Currently, there are 23 former Â鶹ԭ´´ student-athletes on 15 different NFL rosters all vying to make their respective team’s final 53-man squad for the 2018 season.

Akins, who started in Aug. 9’s game against Kansas City, needed just two plays to make his splash. The Houston tight end hauled in two catches for 20 yards and two touchdowns as the Texans defeated the Chiefs, 17-10.

Griffin, a fifth-round pick who captured the nation’s attention at the 2018 NFL Draft, subbed in at linebacker, and to no surprise of any Â鶹ԭ´´ fan, led Seattle in tackles. The former American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year finished with nine total tackles, six solo tackles and one tackle-for-loss in a 19-17 loss to the Colts.

Smith, also starting in his first NFL game, led the Saints in receiving going up against a couple of former Knights on the Jaguars. Smith finished with four catches for 48 yards, as New Orleans won 24-20 over Jacksonville.

Another big-time receiver for the Knights had an impressive outing, as Breshad Perriman led the Ravens in receiving as Baltimore routed the Rams, 33-7. Perriman caught three passes for 71 yards, including a 32-yard score.

Finally, Blake Bortles had an efficient night in Week 1 of the preseason. Bortles completed 6-of-9 for 53 yards through the air and rushed once for a two-yard touchdown.

Knights in Preseason Week 1 (Results/Schedule)

Kamar Aiken’11 (Philadelphia Eagles) – Started vs. Steelers
Jordan Akins ’17 (Houston Texans) – Started, 2 catches for 20 yards and 2 TDs vs. Chiefs
Blake Bortles (Jacksonville Jaguars) – 6-of-9 for 53 yards, 1 rush for 2 yards and 1 TD vs. Saints
A.J. Bouye ’14 (Jacksonville Jaguars) – Started vs. Saints
Aaron Evans ’16 (Philadelphia Eagles) – Played vs. Steelers
Jordan Franks (Cincinnati Bengals) – 1 catch for 12 yards vs. Bears
Clayton Geathers ’14 (Indianapolis Colts) – Did not play vs. Seahawks
Shaquill Griffin’16 (Seattle Seahawks) – Started, 1 pass break-up vs. Colts
Shaquem Griffin ’16 (Seattle Seahawks) – 9 tackles, 6 solo, 1 TFL vs. Colts
Mike Hughes (Minnesota Vikings) – 2 tackles vs. Broncos
Charley Hughlett ’12 (Cleveland Browns) – Played vs. Giants
Kemal Ishmael ’13 (Atlanta Falcons) – Did not play vs. Jets
D.J. Killings ’16 (Philadelphia Eagles) – 2 tackles vs. Steelers
Brandon Marshall ’06 (Seattle Seahawks) – Started vs. Colts
Justin McCray ’14 (Green Bay Packers) – Started vs. Titans
Latavius Murray ’12 (Minnesota Vikings) – 4 rushes for 43 yards vs. Broncos
T.J. Mutcherson ’17 (Seattle Seahawks) – Played vs. Colts
Breshad Perriman (Baltimore Ravens) – 3 catches for 71 yards and 1 TD vs. Rams
Jamiyus Pittman (Miami Dolphins) – 3 tackles vs. Bucs
Matt Prater (Detroit Lions) – 1 extra point vs. Raiders
Josh Robinson (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) – Played vs. Dolphins
Josh Sitton (Miami Dolphins) – Started vs. Bucs
Tre’Quan Smith ’17 (New Orleans Saints) – Started, 4 catches for 48 yards vs. Jaguars

Trailing 30-26 after giving up a 26-9 lead, Â鶹ԭ´´ somehow had one last chance. With no time on the clock, sophomore quarterback  launched a spiral toward the sky and the goal line. Miraculously, junior wide receiver  came down with it at the 1-yard line and went into the end zone untouched. It set off a celebration unlike anything ever seen in Â鶹ԭ´´ history.

ECU (8-4, 5-3 AAC) took over on downs with less than two minutes remaining and tried to run out the clock. But they left 10 seconds on the clock for Â鶹ԭ´´ (9-3, 7-1).

Holman found wide receiver  with a 14-yard sideline route to the Â鶹ԭ´´ 49-yard line, with time for one last play to set up the Hail Mary.

