Sep 16, 2007, 0:33 GMT
Orlando, FL - Colt McCoy passed for 259 yards with a touchdown and Ryan Bailey kicked five field goals as sixth-ranked Texas held off an upset-minded UCF, 35-32, at Bright House Networks Stadium.
McCoy finished 32-of-47 with an interception and Jamaal Charles rushed for 153 yards on 22 carries with a score for Texas (3-0), which was coming off a 34-13 win over TCU on September 8. Nate Jones chipped in with seven catches for 59 yards and a score, while Brandon Foster returned an interception 33 yards for another TD.
Kyle Israel was only 9-of-26 passing for 134 yards with a touchdown and an interception for UCF (1-1). He also rushed for a TD.
Kevin Smith ran for 149 yards on 27 carries with two scores, while Kamar Aiken pulled in four catches for 49 yards and a touchdown for the Knights, who were bidding for another upset win after defeating North Carolina State, 25-23, on September 1.
With Texas ahead 20-10 at halftime, the Longhorns came out of the locker room for the second and put three more on the board when Bailey capped a nine-play, 50-yard set by hitting a 42-yard field goal.
Smith's three-yard dive up the middle early in the third got the Knights within 23-17. Prior to the score, Israel converted on a 3rd-and-eight from the UCF 31 when he found Aiken for 15 yards. Texas' Deon Beasley was flagged for a 15-yard late hit out-of-bonds penalty that moved the ball to the Longhorns 39. Smith then ran off left tackle for 36 yards before punching it into the end zone on the next play.
After Joe Burnett picked off McCoy at the UCF 35, the Knights went on the attack again, marching 65-yards on eight plays. Israel completed two short passes and Smith rushed for 32 more, taking it down to the Texas 18 late in the third quarter. Israel finished the drive when, on fourth-and-goal from the one, the quarterback ran around right tackle, found an opening and dove in for the score, giving UCF a 24-23 lead.
Bailey's 40-yarder with 9:34 left in the fourth put the Longhorns back in front 26-24. With Texas starting at its own 32, McCoy completed passes of 18 and nine yards, taking it to the UCF 41. After two more first down conversions, the drive stalled and the Horns kicked the field goal.
Following a failed offensive set by the Knights, Texas added three more on a 37-yard effort by Bailey to make it a five-point game with just over five minutes to play.
With UCF trying to mount a drive, Israel was stripped of the ball by Ryan Palmer and recovered by Marcus Griffin at the Knights 46. Texas quickly took advantage as Charles ran 46 yards down the right sideline for a score to make it a 35-24 game. The two-point attempt failed.
UCF got the ball back off a Longhorns' turnover and went 53 yards on six plays, capped off by a seven-yard Israel to Aiken TD. The two-point conversion made it 35-32 with 35 ticks left.
The Knights' on-side kick effort failed and the Horns ran out the clock to end the contest.
'Our football team is a solid team and they have good chemistry,' UCF head coach George O'Leary said. 'They did what I asked them to do and that was play a full 60 minutes.'
After UCF went three-and-out on its opening possession, Texas took over, starting on its own 34, and moved the ball downfield with ease behind some hard running by Charles. The Longhorns then converted a key 4th-and-1 on the UCF 10-yard line, but the drive stalled after that and Texas had to settle for a 19-yard field goal by Bailey.
The Knights came right back on their next series to put seven on the board midway through the first period. Israel hit Rocky Ross with a 20-yard strike on 3rd-and-18 and three plays later found Smith for 24 more, moving the ball down to the Texas 26. Smith capped the eight-play, 68-yard drive with a two- yard touchdown run to give UCF a 7-3 lead.
Following a 16-minute lightning delay, the Horns marched 73 yards on 14 plays behind McCoy's 10-of-11 passing effort. The Texas quarterback completed the drive when he connected with Jones for a six-yard score to put the visitors up 10-7.
Michael Torres' 47-yard field goal nine seconds into the second stanza tied the contest.
The game turned ugly over the next several minutes when both teams had trouble hanging onto the football.
The Longhorns had a well-orchestrated drive going midway through the second as McCoy continued his fine play, moving Texas down to the UCF 11. However, on third-and-seven, Charles coughed up the ball and the Knights recovered to halt the threat.
Israel gave it right back on the ensuing series. While attempting to scramble for a first down on third-and-short, the UCF signal-caller fumbled on his own 10, which Texas recovered. The Horns were unable to mount any offense and Bailey's 31-yard field-goal try sailed wide right.
After both team's traded punts, Texas got a big break when Israel rolled out and threw right, but the ball went off the hands of the intended receiver and was picked off by Foster, who raced 33 yards for a score, putting the Longhorns ahead 17-10 with 3:26 left in the second.
Texas tacked on three more with one second remaining in the half when Bailey nailed a 19-yard field goal to put the Horns up by 10 heading into the intermission. It could have been more, as it was initially ruled that Jones hauled in McCoy's pass for a 14-yard TD, but replays showed the receiver was clearly out of bonds. UCF was called for pass interference on the play, which made it first-and-goal from the two with five ticks left, but Texas elected to take the sure three instead of running another play.
Game Notes
Today's game marked the first game at Bright House Networks Stadium...Texas will host Rice on September 22, while UCF hosts Memphis...Texas had 482 yards of total offense compared to 320 by UCF.
© 2007 The Sports Network
Game Notes.
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