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College Football
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Central Florida 31, Navy 21
When: 3:30 PM ET, Saturday, October 21, 2017
Where: Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, Annapolis, Maryland
Temperature: 71°
Head Official: Adam Savoie
Attendance: 35277

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Central Florida coach Scott Frost, a former quarterback at Nebraska, took a few snaps under center this past week to help his team prepare for the triple-option attack of Navy.

Those practice plays must have paid off for the No. 20 Knights, who held the Midshipmen to 184 yards in the first half en route to a 31-21 win on Saturday at Navy-Marine Corps Stadium.

Navy entered the game averaging 35.5 points per contest with 479.3 yards of total offense, including 397.5 on the ground. But the Midshipmen were held in check while averaging 4.2 yards per carry with 419 total yards on 73 plays.

"I certainly won't give myself scout team player of the week," said Frost with a grin. "As good as their offense is, I thought our defense played pretty well. A win is a win and will learn from it."

The Knights' closest game this year before Saturday was a 51-23 win against Cincinnati.

"We had a great week of preparation," said UCF inside linebacker Shaquem Burkett, a redshirt senior who had 13 tackles, including seven solos. "It was our turn to step up and make the plays."

Griffin had plenty of help as inside linebacker Pat Jasinki had 14 tackles and outside linebacker Shaque Griffin had 10.

On offense, Adrian Killins Jr. ran 15 times for 122 yards and two touchdowns, and McKenzie Milton threw for one score in the American Athletic Conference contest.

The Knights (6-0, 4-0 AAC), who were 0-12 in 2015, are off to the best start in school history. Navy had won 17 games in a row at home.

"In a close game it is one or two plays," Frost said. "I lost a year off my life tonight. (Close games) are not fun. There is a reason they win those games at home."

Milton completed 15 of 23 passes for 233 yards.

Navy (5-2, 3-2) was led by quarterback Zach Abey, who ran 25 times for 126 yards. He has rushed for more than 100 yards in eight straight games, a school record. But Abey, who tried just four passes, was shaken up on a run with 11:16 left in the third quarter, left the game and didn't return. He was replaced by Garret Lewis, a fellow junior.

"I am always prepared. It is unfortunate Zach got hurt," Lewis said.

"I was very, very pleased with the defense," said Ken Niumatalolo, the 10th-year Navy coach. "They are the best scoring team in the country. They have athletes all over the place."

Killins, a sophomore, went 79 yards on a touchdown run with 12:08 left in the third quarter for a 21-14 lead. Matthew Wright's 35-yard field goal with 2:41 left in the third quarter made it 24-14.

"That's huge," Frost said of the long run. "He's an eraser. He erased the tie game."

Navy cut the lead to 24-21 with 12:50 left in the game on a 7-yard run by fullback Anthony Gargiulo. Then linebacker Micah Thomas intercepted Milton with 10:08 left to give Navy a shot at the go-ahead score. But Darryl Bonner fumbled with 7:07 left, and the Knights took over at their 46. A 10-yard touchdown run by Otis Anderson with 3:30 left made it 31-21.

Navy slotback Malcolm Perry scored on a 75-yard catch-and run with 12:23 left in the third quarter to tie the game at 14.

The Knights took the opening kickoff and went 64 yards on 10 plays as Milton passed 6 yards to Tre'Quan Smith for a 7-0 lead.

Late in the second quarter, Navy drove 92 yards on 12 plays for the tying score, as Abey ran six yards for a touchdown.

The Knights took a 14-7 lead with 2:46 left in the first half as Killins ran for a touchdown to cap a five-play drive that was aided by a 58-yard kickoff return by Mike Hughes.

UCF entered the game averaging 50.6 points, the best mark in the nation.

"They are the number one scoring team in the country," Navy's Thomas said. "You can see that. They are all great players. I felt at the end of the day we beat ourselves."

NOTES: Navy head coach Ken Niumatalolo and UCF QB McKenzie Milton are both from Hawaii. ... The Knights host Austin Peay next Saturday while Navy is off until playing at Temple on November 2. ... It was the first time UCF met a service academy school in football. ... Knights head coach Scott Frost has had his name mentioned as a possible successor to Mike Riley at Nebraska if things continue to go poorly for the Huskers. Frost is a former Nebraska quarterback who took the Knights to a bowl game last season. ... Navy OLB Jerry Thompson missed the game with an injury. Justin Norton started in his place. ... The Midshipmen were also without FB Chris High, who has 402 yards on 89 carries this season.
Top Game Performances
Rushing
Central Florida   Navy
Adrian Killins Jr. Player Zach Abey
15 Attempts 25
122 Yards 126
8.1 Avg Yards 5.0
2 Touchdowns 1
0 Long 0
Receiving
Central Florida   Navy
Dredrick Snelson Player Malcolm Perry
3 Receptions 1
72 Yards 75
24.0 Avg Yards 75.0
0 Touchdowns 1
0 Long 0
Team Stats Summary
 
  Yards Scoring Defense
Team Tot Rus Pas TD FG INT Sck FF
Central Florida 483 247 236 4 1 2 0.0 1
Navy 419 248 171 3 0 1 1.0 0