“That was a great last play,” Â鶹ԭ´´ head coach George O’Leary said, smiling. “That’s the second conference championship in a row, that’s the first time in school history. That’s great for the players and I’m happy so happy for them.”

“(Reese) set us up with a great catch on the play before,” Perriman said. “Justin threw the ball. I knew he was coming to our side. It was a perfect ball. I was blessed enough to come down with the catch.”

Holman said despite the circumstances, the Knights never lost faith.

“I just put it up in the air and let my wide receivers make a play,” he said. “That’s a blessing from above. We never lost faith. The guys on my sideline never lost faith, never gave up. There was no pouting, no heads down, no puppy-dog eyes. We went out there and executed. We practice that situation and we went out there and did it.”

Faith was a common theme amongst many of the Knights after the game.

“We play every game to 0:00, that’s what Coach O’Leary teaches us,” said defensive lineman , who tallied a team-high eight tackles, including 2.5 behind the line of scrimmage and 1.5 sacks. “It was 10 seconds left. Your head got down. I still kept faith.”

Â鶹ԭ´´ had momentum for the first three quarters, taking a 26-9 lead into the final 15 minutes.

“I thought we played well for the first half. The third quarter, we played well early, then we started missing some tackles on defense and giving up some plays we shouldn’t give up,” O’Leary said. “Offensively, you can’t go three-and-out against these guys. I thought protection broke down a little bit in that fourth quarter.”

East Carolina grabbed the momentum early in a big way during the fourth quarter. A pair of Shane Carden touchdown passes in a span of less than three minutes pulled the Pirates back within three points, 26-23.

Carden then hooked up with Justin Hardy on a 13-yard scoring strike with 2:17 remaining to give ECU a 30-26 advantage and set up the final, heart-stopping series of events.

The Knights owned the second quarter. Â鶹ԭ´´ outscored the Pirates 17-3 in the second stanza. The Knights took advantage of a  interception to break a 6-6 tie. Four plays later,Ìý punched it in to put the Knights on top 13-6.  PAT accounted for his 298th career point, giving him the Knights’ career scoring record.

Three minutes later, Moffitt added a 30-yard field goal to give the Knights a 10-point edge. Following a  sack, Â鶹ԭ´´ regained possession at its own 30-yard line. A pair of Justin Holman-to-Breshad Perriman hookups – 45 and 23 yards – allowed Stanback to punch it in a second time. That score put the Knights on top 23-6.

Shane Carden led ECU on a nine-play 55-yard drive that ended with a 37-yard field goal on the last play of the first half. But Â鶹ԭ´´ owned a two-touchdown advantage at the intermission, 23-9. The Knights padded their lead to 26-9 in the third quarter on a 31-yard Moffitt field goal.

Â鶹ԭ´´ kicked a pair of field goals, sandwiched around an ECU touchdown in the first quarter. Defensive lineman blocked the ECU PAT, leaving the score knotted at 6-6 after one quarter.

Sophomore quarterback Justin Holman led his team to a season-best night of 506 yards of total offense, completing 16-of-27 pass attempts for 291 yards and a career-high three touchdowns. Meanwhile, Â鶹ԭ´´’s defense held Tulsa to 201 yards and 3-of-12 on third down conversions.

“I thought the defense went out and played well and made some keys we had to make, and offensively we came up with some big plays passing-wise, which opened up the running game,” Â鶹ԭ´´ head coach George O’Leary said. “I think the coverage teams were good on special teams and (it was an) overall good game. Time of possession was big in our favor, which led to good field position in a lot of situations.”

Â鶹ԭ´´’s defense helped its offense put its first points on the board when corner Jordan Ozerities intercepted the ball near the end of the first quarter. A facemask penalty put Â鶹ԭ´´ inside the 10-yard line, but the Hurricane defense forced the Knights to call upon Rodrigo Quirarte for a 27-yard field goal with 40 seconds remaining in the quarter.

After Tulsa went three-and-out on its first possession of the second quarter, Breshad Perriman spared the Knights the same fate when he brought down a 48-yard completion to set up his team in the red zone.

Holman kept the drive alive again on third down when he stretched out for the sticks to pick up a first down at the 5-yard line. He then connected with J.J. Worton, who juked two defenders and lunged over the goal line for his 20th career touchdown. With 11:08 to go in the half, Â鶹ԭ´´ led 10-0.

