Duke contains Plumlee, beats UCF 30-13 in Military Bowl

Associated PressDec 28, 2022, 7:21 PM EST

Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Duke brushed aside UCF with relative ease in the Military Bowl, capping an impressive turnaround this season.

Now quarterback Riley Leonard is talking about big hopes for the future.

“I’m kind of a guy that’s never really satisfied,” he said. “I look back at the season with nine wins, but I expect 12, 13, 14 going into the national championship. So my eyes will be set on next year, probably tomorrow or the next day.”

Coach Mike Elko was a little more willing to reflect on Duke’s remarkable rise in his first season at the helm. Leonard ran for two touchdowns and threw for 173 yards, and the Blue Devils handled UCF 30-13 on Wednesday.

Duke went winless in Atlantic Coast Conference play last year, but Elko turned the team around quickly, winning ACC coach of the year honors. The Blue Devils reached nine wins in a season for the seventh time and first since 2014.

“Couldn’t be more proud of this group,” Elko said. “From where this team was and this program was walking off the field at the end of the 2021 season, to walking off the field today as the 2022 Military Bowl champions.”

The Blue Devils (9-4) have won four consecutive bowl games, although this was their first appearance in one since 2018. Jordan Moore ran for a touchdown in the first quarter, and then Duke took control in the second.

UCF (9-5) lost three of its final four games this season. John Rhys Plumlee managed only 28 yards passing in the first half and 182 for the game.

“We only scored 13 points. It’s all of us,” Knights coach Gus Malzahn said. “We just didn’t get it done offensively.”

Moore opened the scoring with a 14-yard run, but Isaiah Bowser‘s 1-yard touchdown rush for the Knights tied the game at 7. Duke outscored UCF 13-0 in the second quarter.

After taking the lead on a short field goal, the Blue Devils recovered a fumble by Plumlee at their own 42. They went 58 yards in seven plays, and Leonard scored on 1-yard run.

A 48-yard field goal by Todd Pelino made it 20-7 at halftime.

Down 23-7, the Knights had a good chance to get back in the game after a profitable exchange of punts gave them the ball at the Duke 32, but UCF turned the ball over on downs.

“That was a key drive. Obviously we had the momentum,” Malzahn said. “You’ve got to score right there.”

The Knights finally scored again on 2-yard run by Bowser with 9:03 remaining, but a trick play on a 2-point conversion failed badly.

Leonard completed the scoring with a 3-yard run with 2:29 to play. He finished with a team-high 63 yards on the ground.

“This group is special and this program is special,” Elko said. “Couldn’t be more proud of this team.”

THE TAKEAWAY

Duke: An excellent ending to a very encouraging season. The defense in particular was strong against a good quarterback. The Blue Devils had six sacks.

UCF: Plumlee was limited by hamstring problems when the Knights lost to Tulane in the AAC title game. It was hard to tell how much he was still feeling the effects Wednesday, but this was not a good performance by an offense that normally has little trouble moving the ball.

“When you struggle on offense, a lot of quarterbacks get a lot of the blame and a lot of the praise as well,” Plumlee said. “But tonight, there’s no other way to put it – just not good enough.”

CLEAN GAME

There were only four penalties in the game – and only one against Duke.

“I think it shows that during the prep they were focused when they needed to be,” Elko said. “They’re a really mature group, and I think they had their sights set on what they wanted to accomplish all year.”

UP NEXT

Duke: Elko and the Blue Devils clearly have a lot to build on. They didn’t lose a game all season by more than eight points.

UCF: It’s off to the Big 12 for the Knights, who move from the American Athletic Conference to their new league. It was somewhat fitting that they played their final game this season at the home stadium of Navy – an AAC team.

Pratt accounts for 5 TDs, Tulane tops UCF 45-28 to win AAC

Associated PressDec 4, 2022, 12:13 AM EST

Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

NEW ORLEANS – As Tulane receiver Shae Wyatt watched jubilant fans streaming onto the field, he couldn’t help but reflect upon how far his team had come since finishing last season 2-10.

