The Bulls came out firing on all cylinders Saturday night and picked apart Central Florida's defense in a 48-20 victory Saturday night at UB Stadium.
With their two starting quarterbacks out, red-shirt freshman Chris Moore and freshman Datwan Hemingway led the Bulls' air attack.
"They actually made the call on Thursday but they told Datwan and me together," said Moore. "We knew both of us were going to play in the game. So we were both prepared."
Moore bombed the UCF secondary, throwing for 195 yards on only five completions.
On the ground, UB's "four horsemen" backfield may have found a fifth member. Hemingway, although he didn't attempt a pass, had his share of big running plays.
"Today I think I was more calm then I was the whole week in practice," Hemingway said.
Hemingway, on his first play under center in his collegiate career, scampered for a 15-yard gain, sparking a 69-yard scoring drive.
Coach Jim Hofher praised the offensive line for a stellar job protecting the young quarterbacks, opening up passing lanes and creating running lanes.
"Our offensive line did a terrific job," said Hofher. "You can't have the running game performance that we had, you cannot have the production in the passing game that we had, without having those guys do their job."
Steven King led UB with 110 rushing yards, two rushes over 30 yards, and two touchdowns. King set a career high with a 30-yard scamper in the first quarter, and bested that dash with a 43-yard run later in the game.
Dave Dawson carried the ball 11 times for 53 yards, adding two touchdowns of his own. Jared Patterson contributed 44 yards and a touchdown.
After the Bulls scored on their first drive the defense came onto the field and gave up a huge pass down the sideline from UCF quarterback Steven Moffett to Tavaris Capers for 61 yards, resulting in a Golden Knights touchdown.
UCF's next drive resulted in a missed field goal, but their first drive of the second quarter would put UCF ahead for the first, and only, time.
"Basically it's a trust thing, we trust the offense to get things done and they trust us," said Bulls' junior linebacker Bryan Cummings.
UB forced three interceptions and sacked Moffett five times. The UB secondary stifled UCF's passing game, while the front seven frustrated the Golden Knights' running game.
Although Central Florida was able to rack up over 450 yards of total offense, they did so on 81 plays, a play frequency that tired out their offense. Consequently, the Knights were unable to finish their drives and force the ball into the end zone.
"Our guys worked on the field with 81 plays, and they really did a good job keeping them out of the end zone," said Hofher.
The Bulls' offensive unit was also able to avoid the mistakes that hurt them in their first four games. UB fumbled the ball once Saturday but recovered, and neither quarterback threw an interception.
UB will take the field next Saturday at Akron. The Bulls will be facing a much more potent offensive attack from the Zips, who have MAC star quarterback Charlie Frye under center.