It didn’t take long for Holman to get the crowd out of their seats again. He completed his longest pass of the season, a 77-yarder to Josh Reese – a career-best for the wide receiver – for a 17-0 lead with 7:57 to go.

The Golden Hurricane capitalized off an uncharacteristic muffed punt from Worton that Matt Linscott recovered at the 27-yard line. Keevan Lucas was the Golden Hurricane’s go-to guy. He followed up his 19-yard rush with an acrobatic 8-yard touchdown reception. Originally, his one-handed catch was ruled incomplete, but the call was overturned after review. Tulsa got on the board before the break, but it was the Golden Hurricane’s lone score of the evening.

Â鶹ԭ´´ added to its advantage midway through the third quarter, thanks to Holman’s composure. On the run, Holman completed a 30-yard pass on the run to Justin Tukes. He then launched a perfect spiral to Perriman, who was streaking toward the left corner of the end zone. The 25-yard touchdown gave Â鶹ԭ´´ a 24-7 lead with 9:27 to go in the third.

Dontravious Wilson dominated the Knights’ next scoring drive, churning out seven carries for 50 of the 72 yards required to reach the end zone, including his first-career rushing touchdown. It was 31-7 just before the end of the third quarter.

A pass intended for Connor Floyd ended up in Â鶹ԭ´´ defensive back D.J. Killings’ hands for the defense’s second pick of the night. The defense handled business again on Tulsa’s next drive when Brandon Alexander intercepted a pass in the end zone with 8:31 remaining.

“We had some picks, and we had to have some key plays and got some takeaways,” O’Leary said. “It was a good game and a very solid game by the defense. They tackled well, and offensively I thought we had a pretty good run/pass combination.”

The Golden Hurricane managed to get the ball back after quarterback Nick Patti threw an interception, but the defense forced three-and-out once more, allowing Â鶹ԭ´´’s offense to ride out the clock for the win.

The Knights are with Cincinnati and Memphis at 4-1.

“Nothing changes. The mentality’s still the same. We’re going to go out and we’re going to bust our butts every game,” Worton said. “It’s a one-game playoff. To get to the goal that we want, is to win every one of them. We’ll look out for the next person that comes up.”

Â鶹ԭ´´ will meet SMU in the final home game of the season Nov. 22 at noon.

Â鶹ԭ´´ manhandled Temple in a 34-14 victory that featured an output of a season-high 466 yards of total offense, improving to 3-0 in conference play to remain atop The American standings, along with East Carolina.

“I thought offensively and defensively we put together the best game so far this year working as a team,” Â鶹ԭ´´ head coach George O’Leary said. “I thought they were very productive on defense and the offense was productive at making plays when they had to. It was a good win against a good football team. We have to continue to get better. This past week at practice made a big difference with the offense, putting them in pads and making sure they understood what football is about as far as the contact aspect of it. They took the challenge and brought it to the game today.”

After a week’s worth of recaps of his iconic catch from last year’s game at Temple, it was only fitting for J.J. Worton to score the first touchdown of the evening. On third-and-long, he caught a pass from quarterback Justin Holman, steadied himself and worked his way to the right sideline to take it 25 yards into the end zone.

Â鶹ԭ´´’s defense set up another scoring opportunity not long after when defensive back Jacoby Glenn stripped Temple wide receiver Jalen Fitzpatrick of the ball. Defensive back Brandon Alexander recovered the fumble to put the Knights in the red zone. Shawn Moffitt eventually converted a 23-yard field goal, and with 8:31 remaining in the first quarter, Â鶹ԭ´´ had already claimed a 10-0 lead.

Â鶹ԭ´´ had running back William Stanback to thank for its final scoring drive of the quarter. He accounted for 23 yards off six carries during an 11-play, 58-yard march down the field. He followed it through to the end zone, when he hit a wall of Temple defenders in the backfield but continued to rumble his way in for the 1-yard touchdown and give Â鶹ԭ´´ a 17-0 lead.

Temple responded in the opening minutes of the second quarter when a double-reverse pass to quarterback P.J. Walker kept the Owls’ drive alive on third-and-eight, setting them up on Â鶹ԭ´´’s 5-yard line. Walker hit Romond Deloatch with a 3-yard pass for Temple’s first touchdown, 17-7.

