The UCF Knights match-up with the Stanford Cardinal had all the earmarks of a key non-conference match-up for the Knights in their quest for national respect. In the end, it wasn’t even a contest.

The Knights poleaxed the Cardinal 45-27 on national TV in a game that wasn’t even that close. And lo and behold the Knights may have finally figured out their QB situation once and for all.

Highlights

Four Downs

1. UCF was utterly dominant on both sides of the ball. The Knights racked up 545 yards of total offense, scoring 28 points in the first quarter alone. It was the kind of performance you expect against a lower-level team, but not a Pac-12 squad. After Stanford’s opening 3-and-out, UCF scored, got a turnover and scored again, and before we were even 5 minutes in, the Knights were off to the races.
2. Dillon Gabriel is THE GUY at QB now. 22/30 for 347 yards and 4 TDs with no picks. He was sublime, putting his mind-altering accuracy on full display before a sellout crowd and a national TV audience. After last week’s shaky performance at times, it was one hell of a bounce-back.
3. The defense continues to dominate. They were the key to the Knights’ lightning-fast start, with Aaron Robinson grabbing an early interception that set up the Knights for their second TD of the game. They also held K.J. Costello to 199 yards on 21/44 and made his life miserable all day.
4. Big day on the big stage. The game was not this close. Stanford got a garbage time defensive TD on a bad fumble that prevented this game from having the exact same score as their loss last week at USC. If nothing else, the nation is officially on notice about UCF going forward.

Stat of the Game

Knights of the Night

Dillon Gabriel. For obvious reasons.

Aaron Robinson. Had the key second-quarter pick that pushed UCF out front.

Richie Grant. He was all over the place tonight. 8 tackles, 3 passes broken up.

Randy Charlton. Credited with just one QB hurry but spent an inordinate amount of time in the Stanford backfield.

The O-Line. Totally dominant today. 600 total yards against a physical Pac-12 team earns you some kudos.

Who’s got next?