ORLANDO — Shaking off a sloppy first quarter in its home debut, UCF nearly smashed a school record Thursday night in demolishing New Hampshire.
The Knights rushed for 454 yards, averaging 8.4 per carry, to pull away from the visiting Wildcats in a 57-3 rout. Only once before had UCF (1-0) piled up more yards on the ground in program history, totaling 461 in a 1992 blowout win over Gardner-Webb.
Sixth-year senior RJ Harvey led the way with 142 yards and two touchdowns on just 11 carries, Myles Montgomery scored twice and both Peny Boone and Johnny Richardson found the end zone once.
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UCF's defense swarmed New Hampshire, a Football Championship Subdivision playoff qualifier two seasons ago, from the outset. The Wildcats gained just 162 total yards, allowed seven tackles for loss and converted twice on 15 third-down attempts.
"Our guys played hard, now. They played their guts out," said UCF coach Gus Malzahn, who improved to 12-1 all-time in regular-season openers as a college coach. "Our defense was flying around, and I think you can see that we've got some playmakers and quite a few more experienced guys that have played a lot of football.
"Offensively, it's learning to play with each other — new quarterback, new running backs, new receivers, new starters up front. It's a matter of correcting things."
Entering the night as a 41½-point favorite, UCF delivered a routine victory in dominant fashion, starting 1-0 for the ninth straight year. But the Knights still have questions to sort out, particularly in the passing department, ahead of next Saturday's non-conference matchup with Sam Houston.
KJ Jefferson endures up-and-down UCF debut at quarterback
Voted the Big 12's Preseason Newcomer of the Year, UCF quarterback KJ Jefferson said Monday he wanted to get into an early rhythm in his debut. That did not materialize for the former Arkansas signal-caller, who misfired on six of his first seven passing attempts.
Jefferson's first throw bounced off the helmet of New Hampshire cornerback Caleb Mead after absorbing a hit from the pocket. UCF settled for field goals in the red zone on its first two drives, one following a scuffed third-down rollout and another after Jefferson lost the handle when trying to hit Randy Pittman wide open in the flat.
Just before halftime, though, Jefferson connected on a 46-yard strike to Kobe Hudson and lowered his shoulder to finish off a punishing 13-yard run. Harvey strolled around the corner on the next snap, cementing the Knights' 29-3 halftime advantage.
"I was trying to tell myself, 'It's going to come, so just stay patient. Don't try to rush it, just let the game come to me,'" Jefferson said. "At times, I was trying to overdo it and do too much instead of letting the game come to me. I need to play my ball, how I normally play. That's the main thing going into next week and here on out."
Jefferson rebounded from an underthrown interception on UCF's initial drive after halftime with a pair of touchdown passes — a 49-yarder to Montgomery and a 22-yarder to Richardson. In total, he went 7 of 14 through the air for 164 yards and added 39 rushing yards and a score on 11 carries.
"I thought, after that first quarter, he settled in and started playing," Malzahn said. "Obviously, he'd like to have the interception back right there, but he responded … and started getting more in control of the offense."
UCF's talented running backs expectedly run wild
Considered one of the deepest position groups in the country, UCF's running backs feasted on New Hampshire's defense.
Harvey shifted the mood surrounding the offense with a single high-step, setting up a 1-yard score by splitting two Wildcat defenders on the perimeter for a 60-yard gain near the 10-minute mark of the second quarter. He moved into ninth place in UCF's career rushing touchdown leaderboard (23), one behind Daunte Culpepper for the No. 8 spot.
Montgomery, considered by Malzahn and offensive coordinator Tim Harris Jr. as one of the team's MVPs of fall camp, ran eight times for 77 yards with a touchdown in addition to his receiving score. Boone, the MAC Offensive Player of the Year in 2023 after a 1,400-yard season at Toledo, raced for a 59-yard touchdown in the third and Richardson maximized his eight touches with 62 scrimmage yards.
"When you have a room full of alpha males, you just feed off each other," Montgomery said. "When someone makes a big play, I want to make a big play. Hopefully we can get this thing rolling, and we're going to be scary this season."
UCF's transfer portal additions make instant impact in all 3 phases
Malzahn and his staff heavily recruited the transfer portal in both available windows, bringing in more than two-dozen players with experience elsewhere. Several of those veteran newcomers, in addition to Montgomery and Boone, showed up with momentum-shifting plays.
Cincinnati transfer Deshawn Pace picked off New Hampshire's Seth Morgan early in the second quarter and nearly housed the return, stopped three yards short of the goal line. Jefferson put the Knights up 13-0 on the ensuing offensive snap. Pace, 6-foot-2, 220-pound weakside linebacker, chipped in a team-high five tackles (three solo).
"It's a brotherhood here. There's nobody that is left behind," said Pace, who played in front of his newborn daughter, born Aug. 13, for the first time. "Nobody gets talked down on. It's just a blessing to be around because there are not a lot of teams (where) it's like that."
Ladarius Tennison tacked on another couple of points with an emphatic punt block, covered in the end zone by a Wildcat lineman to concede a safety. The Rockledge native garnered a reputation as a special teams ace last year at Ole Miss.
Antione Jackson corralled a third-quarter interception, Mac McWilliams made three solo tackles with a TFL and Daylan Dotson had 1½ TFLs picking up some of the interior defensive reps vacated by the injured John Walker. That trio suited up for East Carolina, UAB and Tennessee-Martin, respectively, in 2023.
