Kent State drops opener versus UCF

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP)-- UCF opened its first season in the Big 12 in celebratory style, routing Kent State 56-6 on Thursday night.

John Rhys Plumlee threw for 281 lawns and rushed for another 90 on his method to four total goals to lead the Knights.

Plumlee found Xavier Townsend for a nine-yard rating and Alec Holler from 18-yards out just before halftime. Plumlee then found RJ Harvey for his first profession touchdown on a 50-yard catch-and-run touchdown on the very first drive of the third quarter.

" We understand that we've done good and bad in this video game," Plumlee stated. "We revealed a little how explosive we can be and how good we can be on both sides of the ball. A win like this, it moves you. At the end of the day to be terrific, we know as a team it takes one day at a time."

The Knights revealed plenty of dynamite plays with Harvey including an 84-yard goal run as the Knights powered their method to 723 backyards of overall offense.

Kent State handled just 240 overall yards with quarterback Michael Alaimo tallying 145 passing yards.

Offense was a struggle for the Golden Flashes. They have no returning offensive starters from a year ago and only 4 returning starters amount to. Off-season transfers gutted the team following the departure of Sean Lewis for Colorado as the Buffaloes offensive organizer and the hiring of first-time head coach Kenni Burns.

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The Golden Flashes crossed midfield on 6 of their 12 drives in the game however handled only two field goals, missing out on an extra begin the 2nd quarter. They had zero plays at a loss zone.

" I understood it would be some ups and downs and they simply need to keep playing together," Burns said. "One thing I will state about the offense is they continued to combat up until the end. They'll get better. We'll be okay."

UCF recorded three sacks and held Kent State to 95 hurrying backyards.

Kent State moved the ball some as UCF gotten used to an unfamiliar offense. But after the first quarter, the Knights slowed the Golden Flashes, then wore them down with depth and speed.

RUNNING OF THE QB

Among the bigger points of emphasis for UCF is to keep Plumlee from running the ball to maintain him for later in the season. He was the group's leading rush last year.

Neither was the hurdle Plumlee effectively managed versus a Kent State protector on the game's very first drive.

Coach Gus Malzahn joked he would deal with Plumlee himself if he attempted something like that again. Plumlee finished the video game with 90 rushing lawns on eight efforts and a touchdown, tracking Johnny Richardson by 10 for the team lead.

PUTTING IT TOGETHER

Kent State is still attempting to piece together its offense under Burns. The team has no returning starters and invited numerous transfers and should come together quickly. The up-tempo offense remains an operate in development.

Burns stated the group does not have the depth to run the busy style the Golden Flashes want. He estimated the team had only 14 gamers ready to dip into this level and young players will have to step up, including freshman center Andrew Page, who went up against a skilled UCF protective line.

EXPLOSIVE PLAYS

UCF likes to market itself as Space U with several plays that make it seem like they are a rocket ship taking off. That is not practically the SpaceX rocket that introduced right before completion of the video game that fans could see in the night sky over the arena as the clock ticked down.

The Knights had 9 plays of 20 or more lawns, including the 50-yard catch-and-run from Harvey in the 3rd quarter. Holler stated this is a focus for the group.

THE TAKEAWAY: UCF anticipated to leave to a fast start as a member of the Big 12. The Knights did that and more in running up ball game on the Golden Flashes with three goal drives that lasted less than two minutes.

Still, there are bigger challenges ahead.

Plumlee had a fumble and an interception in the first half, marking the 3rd straight video game dating back to last season where Plumlee fumbled the ball and the fifth game of his two-year career at UCF where he lost a fumble and threw a pick. He threw a 2nd pick in the end zone early in the fourth quarter. He had 8 total interceptions last year.

UP NEXT: Kent State continues its non-conference schedule with a journey to play the SEC's Arkansas. UCF strikes the road next week to deal with perennial Group of 5 power Boise State.