All eyes were focused on Arkansas transfer quarterback KJ Jefferson Thursday night as last year’s preseason Heisman Trophy hopeful took the reigns of the UCF offense for the first time. The sixth-year senior started out a bit shaky but managed to throw for two touchdowns and run for another in the Knights’ 57-3 cake walk over visiting New Hampshire in front of 44,206 at SBC Mortgage Stadium. It was the first-ever meeting between the two teams.
Jefferson, who threw for 7,923 yards (67 touchdowns) and ran for 1,876 yards and another 21 touchdowns over five seasons at Arkansas, made his UCF debut a successful one by completing 7 of 14 passes (1 interception) for 164 yards.
He tossed touchdown passes of 49 and 22 yards to Myles Montgomery and Johnny Richardson respectively on the same play call – a swing pass to the flat where both running back received Jefferson’s pass out of the backfield and took it the distance.
UCF’s new signal-caller, a 6-3, 247-pound bruiser also rushed for 39 yards on 11 carries and tallied the Knight’s initial touchdown on a 3-yard run. It came on the second play of the second quarter and followed a 37-yard interception return by Deshawn Pace.
But Jefferson struggled in the beginning, missing on his first four passes and completing just one of seven to start the game, resulting in only a 6-0 lead after one quarter on field goals of 25 and 44 yards by Colton Boomer.
“The first quarter we really struggled,” said head coach Gus Malzahn, who improved to 4-0 in season openers at UCF and 12-1 overall as a head coach. Previously, he was 7-1 at Auburn and 1-0 at Arkansas State. “We had a little trouble. We had some sacks. I called a couple of bad plays, put our quarterback in a bind a few times.”
But Jefferson settled down and found his rhythm. He connected on six of his final seven pass attempts as the Knights padded that 6-0 first-quarter lead with 23 points in the second quarter, which included a Tim Bonagura safety, and a 28-point explosion in the third quarter.
All-Big 12 running back RJ Harvey picked up where he left off last season. The senior, who led a Knights’ rushing attack that ranked fourth nationally (228.2 yards per game) a year ago, registered his eighth 100-yard game over the last nine contests.
Harvey rushed for 142 yards, including touchdown runs of 1 and 13 yards, doing all that damage on just 11 carries, his fewest since rushing 10 times in the 2023 season opener against Kent State. Still, he led a UCF team known for its rushing attack.
Eight different players amassed 454 rushing yards, the second-most in program history to a 461-yard performance in 1992. Four Knights gained 60-plus yards. In addition to Harvey’s totals, Peny Boone added 81 yards (1 TD) on the ground while Montgomery finished with 77 (1 TD) and Jacurri Brown, who spelled Jefferson in the fourth quarter, had 60 yards rushing.
“That was good, I like that,” Montgomery said of scoring both by rushing and receiving. “Hopefully it upped my draft stock. I can catch, too,” he said with a smile.
As good as the offense was, and it was spectacular in piling up 639 total yards, the UCF defense was equally impressive, limiting New Hampshire to just 67 yards rushing and 95 passing. The Knights intercepted two passes, recorded seven tackles for loss and forced 11 punts as the Wildcats were just 2-for-15 on third down conversions and managed only a lone second-quarter field goal of 38 yards by Nick Mazzie.
“Defensively, we played a big-time game,” Malzahn said. “Pace’s interception, I think that was the one that really turned the game.”
In their fourth consecutive Thursday season opener at home, all victories, the Knights notched their 40th home win in the last 46 games dating back to 2017. They hope to add another to the list when they host Sam Houston at 6:30 p.m. EDT Saturday, Sept. 7.
“We’ve got the makings of a good football team,” Malzahn said. “There’s (still) a lot to improve on but I really feel good about this team. I think we’ve got a chance to be really good.”
