Gabriel throws 5 TDs, offense rolls up 689 yards as Knights stop 2-game skid
With the pressure closing in, UCF quarterback Dillon Gabriel found himself scrambling in the pocket. He turned away from a Tulane defender while changing direction in the backfield.
His eyes darted downfield before he locked in on a familiar figure and lofted the football.
Receiver Marlon Williams was a step ahead of his defender before hauling in the Gabriel pass and racing downfield, making a nifty cut into the end zone for the score.
Nothing exemplified UCF’s performance on Saturday more than the 54-yard touchdown pass midway through the first quarter as the Knights (3-2, 2-2 AAC) had everything working for them on offense, rolling up 689 yards during a 51-34 homecoming victory over the Green Wave (2-4, 0-4 AAC) Saturday at the Bounce House.
“It’s part of the scramble drill, but for the most part it’s players making plays,” said Gabriel, who finished with 422 yards and five touchdowns. He became the first UCF quarterback since Darin Slack (1987) to throw at least five touchdowns in back-to-back games.
“I want to give a shout-out to [receivers] coach [Darrell] Wyatt; we work that play literally every day,” said Williams, who finished
with nine catches for 174 yards and three touchdowns. “It was all just from preparation.”
The victory snapped a two-game losing streak, the program’s first such streak since the 2016 season.
The Knights also stay undefeated in their UCF in Space uniforms, which are popular among players and fans.
“I’m proud of our guys,” UCF coach Josh Heupel said after the win. “What they did out on the field today shows how they handled the adversity.
“They’ve stuck together as a football team, they played for one another today and played hard and did a great job of preparing all week.
“It allows us to continue to come closer as a football team and get better as a football team aswe go about the rest of theway home.”
Early on, it appeared as if the defensive demons that haunted UCF in back-toback losses to Tulsa and Memphis were back to plague the Knights against Tulane. Time and time again, the GreenWave took advantage of soft pockets in the defense to capitalize on big plays, moving the football up and downthe field at will.
Tulane quarterback Michael Pratt found theend zone twice, connecting with Duece Watts for a 28-yard score and Jha’Quan Jackson on a 20-yard touchdown that gave Tulane a 14-10 lead with 4:15 left in the first quarter.
But like a prizefighter toying with his opponent in the opening rounds, UCF came out of its corner swinging away.
The Knights scored 27 unanswered points over the next 19 minutes, amassing 337 yards of offense led by Gabriel, whotossed a pair of touchdown passes to Jake Hescock and Williams. Greg McCrae added a rushing touchdown, as did Bentavious Thompson.
“A big shout-out to the offensive line for creating those big gaps and big lanes for me to run through,” said McCrae, who finished with season highs in rushing attempts (25) and rushing yards (162).
UCF made more of an effort to run the football against the Green Wave, finishing with a season-high in attempts (59) and rushing yards (267).
Heupel said the adjustment was triggered by Tulane showing a different defensive look early in the game.
“Sometimes you have an idea of what you’re going to face and then things change through the course of play,” Heupel said. “I thought our players: wideouts, offensive line, tight end, quarterback and coaching staff did a great job of adjusting to different structure defensively than what we saw on tape.”
UCF built a 23-point halftime lead after earning 480 yards.
The Knights stepped up on defense as well, sacking Pratt three times in the second quarter while holding the Green Wave to 14 total yards of offense during that same19-minute stretch.
Defensive linemen Randy Charlton and Kenny Turnier had two sacks apiece along with tackle Anthony Montalvo. The unit also had a season-high 11.0 tackles for loss.
Junior defensive back Derek Gainous said a conversation with defensive coordinator Randy Shannon inspired the defense to step up.
“He brought it back to having fun,” said Gainous, who intercepted a Pratt pass early in the fourth quarter. “Not being worried about making a mistake.
“Just being yourself and having fun with your brothers. Going out with that mindset let us play free. As you can see, we had fun today.”
Tulane took the secondhalf kickoff and methodically drove downfield for a touchdown to cut the lead to 37-21. It was an all-toofamiliar feeling for Knights fans, who watched the team give up double-digit halftime leads to Tulsa and Memphis.
But this week, UCF answered the bell.
Gabriel found Williams open for a 35-yard touchdown strike before following it up with a 41-yard touchdown pass to Jacob Harris to push the Knights’ lead to 51-28 through three quarters.
Williams became the first UCF receiver with three touchdowns in a game since Gabe Davis did it against UConn on Sept. 28, 2019.
UCF was 10-of-17 (58%) on third downs, including 7-of-7 on third downs of four or fewer yards.
A week after giving up 703 yards of total offense to Memphis, UCF held Tulane to a season low 340 yards. The defense also forced the Green Wave to go 3-of-9 on third-down conversions.
The special-teams unit helped close out the game by successfully fielding three Tulane onside kick attempts.