Central Florida is taking a firm grip on the American Conference tonight in Orlando. Leading Rutgers 28-14 at halftime, Central Florida is beginning to move another step closer to their first conference championship since winning the Conference USA championship in 2010. This time, of course, a BCS berth is on the line and beginning to come within reach for the Golden Knights.
Storm Johnson has rushed for two touchdowns to fuel the ground game. Blake Bortles has spread te football around to his receivers with five different players recording at least two catches in the first half. Last week’s hero in Philadelphia, J.J. Worton has four catches for 84 yards at the half to lead the Golden Knights. Bortles has passed for over 200 yards and a touchdown. He also made a play with his feet, wiggling around inside the red zone to find a path to the end zone with Rutgers scrambling to stop him. Bortles actually leads Central Florida in rushing with five carries for 39 yards.
Central Florida has also been playing well on defense, holding Rutgers to just 104 yards of total offense. Rutgers did start to make this interesting for the second half when Anthony Cioffi blocked a Central Florida punt late in the half and returned it for a touchdown. The blocked punt return turned a 28-7 game in to a 28-14, two-possession game. Rutgers gets the football to start the second half.