CAROLINA – The No. 13 UCF Knights traveled to face off against the East Carolina Pirates for their AAC opener where the Knights steamrolled the Pirates 51-28.
For the 2nd straight week, the Knights dominated their opponent, now averaging 50 points with an average point differential of 25.5 points.
The story of the game comes from UCF’s QB Dillon Gabriel who turned in a gaudy performance passing for 408 yards and 4 TD’s, something he has now done for a 2nd consecutive game.
Through these first 2 games Gabriel has amassed a total of 825 passing yards, 8 touchdowns and 1 interception. With this performance Gabriel has become the first quarterback in UCF history to have back to back games of 400 plus passing yards.
Gabriel’s top 2 targets receivers Marlon Williams and Jaylon Robinson combined for 22 receptions, 286 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns, a trend carrying over from their previous game.
UCF did an excellent job executing off of the Pirates miscues. The Pirates scored on their opening TD drive, but subsequently fumbled the ball on each of their next three possessions. The Knights were able to keep their foot on the gas as they held a commanding lead of 41-7 before the Pirates would score again early in the 3rd quarter.
“You can never play a perfect game, but we came out [and] we put 51 points up”, said Gabriel on the outcome of the game. While proud of his teammates, Gabriel cited that work still needs to be done saying, “I’m proud of the guys, everyone played really well – and there’s still a lot to fix.”
Next up, the Knights (2-0) will have their home opener on Saturday hosting the Tulsa Golden Hurricanes.
