{"id":69305,"date":"2024-11-30T10:00:54","date_gmt":"2024-11-30T15:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/?p=69305"},"modified":"2024-11-30T01:58:07","modified_gmt":"2024-11-30T06:58:07","slug":"knee-jerk-reactions-ucf-knights-gets-pick-sixed-by-utah-utes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/2024\/11\/30\/knee-jerk-reactions-ucf-knights-gets-pick-sixed-by-utah-utes\/","title":{"rendered":"Knee-Jerk Reactions: UCF Knights Gets Pick-Sixed by Utah Utes"},"content":{"rendered":"

The 2024 UCF Knights season ends with a whimper at 4-8 after a 28-14 loss to the Utah Utes. With the loss, the program has a lot of questions to answer. It\u2019s knee-jerk reaction time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Knee-Jerk Reactions: UCF Knights Get Pick-Sixed by Utah Utes 28-14<\/span><\/h2>\n

Three Keys Recap<\/strong><\/h3>\n

While the Thanksgiving holiday did not allow me to record my three keys to the game, I still have them see them below. Let\u2019s see how those keys were or were not met.<\/span><\/p>\n

Key One: Going Out in Style<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Since UCF has no bowl game this season, this is the last game for a number of players. In the case of running back RJ Harvey<\/a> and wide receiver Kobe Hudson<\/a>, they came into the game within reach of some impressive places in UCF history.<\/span><\/p>\n

Harvey entered the game with 46 total touchdowns, which ties the great Kevin Smith for the all-time record at UCF. Harvey\u2019s first-half rushing touchdown pushes him past Smith. Harvey finishes with 43 rushing touchdowns, which falls shy of Smith\u2019s record of 45, but leaves him in second. Harvey also finished the season with 1,577 yards. That\u2019s the second-highest single-season total in school history.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hudson caught a pass for the 35th consecutive game and he ended his career tied for second all-time at UCF.<\/span><\/p>\n

Second Key: Plan for the Unknown<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Utah joins UCF as the only two schools to start four quarterbacks this season. With Luke Bottari<\/a> getting the start and only having 25 snaps this season, defensive coordinator Addison Williams did not have much to work with. Other than a 33-yard pass to Zacharyus Williams<\/a>, Bottari was held in check, totaling 64 yards in the first half and 47 in the second.<\/span><\/p>\n

Overall, the defense took care of business, holding Utah to 196 of total offense. Under better circumstances, that would be winning statistics, but UCF\u2019s offense had to take the field.<\/span><\/p>\n

Third Key: This Game Still Matters<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Yes, the Knights are not playing for a bowl game, but these games are not in a vacuum. Since signing day is still a few days away and the portal is yet to open current and prospective Knights are making final decisions on where they\u2019re going to go to school. They\u2019re seeing the players on the field, the fans in attendance, their energy, and social media, and what they say and do matters. As UCF gets ready to start its 2025 season, it needs to end on a positive note to start to create new momentum.<\/span><\/p>\n

Spoiler: They did not.<\/p>\n

The quarterbacks for UCF collectively looked terrible. Both Dylan Rizk<\/a> and EJ Colson<\/a> threw bad pick-sixes. They both showed a lack of pocket awareness and looked more like backups. Rizk threw multiple inaccurate passes while Colson held on to the ball far too long. The offensive problems are not limited to the quarterbacks. The offensive line did not create much pass protection and could not consistently open running lanes. To make matters worse, it seemed Malzahn and Tim Harris were at odds as the offense continued to fail to produce points. <\/span><\/p>\n

Now What?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The 2024 season is over for UCF. This is the first time since 2015 the Knights will not be in a bowl game. This has been a disappointing season for everyone involved with the program. That includes players, coaches, staff, administration, fans. <\/span>The 2025 season starts now. The December signing day is just a few days away and UCF is working on wrapping up on signing the bulk of their freshmen class. As of the writing of this, UCF is ranked 63rd on Rivals but only has 12 commitments: six four stars and six three stars. The 3.5-star average ranks 19th.<\/span><\/p>\n