“It’s definitely surreal,” said Wyatt, whose two touchdown catches were no small part of why a celebratory scene so hard to conceive of a year ago was unfolding around him. “Seeing all the other schools with their success, and having their fans storm the field – eventually, everybody wants that.”

Michael Pratt accounted for 442 total yards and five touchdowns, Tyjae Spears highlighted his 199 yards rushing with a 60-yard score and No. 18 Tulane beat No. 22 UCF 45-28 on Saturday night in the American Athletic Conference championship game.

The victory virtually assured Tulane (11-2) would play in the Cotton Bowl – its first major New Year’s Day bowl since the 1939 season.

A full hour after the game, Tulane players were still in uniform, walking back to the field from the locker room to pose for photos with teammates, some with cigars in hand. Spears joked that his elbow was sore from fans pulling on him for a congratulatory embrace.

“It was an amazing feeling, man,” Spears said. “That’s something that will stick with us for the rest of our life.”

And Wyatt suggested that Tulane’s remarkable turnaround should serve as a lesson.

“They were just throwing dirt over us and for a while it was hard to bounce back,” Wyatt said of last season, during which Tulane was displaced by Hurricane Ida to a Birmingham hotel for a month, and plagued with injuries to prominent players.

“If you keep your faith and you believe in your brothers that are next to you, flowers will grow. I promise you,” Wyatt said. “I hope this is a testament to anybody out there.”

Pratt passed for a career-high 394 yards, including touchdowns of 73 yards to Duece Watts, 60 and 10 yards to Wyatt and 43 yards to Lawrence Keys. Pratt also ran for a pivotal 18-yard touchdown with 4:04 left.

“It was awesome to close out that game and have those fans so fired up,” said Pratt, named the game’s most outstanding player.

Spears electrified the record crowd of 30,118 at Tulane’s cozy, on-campus Yulman Stadium with his long scoring run, on which he broke two tackles near the line of scrimmage, made two other defenders miss and hurndled his own fallen teammate after cutting back inside.

The Green Wave, which earned the right to host the title game by ending Cincinnati’s 32-game home winning streak last weekend, avenged a 38-31 regular-season loss to UCF (9-4) on the same field on Nov. 12.

But UCF was not quite the same team because of QB John Rhys Plumlee‘s nagging hamstring injury, which appeared to rob him of the explosiveness he displayed by running for 176 yards in the previous meeting.

Plumlee struggled enough early on that coach Gus Malzahn pulled him in the second quarter in favor of Thomas Castellanos. But with Tulane up 24-7 in the middle of the third quarter, Malzahn put Plumlee back in as primarily a passer – and he nearly led the Kights all the way back.

“He’s one of the toughest players I think I’ve ever coached,” Malzahn said. “John Rhys just kept telling me, `Coach, give me another chance.’ … He really gave us a spark.”

Plumlee led UCF quickly for a touchdown to make it 24-14, converting a fourth-and-10 pass along the way and capping the drive with a 17-yarder to Kobe Hudson.

“You work all year to play in a game like this,” said Plumlee, who completed 29 of 39 for 209 yards and one TD, but finished with minus-7 yards rushing as Tulane had six sacks. “I didn’t want to sell myself short or sell this team short.”

Tulane responded when both UCF safeties froze on a play-fake to Spears and Pratt found Watts running free behind the defense.

UCF cut it to 31-21 when former Virginia QB RJ Harvey took a backward pass from Plumlee and launched a 49-yard TD pass to Hudson.

And the Knights got the ball right back when Spears fumbled after a catch on the Green Wave 30. Isaiah Bowser‘s 10-yard run shortly after got UCF as close as 31-28 with 9:48 still left.

But Pratt again found a way to lead the Wave down the field, connecting with Wyatt for the longer of the receiver’s two TDs, and UCF didn’t threaten again.

THE TAKEAWAY

UCF: Knights sophomore backup QB Mikey Keene, who had come in after Plumlee injuries for comeback victories over Cincinnati and South Florida, did not dress for the game. That allowed him to retain a year of eligibility, but also raised questions over whether he might test the transfer portal.

