It’s been almost two years since quarterback Timmy McClain last started a game, so forgive the 21-year-old if there’s a little rust on his game.
His last start came against UCF when the Sanford Seminole High product played for rival USF and nearly led the Bulls to an upset victory.
McClain returned to FBC Mortgage Stadium on Saturday night, but this time with the Knights after transferring last year. He was thrust into the starting job after John Rhys Plumlee suffered a leg injury in the team’s win at Boise State last week.
This time, he was on the winning side as UCF jumped out to a 34-0 halftime lead before cruising to a 48-14 victory against Villanova.
It was a slow start for McClain, who went 6 of 11 (55%) before completing four straight passes, including a 25-yard pass to Javon Baker for his first touchdown pass as a Knight with 5:10 left in the first half. But McClain would heat up, going 14 of 17 for the rest of the game, finishing with 321 passing yards and a 191.3 passer rating.
True freshman Dylan Rizk entered the game with 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter.
Running back Jordan McDonald scored on a pair of 1-yard touchdown runs, the result of direct plays in the Wildcat formation.
But it was far from a clean performance for UCF, which committed seven penalties in the first half, including two back blocks that negated a 92-yard punt return from Xavier Townsend and a 73-yard touchdown pass from McClain to Kobe. Hudson. .
The defense limited Villanova to 38 yards in the first half, including a 1-yard pass. The unit also had two sacks and an interception.
Wildcats quarterback Connor Watkins scored on a 3-yard run early in the fourth quarter to deny UCF a shutout.
UCF (3-0, 0-0 Big 12) concluded its non-conference schedule, improving to 3-0 for the first time since 2019. The Knights enter Big 12 play next Saturday when they travel to Kansas State (2-1 , 0-0 Big 12), which lost to Missouri on a 61-yard field goal as time expired on Saturday.
Willie J. Allen Jr./Orlando Sentinel
Injured quarterback John Rhys Plumlee watches his teammates warm up before Saturday night’s kickoff against Villanova at FBC Mortgage Stadium. (Willie J. Allen Jr./Orlando Sentinel)
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Timmy McClain: The redshirt sophomore quarterback was 20 of 28 for 321 passing yards with two touchdowns. He also ran for 44 yards on nine carries.
RJ Harvey: The redshirt senior running back finished with 85 rushing yards on 14 carries with 2 touchdowns. It was his third consecutive game with a rushing touchdown and second time with multiple rushing scores.
Kobe Hudson: The senior receiver surpassed the 100-yard mark for the second straight game when he totaled 147 yards on six receptions.
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Connor Watkins: The graduate quarterback didn’t complete his first pass (0 of 8) until 7:47 of the second quarter. He finished 9 of 23 for 144 yards with one interception.
Brendan Bell: The senior linebacker had nine tackles, including two for loss and a quarterback rush.
Remarkable
– The Knights limited Villanova to 6 yards of offense in the first quarter.
– Tre’mon Morris-Brash and Matthew Alexander recorded sacks in the first half. The Knights have eight sacks in three games.
– Townsend had a 92-yard punt return for a touchdown negated by a back block early in the second quarter.
– Safety Nikai Martínez intercepted Watkins at the Villanova 44-yard line and returned it 42 yards. It was the first interception of his career and the first turnover of the game.
– McDonald scored his second rushing touchdown of the season when he took the direct snap of a Wildcat formation and darted 1 yard into the end zone to increase UCF’s lead to 10-0 with 4:51 left in the first quarter. He added another 1-yard score a few minutes later to extend the lead to 17-0.
– UCF put together its longest scoring drive of the season on its first offensive possession as the Knights drove 69 yards in 14 plays capped by kicker Colton Boomer’s 24-yard field goal. The previous high was 11 plays, which occurred on the first series of the season against Kent State.
Please check back for more information as this is a developing story.
Email Matt Murschel at mmurschel@orlandosentinel.com or follow him on Twitter at @osmattmurschel.