The transfer portal window also will be open for players leaving the program. Do not be surprised to see some key players exit. It will be up to the coaching staff to scour the portal to fill in roster holes. The roster exodus will come quickly, but the intake of transfers will take some time.<\/span><\/p>\n

Overshadowing the above is Gus Malzahn’s fate. Will athletic director Terry Mohajir retain him for one more season or will he make Malzahn the first UCF head football coach since 2003 to be fired? It won\u2019t be cheap to make a coaching change and UCF will not begin receiving full shares in the Big 12 until the end of the 2025-26 academic year.<\/span><\/p>\n

Uniform Review<\/strong><\/h3>\n

UCF went with a blackout uniform using their Knightmode uniform. The black helmet has the dark metallic gold block UCF and gold facemask, which the equipment staff unveiled last week. The gold facemask pairs well with the Knightmode shade of gold. Unlike last week where the facemask looked a bit out of place, they are a perfect match to the Knightmode uniform set and I hope they are a permanent addition.<\/span><\/p>\n

The predicted score was 27-21 UCF.<\/a> Utah’s starting their fourth quarterback of the season created some question marks about what to expect. Both UCF and Utah fans wonder if this is the final game for their respective coaches. Will Malzahn return to UCF for a fifth season or a 21st for Whittingham? How the players respond to this unknown made the game tougher to predict. UCF was favored by nine and a half points. That was steep even with Utah\u2019s quarterback issues. The results speak for themselves.<\/span><\/p>\n

Stat Leaders:<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Passing:<\/strong>
\n<\/span>UCF: Dylan Rizk: 11\/27 for 118 yards, 0 TD, 1 Int<\/span>
\n<\/span>Utah: Luke Bottari: 13\/20 for 111 yards, 1 TD, 0 Int<\/span><\/p>\n

Rushing:<\/strong>
\n<\/span>UCF: R.J. Harvey: 20 carries for 119 yards, 1 TD<\/span>
\n<\/span>Utah: Micah Bernard: 20 carries for 87 yards, 0 TD<\/span><\/p>\n

Receiving:<\/strong>
\n<\/span>UCF: Kobe Hudson: 7 catches for 79 yards, 0 TD<\/span>
\n<\/span>Utah: Zacharyus Williams: 6 catches for 72 yards, 0 TD<\/span><\/p>\n

Game Notes:<\/h3>\n
    \n
  • Utah leads the series 1-0.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • RJ Harvey has 1,577 yards rushing this season. This is the second-highest single-season total at UCF.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • RJ Harvey had his ninth 100-yard rushing game of the season. He is tied with Willie English and Marquette Smith for the second-highest single-season mark at UCF.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • RJ Harvey has run for his sixth consecutive 100-yard game. He has sole possession of the second-highest streak in UCF history.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • RJ Harvey has 48 total touchdowns in his career. He passes Kevin Smith as the record holder at UCF.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • RJ Harvey finishes the season with 232 carries. That is the sixth\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Kobe Hudson has caught a pass in 35 consecutive games. He ties Ryan O\u2019Keefe for second all-time at UCF.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Sorry, it\u2019s not my best, I was busy searching under my couch for coaching buyout money.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
    \"\"
    Photo Credit: Mike Watters-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    The 2024 UCF Knights season ends with a whimper at 4-8 after a 28-14 loss to the Utah Utes. With the loss, the program has a lot of questions to answer. It\u2019s knee-jerk reaction time.\u00a0 Knee-Jerk Reactions: UCF Knights Get Pick-Sixed by Utah Utes 28-14 Three Keys Recap While the Thanksgiving holiday did not allow […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5117,"featured_media":69314,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6,2,2056],"tags":[33931,18,163,2832,34428,34320,3131,318],"class_list":["post-69305","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-big12","category-featured","category-top-25","tag-addison-williams","tag-big-12","tag-gus-malzahn","tag-kyle-whittingham","tag-terry-mohajir","tag-tim-harris","tag-ucf-knights","tag-utah-utes"],"modified_by":"Kate Pearson Halyburton, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69305","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5117"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=69305"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69305\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/69314"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=69305"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=69305"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=69305"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}