No. 25 UCF ends road woes with win at Memphis, sets up showdown with Tulane; 3 takeaways

UCF did precisely what it could not do two weeks ago, grinding out a road win over a longtime rival to set up a top-25 American Athletic Conference showdown.

Mikey Keene rebounded from a first-quarter interception to throw for 219 yards and three touchdowns, RJ Harvey enjoyed a career day on the ground and the No. 25 Knights held on to defeat Memphis 35-28 at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium.

UCF (7-2, 4-1 AAC) improves to 15-2 all-time against Memphis (4-5, 2-4), which is on a four-game losing streak for the first time since 2013. In doing so, the Knights temporarily halted a troubling trend since head coach Gus Malzahn took over last year — losing five of its previous seven contests away from the Bounce House.

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"That was a hard, hard-fought win," Malzahn said. "Give them credit; they're a quality team, they had their backs against the wall, and they had an off week. We got their best."

Keene, starting in place of the injured John Rhys Plumlee (concussion), fired a 24-yard scoring strike to Javon Baker with 4:58 left in regulation that held up as the game-winner. Kobe Hudson notched his second multi-score game this season, and Ryan O'Keefe added a season-high 10 receptions for 75 yards.

Plumlee, Malzahn said, was available but did not return to practice until late in the week.

Next week, the Knights will head to New Orleans to battle No. 19 Tulane in one of the country's marquee matchups. First place in the AAC will be on the line along with, potentially, home field advantage for the league's championship game and the inside track for a New Year's Six bowl appearance.

Let's take a look at three key takeaways from Saturday afternoon's showdown.

1. RJ's big day

RJ Harvey set the tone for his career-high performance with his first carry.

Spelling Isaiah Bowser after a busy opening possession, Harvey saw the hole close to his left, bounced to his right and brushed off a tackle on the way to a 22-yard touchdown run.

Harvey set up the Knights' second score, too — restoring momentum after two Memphis sacks and the Keene pick. He sprinted 61 yards through the heart of the Tigers' defense and all the way to the hosts' 25.

"RJ just makes stuff happen," Keene said. "He makes it right on his own.

"I was watching that first touchdown, and I had no idea how it happened. Then, I just see a clear lane for him to go score. He's a remarkable back."

Six plays later, Bowser lined up in the Wildcat formation and lobbed a jump pass to Stephen Martin for a 4-yard touchdown, the first career score for the redshirt sophomore from nearby Bishop Moore Catholic.

In total, Harvey gained 151 yards on 17 attempts — shattering his previous single-game high mark of 84.

"He's starting to come on. You can see that," Malzahn said.

2. Knights lose 3 defensive starters

Senior linebacker Jeremiah Jean-Baptiste exited the game late in the third quarter with an apparent head injury, the result of a targeting call initiated by the video official.

Memphis tight end John Hassell lowered the crown of his helmet to set the edge on a block, springing Asa Martin free for a six-yard run to the UCF 21. His ejection, and a subsequently lengthy delay as the officiating crew debated where to spot the ball, seemed to throw the Tigers' offense out of rhythm.

Tigers quarterback Seth Henigan misfired on second down, and scrambled for three yards on the following snap. Memphis head coach Ryan Silverfield rolled the dice on 4th-and-16, an incomplete pass tipped by Jarvis Ware, nearly intercepted and then almost caught downfield by Eddie Lewis.

UCF punished the Tigers for their aggressiveness, marching 61 yards in nine plays and just under four minutes. Keene capped off the go-ahead drive with a 13-yard dart to Hudson beneath the goalpost.

Missed opportunities were a common theme for Memphis. The Tigers came up empty in three of their five trips into the red zone before halftime, stuffed once on 4th-and-1 and giving the ball away another time when Davonte Brown corralled a bobbled screen pass.

Safeties Divaad Wilson and Quadric Bullard also sustained injuries during the game. Wilson remained down after colliding with the knee of tight end Caden Preiskorn on a tackle in the fourth quarter, and Bullard donned a kneebrace and required crutches to leave the field post-game.

3. Kickers no longer perfect

The placekickers for both teams entered the day perfect on field goal attempts for the season.

That ended abruptly in a bizarre three-drive sequence over the final 1:54 of the first half.

Chris Howard, a Ponte Vedra grad, pushed a 26-yard attempt wide right — the third time Memphis failed to produce points in five, first-half trips to the red zone.

Keene led the Knights across midfield with a series of short throws, but sailed a pass in the direction of Hudson on 3rd-and-3 from the Tigers' 47. Malzahn burned his final timeout, and sent Colton Boomer out for a 64-yard attempt.

Boomer's kick landed well short, allowing Eddie Lewis time to muff the ball, pick it up and race 48 yards to midfield.

Asked about the play at halftime by ESPN sideline reporter Stormy Buonantony, Malzahn replied, "Well, the ball was not supposed to get snapped."

Instead, UCF sought to draw Memphis offside on 4th-and-3, then take a delay of game in order to punt.

"That blew my mind," Malzahn said. "You talk about pushing the panic button, when that thing was snapped it was like, 'Oh, crud.' … That's a first for me. That really aged me."

Asa Martin caught a couple passes for 14 yards to give Howard another try from 55 yards away, but his kick landed just shy of the crossbar.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: UCF Knights football: 3 takeaways from 35-28 win at Memphis Tigers