Tulane: It was a dream end to week that got off to a less-than-ideal start with reports out of Atlaata that head coach Willie Fritz being pursued by Georgia Tech.

“Well, I sure am glad I stayed,” Fritz said. “I made a commitment to these kids and the last thing I ever wanted to be was a distraction. So, I’m just proud to be here.”

UP NEXT

UCF: Awaits a bowl bid on Sunday.

Tulane: Heads to its most significant bowl appearance since losing 14-13 to Texas A&M in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1, 1940.

Fofana helps Navy top No. 17 UCF 17-14

Associated PressNov 20, 2022, 12:08 AM EST

Mike Watters-USA TODAY Sports

ORLANDO, Fla. – Fullback Daba Fofana rushed for 114 yards, and Navy beat No. 17 UCF 17-14 on Saturday without completing a pass.

Navy (4-7, 4-4 American Athletic) possessed the ball for nearly 40 minutes and gained 248 yards, all on the ground. Xavier Arline threw incomplete on the team’s only passing attempt.

The loss dropped UCF (8-3, 5-2) out of first place in the AAC and all but eliminated the Knights’ chances of playing at home in the conference championship game.

“It’s frustrating, but we’ve got to play football no matter if we’re home or away,” defensive tackle Ricky Barber said. “Nobody can point fingers. Our plan is to win out at USF, and then no matter where we end up, we’ve got to put the ball down and play.”

Mikey Keene replaced quarterback John Rhys Plumlee in the second half and immediately led the Knights to their only touchdown of the game.

Keene completed his first three passes for 79 yards, including a 28-yard touchdown pass to Javon Baker. Plumlee then passed to Baker for the 2-point conversion, tying it at 14 early in the third quarter.

John Marshall forced Keene’s fumble on the Knights’ next possession. It was recovered by Colin Ramos at the UCF 34, and Bijan Nichols’ 45-yard field goal lifted Navy to a 17-14 lead with 8:22 left in the third.

After that it was all defense.

“We knew Plumlee was really dynamic with his legs but he was not as capable as a thrower as Mikey Keene was. So we had the mentality that this guy is probably not going to get out of the pocket as much,” said Marshall, who had four sacks and 10 total tackles. “Two different ballplayers, but I think we were able to get to both effectively.”

Navy had a 14-6 halftime lead after two long touchdown drives.

The Midshipmen took a 7-0 lead on Arline’s quarterback sneak with 8:20 left in the first quarter, completing a 75-yard drive.

“I feel like if we get off to a fast start, we’re a hard team to beat, just the nature of our offense and the way our defense is playing,” Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo said. “I think that was huge for us to get off to a good start against these guys. We didn’t give them any momentum, even though they moved the ball.”

Field goals of 21 and 31 yards by Colton Boomer made it 7-6, but Navy drove 84 yards to another touchdown late in the first half. Vincent Terrell Jr. ran it in from the 8 with 1:33 left.

Plumlee, a senior who had led UCF’s ninth-ranked offense for most of the season, completed 11 of 18 passes for 107 yards and threw a long interception on the final play of the half. Keene finished 6 of 10 for 98 yards and a touchdown.

Marshall brought his season sack total to 10 1/2, also a Navy record.

UCF gained 314 total yards, well under its season average of 497.7.

“I think they’re spectacular on offense, and the way we were able to put pressure on the quarterback, I think, really affected them later in the game,” Marshall said. “Great defensive effort.”

TAKEAWAYS

Navy: Three weeks ahead of its 123rd showdown with Army, the Midshipmen gained a huge measure of respect late in a losing season. … Navy is now 8-1 in games without completing a pass in the Niumatolo era (15 years). … Navy’s previous win, against Temple on Oct. 29, was also accomplished without a completion.

UCF: The loss puts several different scenarios in play for the location of the AAC championship game. It also adds to the importance for the Knights’ game at South Florida next weekend.

UP NEXT

Navy: Plays against Army at Philadelphia on Dec. 10.

UCF: Plays at USF on Nov. 26.