. Robinson had nine catches for 150 yards and two touchdowns, while Williams had a career-best 13 catches for 136 yards. Throw in Greg McCrae's short first-quarter scoring run to lead a productive ground game, and UCF finished with 632 yards with its fast-paced offense pushing the tempo to keep the pressure on. The Knights had a penalty-filled start in the first quarter - including four false-start penalties while trying to get off their first offensive snap - before settling in and blowing the game open with a pair of touchdowns in the final 5 minutes before halftime. Holton Ahlers threw for 215 yards and three TDs for the Pirates (0-1, 0-1), who were making a delayed start to the season after coronavirus-related scheduling changes. And it came in an essentially empty Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium due to COVID-19 protocols, with only a smattering of player family members in attendance. ECU scored on its opening drive, but lost three first-half turnovers and didn't make it back to the end zone until the Knights led 41-7 early in the third. By the time it was over, the school said the Pirates had come within 2 yards of matching the most allowed in any season opener in program history. THE TAKEAWAYUCF: This was the second road game to start the season for the Knights, who opened with a 28-point win at Georgia Tech while amassing 660 yards. While the offense hummed along again, Josh Heupel's squad will have to start cleaning up a penalty problem. UCF had 19 penalties for 139 yards, with 10 coming in the first quarter and seven of those false-start flags. ECU: The good news was the Pirates made it to gameday for the first time this season. They were originally scheduled to host Marshall for their opener on Aug. 29, but that game was pushed back to Sept. 12 - and then postponed again to a to-be-determined date after the Pirates had to pause football activities in August due to a coronavirus cluster. Beyond that, it was a rough start to Mike Houston's second season. POLL IMPLICATIONSUCF moved up just one spot after the Georgia Tech romp. It's unclear how the Knights' position will change now with Big Ten and Pac-12 teams eligible to appear in Sunday's new Top 25 for the first time since the preseason poll. UP NEXTUCF: The Knights play their first home game next Saturday against Tulsa. ECU: The Pirates travel to Georgia State next Saturday. ---More college football: http://apnews. com/Collegefootball and http://www. twitter. com/-Top25---Follow Aaron Beard on Twitter at http://www. twitter. com/aaronbeardap)
Sep 22, 2020UCF has had plenty of success lately, and quarterback Dillon Gabriel is a large part of the winning formula. After a strong season-opening win at Georgia Tech, the sophomore signal-caller leads the No. 13 Knights (1-0) on the road again Saturday to Greenville, N. C. , where the East Carolina Pirates will kick off their season with an American Athletic Conference clash. Gabriel passed for a career-high 417 yards and four touchdowns in last weekend's 49-21 road win over the Yellow Jackets, who had been riding the momentum of a season-opening upset at Florida State. "You saw what happened last week," chided Gabriel, whose previous best was 365 yards against ECU last year. "I guess you can say we're the best team in Florida. " UCF has won 36 of 40 contests since 2017, and the last 13 games with Gabriel at the helm have been stout. Last year the left-handed Hawaiian threw for a freshman-record 3,653 yards as the Knights went 10-3 and 6-2 in the AAC. "From where he started a year ago, his comfort level and understanding how to play the game, when it's the right time . . . He finished the season that way," UCF coach Josh Heupel said of Gabriel. "He started Week 1 further ahead than he ended last season. " The Orlando team, which lost three road games by a total of seven points last year, had a pair of injuries at important positions Saturday as top wide receiver Tre Nixon and running back Greg McCrae were hurt. Replacing NFL receiver Gabriel Davis as the No. 1 wideout, Nixon was injured while hauling in his second TD pass, and senior rusher McCrae suffered a lower-leg injury. Heupel offered no update Monday on Nixon, but receivers Marlon Williams and Jaylon Robinson stepped up big in place of Nixon after Georgia Tech cut it to 28-21 early in the fourth quarter. Williams -- second with 51 receptions and third in receiving yards last year -- tallied a career-high in catches (10) and yards (154) and had two scores. Robinson, a transfer from Oklahoma, also set career marks with six catches and 105 yards. True freshman defensive end Josh Celiscar forced a fumble and pounced on it on his first career play, and later added an interception. Linemate Noah Hancock blocked a field goal. ECU struggled to a 4-8 mark overall (1-7 AAC) last season, and second-year coach Mike Houston will look to build upon a dynamic signal-caller in junior Holton Ahlers and an offense that sizzled at the end of 2019. Already with one 300-yard passing game -- Ahlers produced 313 at UCF in last year's 41-28 loss last October -- he dissected Cincinnati's potent defense in a 535-yard, four-TD performance in November's first game and passed for 498 yards and six scores in a 59-51 loss at SMU a week later. Ahlers completed 264 of 442 passes for 3,387 yards and 21 touchdowns. He connected on just 59. 7 percent of his throws and had 10 interceptions but was also the second-leading rusher with 359 yards and six touchdowns. Houston said his group is anxious to get that first big win -- and beating the Knights would fit the bill. "You always remember that first signature win," said Houston, whose victories in 2019 were over Gardner-Webb, William & Mary, Old Dominion and Connecticut. "That first big win that validates what you're doing. It'll come. I don't know when it's going to come. I'd love for it to be (Saturday). " --Field Level Media
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