The Southern Miss. Golden Eagles have had a pretty miserable season, but they gave the UCF Knights all they could handle. The Knights held on for a 24-21 win, but it was much closer than many thought it would be. Blake Bortles threw for 239 yards and ran for two touchdowns to pace the Knights offense, and the defense held Southern Miss to under 300 total yards.
UCF jumped out to a 10-0 lead but were never able to create much distance between them and Southern Miss. Jalen Richard had two second-half touchdowns to keep the Eagles in the game, but it seemed like their defense wasn't able to get the stops they needed late in the game. However, the UCF offense wasn't able to put the game away, and Southern Miss was able to tie the game with 18 seconds left to send it to overtime.
The teams traded touchdowns in the first overtime. UCF scored a touchdown to lead off the second overtime, but Kemal Ishmael picked off Anthony Alford to end the game at 38-31.
Box Score Hero: There weren't a ton of offensive bright spots, but Bortles gets the nod here based on his two rushing touchdowns for the Knights. He went 27-40 for 272 yards in the air.
Rankings Ramifications: Neither team was ranked entering the game, and neither one will be after.
But did they cover? UCF was favored by 16 points, so they failed to cover the spread.
What's next?
UCF: 10/20, at Memphis
Southern Miss: 10/20, vs. Marshall