Doyle |
2 |
95 |
47.5 |
| UCF Punt Returns |
| Player |
Ret |
Yards |
Average |
| X. Townsend |
2 |
21 |
10.5 |
| Memphis Punt Returns |
| Player |
Ret |
Yards |
Average |
| E. Lewis |
2 |
27 |
13.5 |
| UCF Kick Returns |
| Player |
Ret |
Yards |
Average |
| R. O'Keefe |
1 |
16 |
16.0 |
| X. Townsend |
1 |
13 |
13.0 |
| Memphis Kick Returns |
| Player |
Ret |
Yards |
Average |
| D. Ross |
1 |
36 |
36.0 |
| UCF Missed FG |
| Player |
Length |
| C. Boomer |
64 |
| Memphis Missed FG |
| Player |
Length |
| C. Howard |
26 |
| C. Howard |
54 |