The Knights refused to let the Owls shift the momentum. Breshad Perriman came through, not once but twice, for Â鶹ԭ´´ on its next drive, first hauling in a 19-yard reception on third-and-14. Holman then found the receiver streaking down field for a 54-yard touchdown, much to the delight of the crammed student section waiting for him in the south end zone. With 10 minutes remaining in the half, the Knights claimed a 24-7 edge.

Temple’s special teams helped close the gap when Samuel Benjamin blocked a punt for the second time this year, scooped it up and returned it for a touchdown, 24-14.

Although another punt was blocked and Â鶹ԭ´´ nearly lost possession on an interception that was overturned, the Knights snapped out of their lull just before the halftime break. Miles Pace re-ignited some fire when he sacked P.J. Walker on third-and-11 for a much-needed stop that gave Â鶹ԭ´´ the ball back with 2:34 remaining – just enough time to tack on a few more points.

“Coach pushes us every day. Even if we’re tired, we have to keep going. It’s a bend, but don’t break defense,” Pace said. “We’re just strong. Strong up front, strong at linebackers, everyone plays their gaps, everyone fits and we just stop them in the red zone.”

Holman led the team through a hurry-up offense by utilizing his arsenal of receivers. Josh Reese, gain of 16. Rannell Hall, gain of 11. Hall again, gain of 19 into the red zone. Reese, gain of 11, first and goal. With the clock winding down, Â鶹ԭ´´ settled for another field goal from Moffitt, this time a 19-yarder for a 27-14 lead.

Much of the third quarter was played in the middle of the field until 14 seconds remaining when Stanback broke into the end zone on a 2-yard rush that punctuated a 9-play, 52-yard drive and piled on to the lead, 34-14.

The defense shined in a goal-line stand midway through the fourth quarter that saw Glenn intercept Walker’s pass on fourth down in the right corner of the end zone that ended any hope of a comeback for Temple.

“This win was very important, just because of the fact that our defense played a phenomenal game and our offense played a phenomenal game,” Alexander said. “The coaches still saw some little mistakes, but for the most part everyone had a collective game and did a great job out there. It was just a wonderful feeling that we actually can play like that. From the first quarter to the fourth quarter everything just took care of itself and everyone took care of their jobs.”

Last year, Alexander preserved a five-point win with a fourth-down pass breakup in the end zone at Bright House Networks Stadium. Thursday night at John TDECU Stadium, he forced a fumble through the end zone at the 1-yard line as Houston QB Greg Ward Jr. was leaping and reaching for the end zone. That play also preserved a five-point win, 17-12.

“The quarterback broke and I just knew his intent was not to pass, it was to run,” Alexander said. “So, he just dove. When he dove, I dove. Everything happens for a reason. I just laid on the ground real quick. I saw everybody freeze … and then I just saw Clayton come out of nowhere, jacking me up, saying `Good job! Good job!’ Everybody was just celebrating. It was a wonderful feeling.”

Alexander finished the game with a team-high nine tackles, one interception and the game-saving forced fumble.

Â鶹ԭ´´ head coach George O’Leary was happy to get out of Houston with a victory in the .

“Any win’s a good win,” O’Leary said. “It’s a good first conference game.”

Offensively, a quick flurry of 10 points to open the second half ended up being just enough for the Knights.

Quarterback Justin Holman found wide receiver Breshad Perriman for a 52-yard touchdown strike to make it 14-6. Alexander picked Houston QB John O’Korn on the ensuing possession, which led to a 42-yard Shawn Moffitt field goal and Â鶹ԭ´´ led 17-6 midway through the third period.

Meanwhile, the Â鶹ԭ´´ defense bent, but did not break the entire game. The defense put together a goal-line stand, stuffing four straight plays from the 2-yard line in the first quarter. Time and again, they pushed Houston away from the end zone, forcing the Cougars to kick four field goals.

“Houston’s a good offense,” O’Leary said. “I thought, except for a couple series, the back end played very well today and tackled well.”

Kyle Bullard hit a 52-yard field goal with just over 11 minutes remaining, trimming the Cougars’ deficit to eight, 17-9. A Jaryl Mamea sack, his third of the game, pushed Houston back when they were threatening the end zone with 5 minutes left. After the sack, Bullard hit his fourth field goal of the game with 4:46 remaining. This one was from 49 yards out and left Â鶹ԭ´´ with a 17-12 edge.

