UCF runs to 57-3 season-opening win over New Hampshire

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — UCF entered the season with one of the best running back rooms in the nation and they put all of it on display, rushing for 454 total yards to lead the Knights to a 57-3 rout over New Hampshire on Thursday night in a season opener.

Senior captain RJ Harvey led the Knights’ backfield, rushing for 111 of his 142 yards in the first half and scoring two touchdowns for UCF.

The Knights rushed for 300 yards as a team for the first time since last year’s season opener against Kent State. The team went for 389 yards in that game. They also were seven yards shy of setting the school record set against Gardner-Webb in September 1992.

It was a major statement for the Knights and their stellar backfield. “We’re hungry,” running back Myles Montgomery said. “We all have a why that we’re playing for. We make sure that we never forget that. We have a chip on our shoulder. Hopefully there is more to come.” UCF is the only team with two 1,000-yard rushers on the roster from last year. Harvey is one of those and set himself up to eclipse that mark again with his strong debut. The other is Toledo transfer Peny Boone who had 81 yards on seven carries, including a 59-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.

But they were not alone. Montgomery (77 yards on eight carries and a touchdown) along with quarterback KJ Jefferson (39 yards on 11 carries with a rushing touchdown) further boosted the run game as the Knights dominated up front and wore down the Wildcats, scoring 23 points in the second quarter and 28 in the third. “They’re real running backs. They are all a bit different,” UCF coach Gus Malzahn said. “First game is first game. We’re pretty vanilla. Sometimes when you are vanilla it is what it is, but we have a lot of things to build upon.” That left little need for a passing game. But Jefferson still fired two touchdown passes, both to running backs finding Montgomery for a 38-yard score and Johnny Richardson for 22-yarder. Jefferson finished with 164 yards on 7-for-14 passing.

New Hampshire fell behind in the middle quarters and was not able to take advantage of UCF’s struggles early in the game. UCF held New Hampshire to 162 total yards, giving up only a second-quarter field goal. That marked the Wildcats’ only drive to pass midfield. “That’s a really talented football team that we went against,” New Hampshire coach Ricky Santos said. “Both sides up front, that was the determining factor. Physically imposing defensive line that gave us a lot of issues. I think they did a really good job wearing us out, particularly going into the second half.” Seth Morgan threw for 95 yards on 14-for-28 passing for the Wildcats. New Hampshire rushed for 67 yards. The Knights picked off Morgan twice and blocked a punt to set up three scores. UCF also tallied seven tackles for a loss in the game. TRANSFERRED CREDITS UCF was relying on a lot of transfers to bolster their defensive depth after struggling in their first year in the Big 12. A few of them paid immediate dividends.

Cincinnati transfer Deshawn Pace intercepted a pass to open the second quarter and returned it to the 3-yard line to set up the Knights’ first touchdown.

On the next drive, Ole Miss transfer Ladarius Tennison blocked a punt, forcing a safety to give the Knights a 15-0 lead early in the second quarter. Tennison’s blocked punt was the program’s first since September 2022 against Georgia Tech and the team’s first safety since October 2022 against Cincinnati. The Knights’ other interception was made by East Carolina transfer Antione Jackson in the third quarter. DOWN DEBUT UCF was excited for the debut of Arkansas transfer KJ Jefferson, hoping the 6-foot-3, 247-pound quarterback would be the missing piece to elevate the Knights into Big 12 title contention. But his first game in black and gold was a rough outing. He completed just two of his first eight passes for 23 yards. He did not complete his first pass until there was less than two minutes to play in the first quarter. Malzahn said after the game that Jefferson had not gone live in either of UCF’s scrimmages or during the team’s preseason practices. Jefferson said that it took him some time to find his rhythm and let the game come to him in his first game with the Knights. Getting a few hits helped wake him up. He finished with 164 yards on 7-for-14 passing with two touchdowns and an interception. Jefferson threw his first touchdown pass for UCF on a bootleg throwback to Montgomery, who ran it 46 yards for a score early in the third quarter. He followed it up with a 22-yard score to Richardson. THE CELEBRATION CONTINUES UCF hall of fame pitcher Kyle Bono and his Little League World Series champion son Landon Bovo attended the game and were recognized in the second quarter. Nearby Lake Mary won the Little League World Series last weekend and were fresh off a parade down Main Street at the Magic Kingdom at Disney World Resort earlier in the day. Kyle Bono was an assistant coach for the team. TAKEAWAYS New Hampshire: New Hampshire will take home its check for appearing in Orlando as the Wildcats were overmatched by the Big 12 hopeful. UCF: UCF knew it had a powerful ground game and flexed its muscles. The defense stood out, making some eye-popping plays and never letting New Hampshire find any rhythm in a dominant win. UP NEXT New Hampshire visits Holy Cross on Sept. 7. UCF continues non-conference play hosting Sam Houston on Sept. 7. ___ Get alerts on the latest AP Top 25 poll throughout the season. Sign up here ___ AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football

Philip Rossman-reich, The Associated Press