Blue White Illustrated

UCF Postgame (09/14/13)

Penn State Sports Magazine

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JUDGMENT CALLS The best and the rest from the Nittany Lions' loss to UCF PLAYER OF THE GAME Christian Hackenberg had similar numbers, but UCF quarterback Blake Bortles was the star of the show, racking up 288 yards and three touchdowns while completing 20 of his 27 pass attempts. PLAY OF THE GAME On a key third-andgoal midway through the second quarter, Bortles lofted a floater that appeared to be sailing out of the back left corner of the end zone, until wideout J.J. Worton laid out, grabbed possession and slipped a foot in for the touchdown. The remarkable catch gave the Knights a 21-7 lead. BEST PASS With UCF leading, 21-10, early in the third quarter, Bortles tossed a beautiful deep ball to Worton and put to bed just about any opportunity for a PSU comeback. Bortles connected on a dump pass to Josh Reese two plays later for a 25-yard TD and a 28-10 lead. WORST PASS Malcolm Willis used all of his vertical leap to snatch a Bortles pass out of the air late in the first half to avoid more UCF points before halftime. BEST RUN Early in the second quarter, UCF back Storm Johnson burst around his tackle and raced up the right sideline, outpacing every Nittany Lion who attempted to track him down. The carry went for 58 yards and a touchdown, giving the Knights a 14-7 lead. BEST CATCH Cutting the Knights' lead to 34-31, Allen Robinson managed to pull down a floater from Hackenberg in the back corner of the end zone, touching down in bounds with his left foot, all while falling backwards. WORST DROP Zach Zwinak put together a whale of a game, racking up 128 yards and three TDs on 21 carries, but his final carry of the game was his worst, as he fumbled at the Knights' 29. BEST EFFORT On second-and-goal from Penn State's 7, after a timeout, Bortles rolled to his right, found nobody open, and hurtled himself into the end zone, but the TD was overturned upon review. BEST KICK Sam Ficken's 47-yard field goal late in the first half. The connection was a career-long. BEST RETURN Eugene Lewis took a secondquarter kickoff at his own 2-yard line, cut through the UCF defense, shed a tackle and eventually was tripped up at the Nittany Lions' 47 for a 45-yard return. WORST DECISION There were plenty of questionable strategies utilized, including Bill O'Brien's timeout usage late in the fourth quarter, and the decision to kick deep rather than attempting an onside kick on UCF's final possession. MOST TELLING MOMENT With just 29 seconds left in the first half, Hackenberg did the one thing he couldn't do: He took a sack instead of throwing the ball away, forcing the Lions into a 57-yard field goal attempt. – NATE BAUER C as u a l Metropolitan Casual M etropolita n Dining ropolita ropolitan tan t g Lu c and Dinne Lunch and Dinner unch inner Sma l Plat Small Plates Small Plates ma la ates Martini Night Martini Nights artin ght rtini tini ts RESTAURA T RE TAURANT RESTAURANT AURANT AURAN ANT www.GigisDining.com We W st College Cato Ave., State College West College & Cato Ave., State Co lege oll le Cat Av a tate oll tate Co ollege S e P t e m b e R 1 4 , 2 0 1 3 814 861 3463 814 . 861 . 3463 6 3463 346 4 b l u e w h i t e o n l i n e . c o m

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