Cougars slow down UCF Knights running attack to win 37-24 Deseret News

ORLANDO, Fla. Anyone who watched Oklahoma State and reigning Doak Walker Award winner Ollie Gordon II run through BYU's defense last week in Provo probably expected more of the same from the UCF Knights on Saturday afternoon.

After all, UCF has another excellent running back in RJ Harvey, a running quarterback in Jacurri Brown and happens to have the third-best rushing attack in the country.

Perhaps that's why the Knights were a slight favorite, despite their 3-4 record and four-game losing streak.

But the Cougars' defense flipped the script near the Magic Kingdom's make-believe land, largely shutting down UCF's potent run game in a 37-24 win in front of 42,144 at FBC Mortgage Stadium.

Ollie Gordon certainly had a good day, BYU linebacker Isaiah Glasker said. We knew we had to stop the flight, and we did.

The Cougars (8-0, 5-0) even outpaced the Knights (3-5, 1-4), racking up 252 yards on the ground; UCF finished with 181 rushing yards.

Harvey, who passed for 198 yards in last week's 38-35 loss at Iowa State, finished with 127 yards and two touchdowns. He had runs of 23 and 54 yards in the first half, but was largely quiet the rest of the way.

It's always good to see good running backs in the Big 12, Glasker said. We know that every team we play is going to have some good running backs. Going against them just makes our defense better.

Glasker got his second interception of the season, while freshman safety Faletau Satuala got the first pick of his career.

Brown ran for more than 150 yards against the Cyclones last week, but was so ineffective against BYU that the redshirt sophomore ended up on the bench. Brown was 8 of 17 for 96 yards and two interceptions, for a passer rating of 71.

The Miami transfer was sacked one and lasted just 9 yards on six attempts.

We knew he was a runner. We prepared as if we were playing an option attack. “I thought we did a good job shutting him down and made some big plays on him,” said BYU defensive lineman Blake Mangelson, who had one of his best games as a Cougar.

Mangelson had four tackles, a sack and a pass breakup. Glasker and safety Crew Wakely led BYU with five tackles each, while Harrison Taggart and Tanner Wall also had four.

The biggest thing the coaches emphasized this week was dominating the front, where I think the (defensive) tackles and (defensive) targets did a phenomenal job, Mangelson said. That was the most important thing: just dominate their front.

Perhaps the most eye-catching statistic was time of possession; BYU had the ball for 40 minutes and 28 seconds. The Cougars had an 18-play drive that resulted in a field goal, and got a whopping 29 first downs.

The offense played well. Forty minutes of possession is insane, Mangelson said. This keeps our defenses from getting tired, gives us time to recover and allows us to perform at our highest level.

BYU was 2 for 2 on fourth down, including a nifty fake field goal by kicker Will Ferrin that netted 8 yards and a first down. BYU is now 15 out of 18 in fourth place this season.

UCF was just 2 of 10 in third place, a week after Oklahoma State was 11 of 19. Glasker said he and the rest of the defense worked all week in practice to get Brown looks that would confuse him.

“We were bluffing plays and making sure he wasn't really sure what defense we were in,” Glasker said. I feel like this has helped us somewhat in the long run.

BYU was also helped by about 10,000 Cougar fans, many of whom stayed until the end while UCF fans headed for the exits in droves.

I wasn't surprised because I know how BYU fans travel, Glasker said. I'm super grateful to them, especially because I could look up in the stands and see completely blue. It also gave us a little motivation, especially when you get chants from UCF fans and then you hear BYU fans, and they're loud too.

Added quarterback Jake Retzlaff: We've said for a long time that we have the best fan base in the country. They showed up today.

And so did BYU's rushing defense.