The first half of this contest was extremely entertaining as the two sides traded punches in a 17-17 half. ECU has dominated the line of scrimmage and has gashed the Knights’ rush defense for 88 yards on just 15 carries so far. The Knights have fared much better on pass defense as they have limited Dominique Davis to just 6 of 12 for 38 yards in the first half but two of those passes have gone for touchdowns.
UCF has been their worst enemy in this game so far, something that has happened many times already this season. The Knights already have 8 penalties for 81 yards including a few personal foul penalties on some questionable calls. The kicking game has looked very shaky as both extra points have not been clean and Nick Cattoi has already hooked one field goal when UCF wasted its best field position of the night starting a drive on the Pirate 37 yard line.
Both Jeff Godfrey and Blake Bortles have played in the game. Godfrey was very efficient on the opening touchdown drive but was very shaky after that as ECU stacked the box and did not allow him to use his legs to create plays as he did last season in the blowout in Orlando. Bortles came in early in the second half and the complexion of the game changed completely. Bortles was 7 for 12 in the first half for 71 yards and a touchdown pass to Josh Reese while Latavius Murray has found plenty of running room gaining 75 yards on just 14 carries in the half.