UCF continues to struggle and search for that precious first win. The Knights held an early lead again but fell and fell hard to the ranked Cougars.
For a moment, albeit a brief one, it looked like UCF was preparing to turn a corner. It had found something on Homecoming with a big opponent in town in nationally ranked Houston.
The offense was actually working as the Knights drove the opening possession deep into Cougars territory and took a 10-7 lead when Justin Holman found Tristan Payton for a 46-yard touchdown catch and run and then a field goal on the next possession early in the second quarter.
And then . . .
Well, maybe that first drive should have been a clue that things were about to turn south in a hurry.
Houston ended that first drive with a 85-yard fumble return for a touchdown from Brandon Wilson. And from the point UCF took a 10-7 lead, Houston dominated the rest of the way.
Kenneth Farrow scored on a 26-yard run. Greg Ward Jr. added another three-yard run. Khalil Williams intercepted Justin Holman and set up a Houston field goal right before the half.
In the span of 2:27, UCF was down 24-10. And it did not get any better from there. The Knights fell behind and got buried deeper in a 59-10 romp at Bright House Networks Stadium on Saturday.
There is no end in sight to UCF’s struggles as they fell to 0-8.
All the good will of the first quarter and a half disappeared as Houston racked up 600 yards and ran wild on the UCF defense. Greg Ward Jr. completed 16 of 23 passes for 210 yards with a touchdown throw. He added 46 yards on 10 carries. Kenneth Farrow had 167 yards on 13 carries as the Cougars made big gashes into the Knights’ defense.
UCF was not able to combat that at all as expected with how poor UCF’s offense has been.
Holman continued to struggle, completing only 14 of 27 passes for 183 yards. He had three interceptions to counteract his lone touchdown. The four turnovers remain a continuing and disheartening issue for an offense already playing at a bit of a deficit.
Dontravious Wilson was able to get some run game going with 72 yards on 19 carries, including a long of 23 yards. But that had to be shelved quickly as UCF fell behind by three scores early in the third quarter. The Cougars opened the second half with a three-play drive capped by a 30-yard touchdown run from Farrow.
That may have locked the game up as the Knights were unable to move the ball effective from there.
UCF remains a team struggling to find anything that will work consistently on either end of the field. And the scores are reflecting that. Searching for that first win this season will only get more difficult.
