UCF sleepwalks to awful 15-14 loss to FIU

The optimism of a new season can quickly dissipate. Or it can slowly burn out leaving fans scratching their heads.

Justin Holman seemed to have a good rhythm with receiver Jordan Akins. The defense was flying around the field and making plays. Things seemed to be rolling to an easy season-opening victory.

Then the second half started.

FIU picked up its pace. The defense lost its discipline. The offense lost its rhythm. And the momentum shifted.

Everyone on UCF should be asking how? Why? How did this happen?

The final result — the only thing that really matters in the end — came to be on the leg of a kicker who had never kicked in college before. It came down to playcalling on a do-or-die drive that had entered field goal range with a whimper of conservatism and lethargy.

Matthew Wright’s field goal was blocked from 47 yards out with 27 seconds left, cementing a lethargic closing drive and a 15-14 UCF loss to FIU at Bright House Networks Stadium on Thursday night.

All the optimism of the preseason and all the goals UCF wanted to build upon need a little bit of reevaluation to achieve. They certainly need a lot of work.

The Knights seemed set to putt his game in control in the first half though. Holman was effective, finding Akins for two touchdown throws of nine and 33 yards. He seemed to be picking apart FIU’s defense and finding Akins wherever he wanted. Akins looked like a man among boys with six receptions in the first half.

For the game, Holman ended with 249 yards and two touchdowns on 23-for-34 passing. Akins had nine receptions for 104 yards. Tre’Quan Smith also had nine receptions for 104 yards.

The Knights seemed in control and moving things easily.

Which might have been the problem in the end. The Knights offense was stuck in cruise control. There was little urgency and little execution at the end of the day.

Holman overthrew receivers. He skipped passes. He threw into coverage. He was fortunate not to turn the ball over.

The defense, which seemed to be in control of things after giving up a long field-goal drive to open the game up, started to lose its grip. The Panthers picked up their tempo some and started spreading the ball around more. Running back Alex Gardner started cutting through line for 75 yards on 15 receptions. Alex McGough threw for 260 yards on 29-for-38 passing.

UCF’s defense lost leverage on several occasions, allowing small plays to turn into bigger plays. Eventually FIU was able to burst through and score a touchdown. And then again. And then all of a sudden, FIU was leading.

The Knights offense could not turn the switch back on.

And so the day of promise for a season that would establish consistency for UCF just raised more questions. A lot more questions.

It killed excitement. It left a sour taste.

FIU was the more consistent team at the end of the day. The Panthers took advantage of the Knights’ lethargy and made adjustments in the second half. UCF could not counterpunch and could not reach into the tank to pull out the win.

Football games are still 60 minutes and still require a full game’s worth of attention. The Knights did not have that. They were not sharp (and not in a first game of the season kind of way).

This was not the way any team wanted to start a season. UCF and its young roster has even more questions to answer than when the team entered the game. And a trip West to Stanford looms. Things might get more cloudy before they get clearer for UCF.