The UCF football team opened up the season with a win, defeating the Akron Zips 38-7. Over 35,000 students and fans filled the stands to support their team Thursday night. The Knights quickly scored on a 91-yard touchdown pass to take a 7-0 lead early in the first quarter. This play marked the longest touchdown pass in UCF history. From then on, the knights never looked back. UCF went on a 38-0 scoring run from the start of the game until Akron finally scored a touchdown in the final seconds of the fourth quarter. UCF’s quarterback Blake Bortles threw for 314 yards and three touchdowns, setting a career high for himself.
Although our offense had an outstanding game, I feel that most of the credit should go to our defense. They created numerous turnovers and multiple tackles for losses against the struggling Akron offense. UCF shut the Zips down completely until the final seconds of the game when our starting defense was no longer on the field. If the defense can keep up this level of play along with the offense, the Knights are likely to find themselves in another bowl game at the end of the season.
Starting off with a 1-0 record is just how every team wants to begin their season. Even though Akron isn’t exactly an elite team, the Knights should still feel proud about how dominant they were in the season opener. Hopefully they watch this Akron game film to remind themelves how dangerous they can be when both sides of the ball are playing at a high level. The next game will be on the road in Miami against a much more challenging opponent, the FIU Panthers. The Knights will need to bring the same level of intensity they brought last Thursday night if they hope to leave Miami with a win.