COLLEGE FOOTBALL: UCF to Host Louisville Under the Lights Friday Night at FBC Mortgage Stadium in Orlando

Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. on ESPN2

UCFKNIGHTS.COM – After opening the season with a dominant 56-10 win against South Carolina State, the UCF football team (1-0) will host Louisville (0-1) under the lights Friday night at FBC Mortgage Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. on ESPN2.

GAME INFORMATION
■ Date: Friday, Sept. 9
■ Time: 7:30 p.m.
■ TV: ESPN2
■ Radio: FM 96.9/AM 740 The Game

A UCF WIN WOULD…
■ Total 185 FBS wins for UCF in program history
■ Be the Knight’s ninth straight home win
■ Be UCF’s second win over the Cardinals in the all-time series
■ Give the Knights their 75th home win at FBC Mortgage Stadium
■ Be better than a loss

SERIES BREAKDOWN

Overall	LOU leads, 2-1
in Orlando	First Meeting
Last Meeting	L, 42-35 (9/17/21)
Streak	LOU won 1

ABOUT THE CARDINALS

Louisville is in its fourth season under head coach Scott Satterfield, who has led the Cardinals to a pair of bowl game appearances. Last season, the Cards were 6-7 overall and 4-4 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Louisville dropped a 31-28 battle against Air Force in the ServPro First Responder Bowl.

Quarterback Malik Cunningham leads the offense, as he ranks third in the Cardinals record books with 10,801 passing yards. His streak of 30 consecutive games with at least one rushing or passing touchdown came to an end in Saturday’s 31-7 loss at Syracuse.

UCF and Louisville have met three times in the history of the programs, most recently in 2021 when the Knights dropped a hard-fought 42-35 battle against the Cardinals in Louisville. In the last meeting, UCF knotted the score at 35-35 following a 6-yard touchdown run from quarterback Dillon Gabriel with 1:21 remaining but a Louisville interception returned for a touchdown gave the Cardinals a 42-35 lead, which was the final margin.

Friday’s game will be Louisville’s first trip to FBC Mortgage Stadium in what will be the fourth all-time meeting between the programs.

QUITE THE DEBUT FOR PLUMLEE

Making his debut in a UCF uniform, quarterback John Rhys Plumlee wowed Knights fans with a stellar performance as he finished the night 20-of-31 passing for 308 yards and four touchdowns. He was also a factor with his legs, accounting for 100 yards rushing on 16 attempts with another score to account for five of UCF’s seven touchdowns in the season-opening 56-10 win against South Carolina State.

Playing quarterback for the first time since 2020, Plumlee quickly acclimated to the position and led a Knights offense that piled up 605 total yards, the most by an AAC team in week one or week 0. UCF is one of just eight teams nationally to compile 600 or more yards of total offense in a game this season.

It was Plumlee’s first game with both a rushing and passing touchdown in his career. Additionally, he tallied career highs in pass attempts (31), completions (20), passing yard (308) and passing touchdowns (4).

FIRST CATCH, FIRST TOUCHDOWN

Redshirt senior tight end Zach Marsh Wojan recorded his first career catch in last Thursday’s game against South Carolina State, reeling in a 21-yard pass from Plumlee for his first career touchdown.

FIRST DOWNS (OFFENSIVELY & DEFENSIVELY)

The UCF offense recorded 29 first downs against South Carolina State in the season opener, which is the fourth most by any team in a single game this year.

Defensively, the Knights held the Bulldogs to just nine first downs to rank fourth in the NCAA.

Both marks are the best in the American Athletic Conference.

MALZAHN’S STILL PERFECT IN HOME SEASON OPENERS

UCF Head coach Gus Malzahn improved to 11-0 in home season openers with last Thursday’s win with a 2-0 record at UCF, 8-0 at Auburn and 1-0 mark at Arkansas State.

HOME-FIELD ADVANTAGE

UCF’s all-time record of 74-22 (.771) at FBC Mortgage Stadium ranks in the top 15 in the nation for best win percentage in a current home stadium.
Since 2017, the Knights are 31-2 in home games at FBC Mortgage Stadium.

The Knights finished last season undefeated at home, marking the seventh time in UCF’s FBS era, the ninth overall, and the fourth time in the last five years.

Only 22 teams in the nation completed the 2021 regular season undefeated at home.

BULLARD’S SPECIAL

Junior safety Quadric Bullard recorded the first blocked punt on special teams for UCF since Sept. 7, 2019 with his block in the fourth quarter against South Carolina State. He then recovered the punt in the endzone for the first punt returned for a touchdown for UCF since Nov. 12, 2016 against Cincinnati.

It was Bullard’s first career touchdown. He finished the game with a tackle and a pass breakup in addition to the blocked punt.

TRANSFERS MAKING AN IMPACT

UCF added several talented transfers to its roster for the 2022 season and they are already making their presence felt. In addition to Plumlee’s standout performance, wide receiver Javon Baker recorded five catches for 84 yards with a touchdown to lead the receiving unit. Tight end Kemore Gamble tallied three catches for 82 yards with a touchdown.

Defensively, linebacker Walter Yates III led the way for the Knights with seven tackles, including five solo stops.

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