The UCF Football was able to hang tough -- and lead -- No. 19 Tulsa Golden Hurricane through one half in Tulsa, Okla., on Sunday night. But the Golden Hurricane found their high-powered offense in the second half as they scored 35 unanswered points after the break on their way to a 49-19 win.
"We came out flat for the second half," cornerback Johnell Neal said in a post-game radio interview.
The Knights fell to 2-5 with the loss, 1-2 in Conference USA. The Golden Hurricane, who were held eight points below their season average, stayed perfect at 8-0, 5-0 in the conference.
That record isn't exactly pretty for the reigning conference champions, but UCF is trying to stay positive in the hopes that it can significantly improve through the season's final five games.
"We know that our next five games are all in our division," Neal said. "We still have a chance to reach all our goals that we set."
The Knights held a 19-14 lead at halftime versus Tulsa, but their second half turned into a disaster. Turnovers and sacks did in the Knights. UCF allowed nine sacks in the game and a critical fumble halted any momentum that the Knights could have gained in the third quarter.
Quarterback Rob Calabrese played all but two series in the game. He was efficient with 8 completions in 15 passes and two touchdowns, but he also hurt UCF with a couple of fumbles.
During the week, UCF head coach George O'Leary said he wanted to expand his team's rushing attack and use all four of his running backs. But during the game, true freshman Brynn Harvey got most of the touches and gained 89 yards on 23 carries.
Brandon Davis got three carries for 15 yards on UCF's final series of the game. The Knights' leading rusher, Ronnie Weaver, didn't get a carry.
The Knights responded after a scoreless first quarter with their highest-scoring quarter of the season to give themselves that halftime lead.
The Golden Hurricane opened the second quarter with one of their patented quick-strike scores, traveling 76 yards in two plays.
But a pair of touchdown throws from Calabrese to Brian Watters -- one for 62 yards, another for 7 yards -- put UCF ahead 17-14. A 54-yard field goal by Daren Daly was sandwiched between those two scores.
"When given the time, I think [Calabrese] throws the ball where it's supposed to be thrown," O'Leary said in the post-game radio interview. "In fairness to him, I think he got hit an awful lot in the second half on some broken-down protections. ... I just think we were very soft in protection."
UCF finished the scoring in the quarter when a bad snap to Tulsa quarterback David Johnson traveled out of the back of the end zone for a safety.
The Knights forced a pair of turnovers in the quarter and held the Golden Hurricane to just 2 yards on five possessions after their touchdown early in the second quarter.
The Golden Hurricane set the tone for the third quarter right from the beginning. Damaris Johnson returned the kickoff to open the second half 70 yards back to UCF's 29-yard line.
"The opening kickoff I thought set the momentum a little bit," O'Leary said.
Two plays later, David Johnson rushed for a 10-yard touchdown to put Tulsa ahead 21-19.
The Knights moved the ball proficiently on their next drive, but Calabrese was sacked and fumbled at Tulsa's 27 yard-line to give the ball back to the Golden Hurricane.
"We're down two points, we could be kicking a field goal to go ahead, and we fumble the ball," O'Leary said.
The Golden Hurricane turned that mistake into a 1-yard touchdown by Courtney Tennial. Another short rushing touchdown, this one by David Johnson from 2 yards out, extended Tulsa's lead to 36-19 less than a minute before the end of the third quarter.
Tulsa tacked on a couple more scores in the fourth while UCF could muster just 7 yards in the final 15 minutes.
"I was more disappointed in just our fourth quarter, as far as sense of urgency and getting some things accomplished," O'Leary said.
The Knights were able to keep Tulsa's powerful offense to just seven points in the first quarter. Those points came off a fumble by Calabrese with 6:40 remaining. Three plays, 48 yards and 38 seconds later, Damaris Johnson ran to the right for an 11-yard touchdown, continuing the Golden Hurricane's streak of scoring in every quarter this season.
But UCF basically did what they set out to do in the first half: control the ball and keep it away from Tulsa. The Knights held a near two-to-one ratio in time of possession in the first half.
The Knights' next game is Sunday at home against East Carolina. The Pirates are 4-3 and currently sit atop C-USA's East Division with a 2-1 record, but that's only one game ahead of the Knights.
Kickoff is scheduled for 8:15 p.m. Sunday at Bright House Networks Stadium. The game will be televised on ESPN.
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