Trailing 3-0, Â鶹ԭ´´ grabbed the lead after a second-quarter turnover. Clayton Geathers set his offense up at the 25-yard line after stepping in front of a O’Korn pass for his first interception of the season. Five plays later, Justin Holman found Jackie Williams for a 5-yard touchdown pass and the Knights led 7-3 with 9:27 remaining in the first half. It was Williams’ first score as a Knight. Bullard added a 42-yard field goal for Houston with less than two minutes before intermission to cut the lead to 7-6.

Bullard opened the scoring as Houston took advantage of a Â鶹ԭ´´ turnover. After the Knights lost a fumble, the defense forced a 39-yard field goal from the Cougars kicker five minutes into the first quarter. The Knights dodged a bullet late in the first quarter with a goal-line stand, stopping four straight plays from inside the 2-yard line.

The defensive line did just that, accounting for six sacks by night’s end. That defensive pressure, coupled with a season-high 351 total offensive yards, allowed the Knights to blow by , 41-7, for their first win of the year.

“The first win of the season is always a big win, especially at home,” O’Leary said. “We are disappointed in the first couple of games, but today I thought was a good team victory. I thought the kids executed fairly well. There are still corrections to be made, but overall I thought they gave good effort. Against a team that is 2-0 and 13th in the nation in the FCS, so I’m happy for the kids.”

Four different Knights accounted for Â鶹ԭ´´’s five touchdowns and Breshad Perriman, Cedric Thompson and J.J. Worton each recorded their first touchdowns of 2014. Sophomore running back William Stanback led the offensive charge with a game- and career-high 104 rushing yards and two touchdowns.

Â鶹ԭ´´’s defense was just as solid, limiting the Wildcats to 3-of-13 in third down conversions and three quarters of scoreless play. Bethune-Cookman managed just 173 yards of offense.

“These last few games I think we’ve been giving up touchdowns on the first drive and letting people drive the ball down. We wanted to make a statement. Go out there and set the tone early,” Â鶹ԭ´´ senior linebacker Terrance Plummer said. “When the offense gets the ball, they drive it down. When the defense goes out there, we stop them, three and out, and give it back to our offense. We’re spending too much time on the field. Today, we tried to get off and get the offense the ball.”

Â鶹ԭ´´ struck first with senior kicker Rodrigo Quirarte’s first career field goal, a 37-yarder with 5:26 remaining in the first quarter.

B-CU responded on its next possession when Anthony Jordan punched in his first-career rushing touchdown that capped an eight-play, 76-yard drive for a 7-3 lead with 1:40 to go in the first quarter. But it was the last time the Wildcats would get near the end zone.

The Knights didn’t stay down for long, thanks to Worton. The receiver juked his way 12 yards on a punt return to set up Â鶹ԭ´´ at its own 49-yard line. Four plays later, he broke free down the right sideline off a pass from sophomore quarterback Justin Holman for Â鶹ԭ´´’s first touchdown and a 10-7 lead with 11:57 remaining in the first half.

B-CU rocketed into Â鶹ԭ´´ territory on Darien Baker’s 48-yard return and a horse collar penalty, but the Knights’ defense dug in and forced Haden Hoggarth to attempt a 44-yard field goal. He came up short with 10:14 to go in the second.

The Knights then saw some fireworks when Holman let it fly for a 61-yard scoring strike that found Perriman for a 17-7 lead.

Â鶹ԭ´´ tacked on one more score before the halftime break as Quirarte came through with another 37-yard field goal to give Â鶹ԭ´´ a 20-7 advantage. To complement its offensive counterparts, the defense closed out the half when Thomas Niles sacked Williams on third and 10.

Stanback set the tone as Â鶹ԭ´´’s workhorse early in the second half on a four-play, 39-yard drive that was punctuated with his 9-yard touchdown run for a 27-7 lead.

The Knights’ defense forced a three-and-out for the Wildcats, allowing the Â鶹ԭ´´ offense to add once again to its ever-increasing edge. Running back Cedric Thompson recorded his first touchdown in two years with a 1-yard rush to make it 34-7.

Â鶹ԭ´´ got one more look at the end zone before wrapping up the night. The Knights ate up 88 yards on 13 plays, including four-straight rushes by Stanback for his second touchdown of the night to treat the crowd to a 41-7 win.

