Keene, Knights break through

PHILADELPHIA — UCF earned its first road win of the season in dominant fashion, 49-7 over the Temple Owls, behind five touchdowns from freshman quarterback Mikey Keene. Here’s what we learned:

Gus Malzahn unleashes Keene:

While we’ve seen glimpses of excellence from Keene, Saturday’s performance was the best of his young career.

And there’s one big reason for this: Head coach Gus Malzahn actually let Keene throw the ball deep. Keene had averaged 5.5 yards per attempt, but against Temple he almost doubled that output.

Six passes accounted for 165 yards gained, while three touchdowns were for 18, 33 and 46 yards. This was a version of Keene unseen until now.

While Kentucky transfer quarterback Joey Gatewood was rotated in for Keene multiple times as expected, Malzahn’s trust in Keene as a thrower became evident at Temple. If Malzahn continues to rely on Keene’s arm for explosive plays, the Knights likely will continue to have success on offense.

Alec Holler solidifies top TE spot:

One of Keene’s top targets against Temple, Holler showed he’s athletic and has strong field awareness.

In just his third start, the Trinity Prep product led the team with 87 receiving yards and added 2 touchdowns in his first career multiscore game.

In addition to catching key passes, Holler provided a big block on the outside for senior running back Isaiah Bowser to walk into the end zone in the first quarter.

While the diving touchdown in the second quarter was impressive, it was a third-and-7 catch that was his best play of the game. Holler caught the ball near the sideline, hit the breaks, spun around and gained more than just a UCF first down.

Holler earned a scholarship over the summer after walking onto the team in 2018 and he’s earned the starting spot for the rest of the season at tight end following the contest.

UCF’s defense stays on right path:

The Knights followed up their best defensive performance vs. Memphis with a better one. Malzahn called this game their most complete defensive effort.

After recording six sacks last week, UCF added four more against the Owls, bringing the season total to 17. The Knights only had two sacks in the first four games but have 15 in the second half of the year.

It marked the fourth time — all wins — that the Knights have held their opponent to less than 300 yards of total offense.

For a unit that struggled to tackle in the open field, starting with the opener vs. Boise State, it’s an encouraging sign to see backto-back solid games from UCF’s defense.

COURTESY OF UCF ATHLETICS UCF tight end Alec Holler dives into the end zone on Saturday to score his first of two touchdowns at Temple.