In the week leading up to the UCF Knights’ season-opener against Jacksonville State, coach Scott Frost said he did not want the team playing worried about making mistakes.
However, the mistakes UCF made in their 17-10 win against Jacksonville State almost made the game go the other way. The referees flagged the Knights nine times for 80 yards, as opposed to the Gamecocks’ seven times for 60 yards.
“The penalties were a problem,” Frost said. “We didn’t have a lot of penalties. They’re just wrong time, you know.”
The Knights left some points on the table thanks to some of these ill-timed penalties: a holding call erased a 29-yard touchdown run by Myles Montgomery in the second quarter, a chop block a couple of plays later that pushed them out of field goal range and a false start on third down at the Jacksonville State one-yard line, forcing them to settle for a field goal. These are just the direct instances.
“It’s little things,” Frost said. “You can’t push off somebody when you’re getting up, keep your head and not get offsetting penalties and get one for the team, you know, holding play on a touchdown, targeting, I’m sure that wasn’t intentional, but it just kept seeming like it was happening and at the wrong time for us to catch any momentum. Those things got to get cleaned out.”
It was not just the offense; the defense also had its fair share of calls. However, the two that had the biggest potential for consequence were both late in the fourth quarter. First, an offsides penalty turned a third and nine into a third and four, which was what made defensive back Jayden Williams have to stop Gamecocks running back Cam Cook on fourth and short in the first place.
Then, the next time the defense came on the field, protecting a one-touchdown lead with just over a minute left, a targeting penalty on linebacker Lewis Carter on third down gave the Gamecocks a fresh set of downs. While the unit did make up for it with their turnovers, linebacker Keli Lawson, one of the team’s captains, took responsibility.
“I’ll blame myself,” Lawson said. “Being in the middle of the defense, I have that voice, just letting them boys know, reminding them what the scenario is with the situation, because we have trained hunters down there at the first four. If I can add that extra little help, all the more difference it makes.”
The Knights will have a few extra days to reflect and improve on these mistakes before they take the field again on Sept. 6 at 7 p.m. against North Carolina A&T.
“You know, those are first game mistakes and undisciplined mistakes and/or selfish, in some cases,” Frost said. “So, those things will definitely be addressed.”
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