The 44,510 in attendance was the largest crowd for a home opener since the stadium’s first game in 2007 vs. (45,622).

Â鶹ԭ´´ heads to Houston for its first conference game of the year Oct. 2 for a 7 p.m. matchup with the Cougars on ESPN.

“It’s a good win, but now we get into the conference season,” O’Leary said. “The one goal we have on the team is to win the conference championship each and every year.”

Visit Â鶹ԭ´´ Athletics for more.

“It was a good college game,” Â鶹ԭ´´ head coach George O’Leary said. “I’m disappointed in the outcome.”

A Penn State comeback was necessary after a spirited comeback from the Knights. Â鶹ԭ´´ trailed 20-10 at the end of the third quarter. But sophomore quarterback Justin Holman sparked the Knights. Holman had already led one touchdown drive late in the third quarter after coming off the bench. With 11:31 remaining, he found wide receiver Josh Reese on a slant at the goal line on a 3rd-and-goal play, pulling Â鶹ԭ´´ within three, 20-17.

After Penn State extended its lead to 23-17 with a Ficken field goal, Holman went back to work. With 3:30 remaining, the Knights took over at their own 25-yard line. After a pair of passes to J.J. Worton and Breshad Perriman to put Â鶹ԭ´´ at the Penn State 43, three straight misfires led to a 4th-and-10 situation. Holman then found a leaping Reese, who made a falling-backward, fingertip catch at the Penn State 6-yard line. Holman took care of the final six yards on a quarterback draw on the very next play.

Â鶹ԭ´´ held its first lead, 24-23, with 1:13 remaining.

“I thought Justin went in and did a very good job,” O’Leary said. “He was really the sparkplug for the offense, making plays.”

But Penn State quarterback Christian Hackenberg then engineered a drive of his own. The Nittany Lion signal-caller converted a 4th-and-3 with an 8-yard scramble. Three consecutive passes moved Penn State to the Â鶹ԭ´´ 19 with three seconds left, setting up Ficken’s game-winning field goal.

“I was disappointed in the way the defense played, too many big plays given up in key situations,” O’Leary said. “You expect a defense that (has experience), down the stretch, when you have a chance to put the game away, you’ve got to stop them. Give credit to Penn State. They made plays when they had to make them.”

The Â鶹ԭ´´ offense had trouble in the first half, managing just three points and 35 total yards. Meanwhile, the Knights bent but didn’t break in the first half, allowing just 10 points on 221 yards.

The Knights trailed 10-3 at the intermission. Ficken hit one of his three field goals midway through the third period to put Penn State up 13-3. But Â鶹ԭ´´ answered when Holman found J.J. Worton across the middle for 18 yards and later connected with Perriman on long toss down to the Penn State 1-yard line. A QB sneak pulled Â鶹ԭ´´ within three, 13-10. Penn State pushed its lead to 20-10 when Eugene Lewis got behind the defense for a 79-yard touchdown pass, setting up the exciting fourth quarter.

In a game that featured eight turnovers, it seems only fitting that an interception helped deliver the No. 17/19 Â鶹ԭ´´ football team’s 23-20 win over USF under Friday night’s lights in an ESPN-televised broadcast at Bright House Networks Stadium.

The Knights (10-1, 7-0) clung to a 23-20 lead as the Bulls (2-9, 2-5) marched across midfield with roughly 90 seconds remaining. On 3rd-and-6, quarterback Mike White looked down the field once again.

Â鶹ԭ´´ defensive back Jordan Ozerities couldn’t have picked a better time for his first interception of the season. He snatched the ball and kept on running deep into USF territory, locking up his team’s seventh-straight win, matching the 2002’s squad’s school-record stretch.

With the win, the Knights are one step closer to securing their first BCS bowl bid.*

“It’s a good win. I’m glad it was against USF because it will leave something to the rival games in the future,” Â鶹ԭ´´ head coach George O’Leary said. “I think this game will grow to be a great game as far as interest level for everybody from the Orlando and Tampa areas. It just doesn’t have a lot of age to it yet. Once it starts having some type of tradition to it I think it is going to be one of those games that people will talk about.”

Â鶹ԭ´´ struggled early with three turnovers on its first four possessions of the game, which allowed the Bulls to carry a 6-3 lead into the second quarter.

