ORLANDO, Fla. (CINCINNATI ENQUIRER) – In a game both teams desperately needed to stay relevant in the Big 12, it came down to a final series with the Cincinnati Bearcats needing a stop against UCF’s Knights, according to our media partners at the Cincinnati researcher.

Starting at their own 19-yard line with 58 seconds on the clock, UCF quarterback Jacurri Brown drove the Knights to the UC 25-yard line. A touchdown and an extra point would make the home fans happy.

With three seconds left, Florida native Jared Bartlett teamed with fellow linebacker Jake Golday to sack Brown for the win as the Bearcats prevailed 19-13 on the road against the Knights.

“It was a great effort we had on defense,” Bartlett said. “We did very well today by playing complementary football with the attack. Good teams get better halfway through the season. Teams that don’t take that step fall apart. It was very important for us to go out and play football today.”

The Bearcats are 4-2 (2-1 Big 12). UCF falls to 3-3 (1-2) and has lost three straight games.

UC quarterback Brendan Sorsby was 24 for 37 with a touchdown to Tony Johnson and 241 overall yards through the air. Corey Kiner ran for 83 yards and tight ends Joe Royer and Johnson each had eight catches. UCF defeated UC 397-338. The Bearcats gained another 40 yards through the air, while UCF rushed for nearly 99 more yards and held UC to an uncharacteristic 97 yards on the ground.

“I did what I could and the defense did what they could and we came out with a win,” Kiner said. “It was a good team win.”

Mission accomplished as RJ Harvey remains under the century mark

Harvey was a thorn in UC’s side during last season’s loss, coming into the game with 600 yards rushing. Harvey was held under 100 yards for the third straight time when UC checked him at 94. All three UCF losses came because Harvey failed to reach triple figures.

“That was the main focus for us this week, to definitely shut down the run game,” UC’s Jake Golday said. “That’s what they’re resorting to and that’s what we had to stop so they could start passing the ball so we could get after it in the passing game.”

Golday had five tackles, a sack, two tackles for loss, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery (all on one play that set up an early UC field goal).

The Bearcats ‘bounce’ home with a road win

They played to less than a full house when Hurricane Milton drove many students from the area. Still, FPC Mortgage Stadium a/k/a “The Bounce House” is a noisy venue where a real and pumped-in racket reverberates from the circle of aluminum seats. The announced attendance was 42,611.

UC held UCF to 13 points, which is equal to what they had against Florida last week. It was UC’s lowest offensive point production of the season.

“What a ball game!” UC coach Scott Satterfield said he wiped his brow with his cap. “That’s a great win for our guys, a very resilient win. Coming off a bye week, we were extremely confused. We had a great offensive rhythm in the first five games and didn’t have that tonight. The sign of a good team is that on one side you are not at your best, while the other side picks you up. I thought our defense handled us very well.”

UCF is starting a new quarterback

After two straight losses, UCF coach Gus Malzahn benched starter KJ Jefferson in favor of 17-year-old freshman EJ Colson. Colson was not listed on the UCF two-deep chart and had not played a down all season.

The 6-foot-1, 200-pounder reclassified out of Cedar Grove High School in Ellenwood, Georgia and came out after his junior season. His stay was short-lived, as he went 1-for-4 for minus-6 yards in the first quarter and had three rushes for six yards.

Midway through the first quarter, the Knights added Brown, who was listed as Jefferson’s backup. Brown finished the game 13-for-20 for 207 yards and a touchdown and ran for 84 yards.

“We just felt like we needed a spark,” Malzahn said. “EJ had two or three really good weeks of practice and we felt he deserved to start. We also got to play JB (Jacurri Brown). He’s done some really good things. At the moment we have to play clean football to win, but we didn’t play clean enough to win.”

Brown was sacked three times and Colson once.

Who weathered the storm best?

Even though Hurricane Milton left Florida early Thursday morning, UCF players had to adjust their practice schedules and weather the storm.

The Cincinnati Bearcats had nothing to hide from, but they did have some uncertainty in their minds as to whether the game would even be played. The Bearcats could realistically have led 27-3 at halftime instead of 10-3, when Sorsby threw a pair of red zone interceptions and Nathan Hawks missed a 36-yard field goal before halftime.

The missed scores hurt as UCF scored on the opening drive of the third quarter to tie the game. Fortunately, UC survived the Knights’ football rush in the final seconds.

“The defense really stepped up tonight,” Sorsby said. “They really played a great game. I think we hit the ball really well. There were some stupid throws on my part. We still have to finish the rides. I have to be smarter with the ball.”

Was it the luck of the Irish?

The Bearcats wore the same uniform combination as when 7th-ranked UC swept No. 9 Notre Dame on its way to the College Football Playoff semifinals in 2021. Red helmets, white jerseys and black pants prevailed and they held UCF to 13 points, the same total they held Notre Dame to in 2021. Granted, UCF isn’t Notre Dame, but they started the season scoring 57, 45 and 35 points. In their last three games, all losing, they had 21, 13 and 13.

How did the Florida Bearcats fare?

Offensive starters Xzavier Henderson (Miami) and Tony Johnson (Ocala) are native Floridians, as are defensive starters Jared Bartlett (Miami) and Jordan Young (Tampa). Running back Manny Covey is from Starke. Defensive back Kye Stokes reunited with his brother, UCF receiver Kason Stokes, both from Tampa.

Bartlett caused a fumble that stopped UCF’s first scoring opportunity and later had a sack in the first half. He finished tied with Antwan Peek Jr. in tackles with seven and a record two sacks. Johnson matched tight end Joe Royer in receptions with eight and found the end zone shortly after crashing injured inside the 10-yard line.

“I didn’t let one play get me down,” Johnson said. ‘I have all week to recover. It’s that Bearcat mentality. I can’t get those minutes back. I want to be there for my team.”

Johnson came into the game with twelve receptions in the previous five games. UC was missing Tyrin Smith and Aaron Turner due to injury.

The case for (Deshawn) Pace

The leading tackler for UC last year came to UCF through the transfer portal and came into the game against his old teammates and led the Knights in tackles and with two interceptions. Pace came across the field before the game and greeted some of his old teammates.

He finished the match with just one tackle.

Defensive back Bryon Threats also transferred to UCF, but ended his Knights career after returning to the transfer portal for four games. Running back Myles Montgomery joined Pace and Threats. Montgomery played short with three carries for six yards.

Next on the Big 12 menu?

The Bearcats return home to host the Arizona State Homecoming at Nippert Stadium on Saturday, October 19 at noon. The annual Homecoming Parade along Clifton Avenue begins at 8 a.m. The 5-1 Sun Devils are coming off a Friday night thriller in which they defeated No. 16 Utah 27-19 as Cam Skattebo ran for 158 yards and two touchdowns, including the game winner. The weight of the preseason polls shows that Arizona State was picked last by the Big 12 media.

UCF travels to No. 11 Iowa State, which played at West Virginia on Saturday night.

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