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Central Florida Beats Memphis

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The Associated Press

Published: November 22, 2008

Rob Calabrese threw two touchdown passes and Latavius Murray rushed for another to help Central Florida beat Memphis 28-21 on Saturday.

The Knights (4-7, 3-4 Conference USA) scored early and then held on as Memphis limited UCF to 42 yards offense in the second half.

Despite strong defensive play by the Tigers (5-6, 3-4), Memphis was unable to execute offensively in key situations, even after cutting the lead to a touchdown in the fourth. Memphis turned the ball over on downs at the UCF 44 in the final minute.

Memphis quarterback Arkelon Hall, in his first game back after breaking his right thumb Oct. 18 against East Carolina, struggled most of the day, completing 15-of-35 passes for 183 yards.

Memphis got within a touchdown with 8:24 left after benefiting from a pass interference call against defensive back Emery Allen. On the next play, Steven Black took the direct snap at quarterback and went over from 3 yards.

But UCF would not let the Tigers get any closer.

The Memphis defensive effort included 12 tackles for loss in the game.

The Knights, who were coming off a 30-14 victory at Marshall, gained momentum early after a pair of Memphis mistakes.

Bruce Miller blocked a Memphis punt, the Knights recovering at the Tiger 30. Brynn Harvey gained 26 on the first play, and UCF eventually scored on a 4-yard pass from Calabrese to fullback Ricky Kay.

On the ensuing drive, Hall and Memphis running back Charlie Jones failed to connect on a handoff, and Knights linebacker Derrick Hallman scooped up the bouncing ball and returned it 26 yards for a 14-0 UCF lead.

Memphis would at least cut into the lead when Hall connected with Duke Calhoun for a 54-yard touchdown for the Tigers

But the theme of the first half was one of poor offensive play. Calabrese fumbled three times, but recovered all three. Hall had problems with handoffs and quarterbacks for both teams team had trouble completing passes, even to wide open receivers. Calabrese gave way to Joe Weatherford with little success for the Knights, while the Tigers put receivers and running backs behind center. While they didn

The best offensive series of the half gave the Knights their 21-7 lead at halftime. UCF covered 82 yards in 12 plays. Weatherford connected with Kamar Aiken for a 39-yard pass early in the march, then on fourth-and-17 at the Memphis 35, Weatherford hit Brian Watters for a 28-yard gain. Three plays later, Murray scored from 1-yard out with 38 seconds left in the half.

Memphis managed only 128 yards in the half, including 20 in the second period. The Knights were only slightly better, collecting 152 yards before the break.

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