The Bulls hoped to make some magic happen on 4th-and-2 at Â鶹ԭ´´’s 8-yard line, but fortune decided to favor the Knights this time as USF fumbled the snap. Linebacker Justin McDonald’s recovery allowed Â鶹ԭ´´ to spend the next seven minutes cutting up 92 yards en route to its first touchdown of the game.

Bortles found Justin Tukes in the corner of the end zone for the tight end’s first touchdown of the season and a 10-6 lead with 1:22 remaining in the half.

Â鶹ԭ´´’s first-half work wasn’t done yet, thanks to a defensive effort that forced the Bulls to go three-and-out. Shawn Moffitt capped the half with a 24-yard field goal for a 13-6 advantage heading into the locker room.

The Bulls made the Knights pay for Bortles’ fumble midway through the third quarter by driving 29 yards straight into the end zone. Chris Dunkley ran 13 yards on an end around for the touchdown that tied the game at 13-13 with 5:43 to go in the third.

Rannell Hall’s 69-yard kickoff return after the score sent the lulled crowd into a frenzy. Although the Knights had to settle for a 39-yard field goal from Moffitt, it did allow them to regain the lead, 16-13, with 4:06 remaining in the third.

USF responded with a 77-yard drive that was capped by Marcus Shaw’s 1-yard rush for a touchdown not even a minute into the fourth quarter. Coupled with the PAT, USF took its largest lead of the game, 20-16.

The next 13 minutes tested the heart of every Knights’ fan watching the game. Scoreless possessions were exchanged. Bortles was intercepted with less than seven minutes remaining. USF’s kicker Marvin Kloss missed a 51-yard field goal wide right.

And then, the breakthrough came.

On first-and-10 from his own 48-yard line, Bortles zeroed in on wide receiver Breshad Perriman streaking down the left sideline. Perriman used a double move on the Bulls cornerback to get behind him.

“The safety was late and the corner had been seeing our routes all game. So, the safety didn’t get over and Blake stuck it in there,” Perriman said. “When I broke on the first route, I felt like I had him because he jumped on it hard. I’m just glad he threw it to me.”

The 52-yard reception gave Â鶹ԭ´´ a 23-20 lead with 4:46 remaining – still plenty of time for the Bulls to get one more score in before the clock ran out.

Ozerities ensured that never happened, and Â鶹ԭ´´ went on to post its first 10-win regular season in school history.

The Knights play their final game of the regular season on the road Dec. 7 at noon on ESPN against SMU.

Thursday was Bortles’ night, plain and simple. And with the junior quarterback at command under the bright lights on , there was no way Â鶹ԭ´´ was walking out of Bright House Network Stadium without another checkmark in the win column.

Bortles accounted for 367 of the No. 17/20 Â鶹ԭ´´ football team’s 452 total yards in its 41-17 win over Rutgers. As a result, he led Â鶹ԭ´´ (9-1, 6-0) to matching the program’s best record in conference play since joining a league in 2002.

“I thought it was a very good win for Â鶹ԭ´´. We dominated the first seven possessions with six scores,” Â鶹ԭ´´ head coach George O’Leary said. “I thought Bortles had an exceptional game as far as taking plays that were not there and making something out of them.”

Â鶹ԭ´´ scored early and often from the get-go.

In the game’s first series, Bortles locked in on sophomore receiver Breshad Perriman streaking toward the left side of the end zone. The two connected before Perriman was pushed out of bounds to give Â鶹ԭ´´ a 7-0 lead.

Junior defensive back Clayton Geathers’ interception at the 40-yard line in Â鶹ԭ´´ territory on Rutgers’ next possession spurred the Knights on another scoring drive. Â鶹ԭ´´ moved down field with ease, and running back Storm Johnson broke several tackles as he ate up 12 yards before diving across the end zone line for his 10th rushing touchdown of the season to make it 14-0.

In the first series of the second quarter, Â鶹ԭ´´ freshman running back William Stanback trucked over RU freshman defensive back Anthony Cioffi to pick up 20 yards and advance the Knights to the 12-yard line. Four plays later, Johnson crept one yard for another touchdown and 21-0 edge.

“It was a classic lowering your shoulder and running through the guy… It was everything you teach,” O’Leary said of Stanback’s SportsCenter No. 1 Top Play. “He’s only a freshman, but if he keeps improving fundamentally, I think he is going to be a whale of a player. I really do.”

