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PSU-UCF scoring summary

FIRST QUARTER

Penn State 7, UCF 0: The Lions punted on third-and-8 from their own 39, but a roughing-the-kicker call on UCF’s Willie Mitchell gave them new life. On the next play, Christian Hackenberg connected with DaeSean Hamilton for a 44-yard strike down to the 2. Zach Zwinak appeared to reach the end zone on second-and-1, but his knee was down just short. On the next play, with tight end Brent Wilkerson in the backfield blocking, Zwinak used a good second effort to get in for a 1-yard TD with 8:20 left in the quarter.

SECOND QUARTER

Penn State 7, UCF 3: Jacoby Green picked off a pass from Hackenberg at the Lions’ 37, giving the Knights great field position. PSU’s defense allowed one first down but tightened up, and UCF’s Shawn Moffitt kicked a 36-yard field goal with 12:26 left in the half.

Penn State 10, UCF 3: The Lions drove 77 yards in 15 plays, mostly through the air as Hackenberg threw for 71 of the yards. On back-to-back plays he hit Kyle Carter for 16 yards and then Hamilton for 27 yards down to the UCF 2. PSU couldn’t punch it in, though, as Bill Belton went for no gain, Hackenberg threw an incomplete pass and Zwinak went backwards 3 yards on a wildcat call. Sam Ficken kicked a 22-yard field goal with 6:20 to go in the half.

THIRD QUARTER

Penn State 13, UCF 3: The Lions got another big pass play from Hackenberg to Hamilton, a 38-yard gain down the right sideline to the UCF 21. Hamilton won a jump ball over DB Jordan Ozerities and had a chance to take it to the end zone but barely slipped and went down. The drive stalled at the 16, and Ficken kicked a 34-yard field goal with 6:56 left in the third.

Penn State 13, UCF 10: The Knights changed quarterbacks after Pete DiNovo was very ineffective, and Justin Holman quickly got his team back in the game. On third-and-9 from the 31, he hit J.J. Worton over the middle for 18 yards. On the next play, Holman fired a strike 50 yards to Breshad Perriman, who beat Da’Quan Davis to make a falling catch at the 1. It took three plays, but UCF finally reached the end zone on third down and a foot when Holman snuck in with 2:39 left in the quarter.

Penn State 20, UCF 10: On third-and-17 from his own 21, Hackenberg lofted a perfect pass to a wide-open Geno Lewis, who raced to the end zone for a 79-yard TD with 55 seconds left in the quarter. Lewis was wide open by 10 yards as the UCF secondary broke down.

FOURTH QUARTER

Penn State 20, UCF 17: The Knights came right back with a 78-yard TD drive to get back within one score. Holman connected with Worton, who had a big run after the catch for a 46-yard gain to the Lions’ 27, and a 14-yard penalty on Austin Johnson for roughing the passer was tacked on to the end, putting UCF at the 13. The Knights had third-and-goal at the 1 before committing two false starts, but they overcame that as Holman found Josh Reese in the end zone for an 11-yard TD with 11:31 to play.

Penn State 23, UCF 17: Lewis made a spectacular catch for a 41-yard gain, keeping his concentration and catching the ball on the ground after it was tipped by DB Jacoby Green. That moved the Lions to the UCF 23, and they got inside the 10 but had to settle for a 24-yard field goal from Ficken with 3:30 left.

UCF 24, Penn State 23: The Knights took their first lead of the game with just 1:13 to play when Holman scored from 6 yards out. UCF had faced fourth-and-10 from the PSU 43 when Holman found Reese, who made a terrific catch, for 37 yards down to the 6. The extra point put the Knights ahead.

Penn State 26, UCF 24: The Lions took over at their own 26 with 1:08 remaining and, behind Hackenberg, were able to move down the field into scoring position. On fourth-and-3 from his own 33, Hackenberg scrambled for 8 yards and a first down. He then dished off a shovel pass to Bill Belton, who took it 13 yards. After catching one for 9 yards, Lewis pulled in an 18-yard grab down to the UCF 19. Penn State called timeout with 3 seconds left, then Ficken came on and nailed a 36-yard field goal as time expired for the win.

– Compiled by Cory Giger

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