The UCF football team suffered a rare home loss Friday, falling 20-14 to Louisville. During the team’s final seven possessions, the Knights were unable to score.
Louisville’s defense held UCF scoreless in the second half Friday night at FBC Mortgage Stadium, helping the Cardinals come from behind and win, 20-14. It was UCF’s first home loss since 2020. The game was the Cardinal’s first win of the season.
Louisville First Half Subpar Against UCF
UCF quarterback John Rhys Plumlee was unstoppable in the first half with more than 100 yards rushing before the half.
On the opening drive of the second half, the Cardinals’ defense stayed in the backfield, and linebacker Momo Sanogo sacked the Knight’s quarterback for a 6-yard loss.
Ramon Puryear sacked Plumlee on the next possession, forcing the Knight’s defense to punt again. The Cardinals’ offense capitalized on this and scored 10 points on back-to-back possessions in the third quarter, while UCF failed to record a first down the entire quarter.
Plumlee finally gained a first down for the Knights in the fourth quarter, but the drive stalled three plays later.
The UCF football team gained 208 yards on the ground on 34 carries in the game against Louisville, and a lot of those yards came before halftime when the Knights were able to attack both the edges and the interior. After halftime, Malzahn chose to throw the ball because Louisville was playing Cover 0, daring UCF to throw it. Unfortunately for the Knight’s, it didn’t work out for our home team.
UCF will seek to get back to action next week as they prepare for their FCS opponent Florida Atlantic for their first away game.
Photo Credit: ucfknights.com
