ORLANDO — College football the stories change from week to week, perhaps even gradually.
For UCFthe heroism of his 35-34 comeback win at TCU two weeks ago, overshadowed a potentially worrying trend revealed to all in Saturday’s paper. 48-21 bombing at the hands of Colorado: THE Knights have struggled to take control of Big 12 Conference games and aren’t built offensively to consistently recover from huge deficits.
Gus Mr.alzahn Said in his postgame remarks after a game the Knights never led and trailed by at least three scores for the majority of the second half.
“We’re not the best catching team, I would say,” Malzahn said.
And yet, for the second time in three weeks, the Knights found themselves in the position of climbing out of a cavernous hole. Four turnovers and three scoreless red zone drives kept the Knights from avoiding fate in their Big 12 home opener for a second straight year.
The main problem is putting pressure on higher level passers. Aggression was the word used repeatedly to describe first-year defensive coordinator Ted Roof’s system, forcing quarterbacks to speed up their process and put the ball in danger.
UCF Knights Football: Shaquem Griffin honored with Hall of Fame induction, eyes film project
The first defensive series on Saturday was, in this regard, a success. Blitzing safety Braeden Marshall applied back pressure on a zone blitz as defensive end Malachi Lawrence dropped into coverage and Shedeur Sanders threw late over the middle, resulting in an interception for linebacker Deshawn Pace at the line. 29 yards from Colorado.
However, Sanders settled in and picked apart the Knights’ secondary as Colorado’s oft-criticized offensive line held up in protection. THE Buffaloes scored on seven of their next nine drives and didn’t throw the ball until the 5:18 mark of the third quarter.
Nyjalik Kelly and Lawrence recorded a sack each, but UCF has just three as a defensive unit in four games.
“At the end of the day, we have to find a way,” Malzahn said. “That’s going to be a big key.”
New Hampshire and Sam Houston’s respective signal callers failed to capitalize, but TCU’s Sanders and Josh Hoover split the UCF secondary. TCU hit Paydirt on each of its first three drives and converted its first seven third-down attempts.
Hoover and Sanders combined for a 72.4% completion rate for 692 yards, seven touchdowns and one pick.
Florida’s QB duo of Graham Mertz and DJ Lagway, who the Knights will see in the Swamp next weekend, torched Mississippi State on Sept. 21 for a 26-of-28 passing effort, 277 yards and three touchdowns (all by Mertz).
UCF’s offense isn’t flawless, however. The Knights have held a 36-second lead over the past two games.
Twice against TCU, the Knights drove inside the opponent’s 30-yard line and failed to put points on the board – both field goal attempts blocked by Colton Boomer. KJ Jefferson saved the Buffaloes from the mistake with his own interception in the end zone on third-and-goal, squandering a chance to thrill the raucous sellout crowd and force the Buffaloes to play from behind.
“We have to be efficient in the red zone and come away with points,” Jefferson said. “Whether it’s a touchdown or a kick, we have to come away with something. It’s all on me. I take full responsibility for it.”
The challenge now is to avoid a shift, a significant change in tone given UCF entered its bye week with a 30% chance of winning the Big 12, according to ESPN’s College Football Power Index. The Knights suffered a five-game slide after a 3-0 start in 2023, only managing to record a conference victory in November.
“We’ll learn a lot about our team this week. We’ll find out who we really are,” Malzahn said. “We were on top of the world with that last win, and now we’re in the tank right there. Who we are as a team, we’re going to find out.”
This article originally appeared in the Daytona Beach News-Journal: UCF Knights football: Multi-score deficits become a worrying trend
