AMES — More of the same for UCF Footballwhich recently means another loss.
The knights fell to Iowa State, 38-35, on Saturday, marking the fourth straight loss for a program that started 3-0. For most of this matchup, it looked like UCF would end the downward spiral.
But after leading for much of the match, the Knights“The lead slipped away in the final minute. UCF could do nothing to come back after Iowa State took the lead with 30 seconds remaining.
“The reality is… it stinks that we lost this game. » head coach Gus Malzahn said. “But we played one of the top 10 teams in college football on their field and we had opportunities to win. We just didn’t win.
“We have to find a way to take the next step. We improved last week… but we have to find a way to take the next step and win the game.
Here are three takeaways from UCF’s loss to Iowa State.
Everything About the Ground Game for UCF’s Offense
When the Knights coaching staff KJ Jefferson on the benchthey sidelined a dual-threat quarterback – one who averaged 38.6 rushing yards per game.
This shouldn’t have been of much concern, not with RJ Harvey on the field. But Jacurri Brownwho earned the starting job this week, seemed like the perfect complement to Harvey’s success.
Brown finished with 154 yards and two touchdowns. Harvey passed for 196 yards and two more scores.
“RJ is one of the best running backs in college football, and he showed it again tonight,” Malzahn said. “And (Iowa State averages) what, 11 points a game or something. I mean, this is one of the best defenses in college football.
All of UCF’s touchdowns were scored on the ground, with the shortest runs being a six-yard score on the game’s first drive – although it was set up by a 46-yard run by Harvey – and a run from a yard after a pick returned 70 yards.
The Knights added an 80-yard touchdown run by Harvey, a 63-yard pick-six return by BJ Adams and a 67-yard run by Brown.
These big bursts proved difficult for Iowa State to stop and accounted for the bulk of the Knights’ offensive production. UCF will need this rushing success to continue, especially since the Knights have struggled to put much together through the air.
“We need to improve our passing game,” Malzahn said. “We just have to hit one.” I mean, (Brown) did some really good things. He continues to grow, continues to learn.
“But yeah, we weren’t able to make that explosive passing play. We’ve been close many times, but that’s not enough.
Small mistakes prove costly for UCF late in game
Part of the Knights’ inability to sustain success through two halves of football could be due to the small mistakes that added up in a big way.
Look at Braeden Marshall interceptionwhich he returned 71 yards for a touchdown. Except he didn’t, because Marshall dropped the ball on the one-yard line. Sure, no Iowa State player jumped on the ball and UCF scored on the next play, but it was an avoidable call that could have proven costly.
Perhaps the worst mistake of the game was Adams’ pass interference call late in the fourth quarter. The Knights held on to a five-point lead and Cyclones quarterback Rocco Becht threw an incomplete pass on 3rd and 10.
But instead of settling for a kick — which would have allowed UCF to maintain a lead with 55 seconds left — Adams received a pass interference call. Iowa State moved to the four-yard line and scored three plays later. It turned out to be victory.
This ties into a common theme of postgame interviews: the Knights need to find a way to finish games.
“It’s just that, not being able to put it there at the end when we had it,” offensive lineman Marcellus Marshall said of the most frustrating part of the loss. “Really just a disappointing feeling.”
Did the Knights defense feel the loss of Nyjalik Kelly?
Junior defensive end Nyjalik Kelly left the game less than five minutes into the second quarter due to injury. It looked like he slipped on the turf and was helped off the field and to the medical tent by trainers.
This could have changed the dynamic in Iowa State’s favor. With Kelly out, the Knights were without a defender who did a little bit of everything: 21 tackles, two sacks, two quarterback hurries, a pass breakup and a forced fumble through the first six games of the season.
In fact, the defense responded well to Kelly’s departure.
UCF finished the game with two interceptions – one returned for a touchdown and one almost returned for a touchdown – five pass breakups and seven quarterback hurries. Perhaps the most notable were the Knights’ three sacks — compared to Iowa State’s zero — which marked a point of improvement in one area of UCF’s game.
“There has been some improvement,” Adams said. “We hit the quarterback a lot more this game. … It was really just a desire. Everyone played physically. We already knew it would be a physical match.
Alyssa Hertel is the college sports recruiting reporter for the Des Moines Register. Contact Alyssa at [email protected] or on Twitter @AlyssaHertel.
This article originally appeared in the Daytona Beach News-Journal: UCF football vs. Iowa State: 3 takeaways from the Knights’ Big 12 loss
