UCF Knights cannot overcome Justin Holman injury as Stanford awakens

The UCF Knights’ bid to upset the Stanford Cardinal may very well have ended when Justin Holman went out with an injury in the first quarter.

The game was not over on the first drive of the game. To say that would be a bit disingenuous. The strategy had to change dramatically though. It had to change completely.

And in so doing, the Knights might have been asking too much of their young team to overcome on the road, across the country against a very capable Cardinal team.

On UCF’s third play from scrimmage, Justin Holman hit his hand on an opponent’s helmet. He was taken back to the locker room. When he emerged from the tunnel, he was no longer in his uniform with his throwing arm in what appeared to be a sling, his finger in a splint.

The quarterback duties fell to Bo Schneider, a true freshman who was likely headed for a redshirt. He was pressed into duty and asked to do more than it seemed he was ready to do.

To defeat Stanford, the team could not simply check down or run timing routes. UCF needed big plays.

It took the Cardinal a little while for them to get their big play. It came when William Stanback fumbled the ball at the Stanford 38-yard line. The Cardinal got the ball to about midfield and pulled out a flea flicker that helped Kevin Hogan find Michael Rector for a 53-yard touchdown.

That seemed enough to start the flood gates as UCF was not going to be able to muster enough offense.

The Cardinal got touchdown receptions from Christian McCaffrey and Bryce Love and Barry Sanders added a 20-yard run on their way to a 31-7 win over the Knights at Stanford Stadium on Saturday night.

It was just a 10-0 lead at the half, but Stanford seemed firmly in control. UCF gained just 181 total yards, accumulating only 30 rushing yards as the team struggled to gain traction on the ground for the second straight game.

Without Holman, the offense became much more predictable and simplistic. There was nothing for UCF to lean on offensively to try to get it back into the game.

Schneider did all he could. The plays were just not there for him to make within what UCF was giving him and what he was likely ready to take on. Schneider finished 7 for 19 for 46 yards. Tyler Harris came in during the fourth quarter in mop-up duty and passed 7 for 15 for 105 yards with a 36-yard touchdown pass to Tre’Quan Smith.

The Knight ground game was slightly better (a long fumble from Harris led to two rushes for -43 yards). But it was certainly not enough to carry an entire offense. Taj McGowan had 20 carries for 67 yards. It just was not enough.

Without Holman, UCF was incapable of making big plays. And that short-circuited the offense.

Eventually Stanford was able to wear down a tired UCF defense that was on the field for 35.5 minutes of the game. The Cardinal burst through with 14 points in the fourth quarter with Sanders and McCaffrey starting to find holes in the defense.

Really once Stanford went up 17-0 or even into the second half when it was clear UCF was going to struggle to move the ball, this game was over. It was just asking too much for the Knights to overcome losing their starting quarterback. Not with this team.

And that asks bigger questions about UCF and this team than ever before. Winning at Stanford was always going to be a tall task. But a second straight week where the run game was a virtual non factor was only made clearer with the Knights losing their quarterback and looking tentative with the backup in there.

This team is perhaps not as good as everyone expected.

With Furman set to come in to Bright House Networks Stadium, UCF seems like it is back to the drawing board completely. At least the Knights are waiting for a full evaluation of Holman.

This young team has a lot of growing up to do. That is what is most clear after this road trip.