University of Central Florida Athletics issued the following announcement on Oct. 29.
The UCF football team has been perfect at home this season, winning all four games at the Bounce House, but the Knights are 0-3 on the road in 2021. With losses at Louisville, at Navy and at third-ranked Cincinnati, UCF looks to buck that trend on Saturday.
Here are some of the factors at play for the Knights (4-3, 2-2 AAC) when they take on Temple (3-4, 1-2 AAC) Saturday at noon on ESPN+ and FM 96.9 The Game:
- Rusty on the road. As mentioned above, the Knights are 0-3 on the road this season, losing 42-35 at Louisville on a interception returned for a touchdown with 13 seconds left to play, falling 34-30 at Navy after leading 30-17 in the fourth quarter, and dropping 56-21 contest at third-rated Cincinnati, all three without a number of starters. In games on the road, the UCF offense has been slightly less efficient, scoring 28.7 points per game as compared to 35.8 points per outing at home, but it has been the defense that has struggled more away from the Bounce House. The Knights are only giving up 17.0 points per game at home and are allowing 44.0 points per game on the road. UCF will aim to have that homestyle defense in Philadelphia this weekend.
- Davonte did his thing. Sophomore Davonte Brown played in all 10 games as a true freshman last season, starting five of the final six contests in 2020. This year he has been the top corner for the Knights every week and leads the Knights with six pass breakups through seven games. Brown has totaled 21 tackles, an interception and assisted on a sack this season. In the win over Memphis last Friday, he had seven tackles, half a sack and an interception to go with two pass breakups as he earned a spot on the American Athletic Conference's Weekly Honor Roll.
- Six wins in the series. UCF and Temple have played eight times in the history of the two programs, starting in 2013 with the inception of the American Athletic Conference. In the first meeting between the Knights and the Owls on Nov. 16, 2013, Blake Bortles hit J.J. Worton for 30-yard touchdown with 1:06 to play that UCF fans know simply as "The Catch." Shawn Moffitt went on to win the game with a 24-yard field goal with time expiring. The Knights have won six of the eight matchups, including three out of four games in Philadelphia. The last game in Philly was a 63-21 victory for UCF on Oct. 26, 2019.
- Bowser's back. Isaiah Bowser made splash in his first game as a Knight, rushing for 172 yards and a touchdown on 33 carries in a win over Boise State. In the ensuing game he rushed for four touchdowns on just 12 touches as the Knights rolled Bethune-Cookman. Bowser then got hurt in the Louisville game, missed games against Navy and East Carolina, and returned as a less than full participant in the game at Cincinnati. In the win over Memphis, he looked almost entirely back, rushing for 111 yards on 26 carries and catching two passes for 10 yards. In the three games this season that he has particpated in full, Bowser is averaging 114.0 yards per game on 4.8 yards per carry with five touchdowns and seven catches for 43 receiving yards.
Original source can be found here.
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