Rutgers (5-5, 2-4) struggled through its next possession until a fake punt to fullback Michael Burton sparked some life into the Scarlet Knights. He picked up 38 yards before he was brought down just outside of the red zone.

Rutgers quarterback Gary Nova found Brandon Coleman for a big gain, setting up first-and-goal on the 1-yard line. Â鶹ԭ´´’s defense was impenetrable for the first three downs, but the Scarlet Knights came through on their second fourth down conversion of the drive to get on the board, 21-7, with 5:59 to go in the half.

Bortles responded with a 7-yard touchdown run that capped an 11-play, 79-yard drive, which included his exceptional 31-yard toss to Worton.

“I just try not to get tackled, really,” Bortles said of his scrambling skills. “I know if I break out of the pocket, our receivers are going to find somewhere and I’ll be able to get the ball to them. That’s all I try to do is just stay alive and extend the play.”

Rutgers snuck in one more touchdown before halftime after blocking Â鶹ԭ´´’s punt attempt from its own 34-yard line. Freshman receiver Andre Patton landed on the ball in the end zone to inch the gap, 28-14.

The offensive deluge lightened up in the second half as the Knights settled for a 32-yard field goal by Shawn Moffitt to increase their lead, 31-14, on their first drive after the break. It was the only scoring play for either team in the third quarter.

The Knights got some more out of their offense in the fourth quarter with a 1-yard touchdown run from Stanback and a 42-yard field goal from Moffitt. Meanwhile, Rutgers could only manage a 35-yard field goal with 33 seconds remaining to rest the score at 41-17.

Â鶹ԭ´´ plays its final home game of the season against rival USF at 8 p.m. on Nov. 29 on ESPN. If Cincinnati loses its matchup at Houston this Saturday, and Â鶹ԭ´´ goes on to win against the Bulls, the Knights would clinch at least a share of the American Athletic Conference title.

It was the first American Athletic Conference game at Bright House Networks Stadium, and the Knights (6-1, 3-0 The American) did not disappoint, registering 45 points in the opening half, scoring on their first nine possessions and finishing with 527 total yards of offense. The 2013 team became just the second ever at Â鶹ԭ´´ (1988) to score at least 20 points in its first seven outings.

The 62 points for the Knights against the Huskies (0-7, 0-3) were the eighth most in Â鶹ԭ´´ history. The Knights, who entered the top 25 following last Friday’s thrilling 38-35 win at No. 8/6 Louisville, forced four turnovers and limited the Huskies to only 91 yards on the ground.

“I challenged the kids all week to stay hungry and get after the game,” Â鶹ԭ´´ head coach George O’Leary said. “I thought we went out there and did a really good job in the first half. We were productive on offense and on defense. I challenged them to think of it as six championship games. Today was one, now you have five left. Each week, you have to treat it like a championship game.”

In less than three quarters of work, Blake Bortles set a career-high with four touchdown passes, the most in a game since Ryan Schneider had four vs. Ohio Nov. 30, 2002. Bortles completed his day 20-of-24 for 286 yards with four touchdowns. Â鶹ԭ´´ alum and current Chicago Bears star Brandon Marshall was in attendance and watched Bortles throw a pair of scoring tosses to Jeff Godfrey, who also added a late touchdown reception to become the first Knight since Marshall in 2005 to score three times in a game via the air.

“Blake did a great job finding me and the o-line did a great job blocking,” Godfrey said. “I am getting better every day in practice, just going out there and getting open and making plays for the team.”

Receiving the kickoff for the 13th straight game, Â鶹ԭ´´ immediately marched down the field with a 7-play, 60-yard drive thanks to five methodical rushes and one completion. The Knights capped it off when Storm Johnson bounced off a pair of would-be tacklers to get to the outside and easily jogged into the endzone from 10 yards out for a 7-0 lead.

Little did anyone know what was about to happen the rest of the first half.

UConn tried to answer on its first drive, highlighted by a 57-yard rush from Lyle McCombs, which was the longest Â鶹ԭ´´ had given up all season. That set up a 40-yard field goal by Chad Christen. But not backing down, the Knights used a long play of their own with a 50-yard strike from Bortles to Breshad Perriman to return to the redzone. Three players later, Bortles escaped pressure in the backfield and scampered his way to a 10-yard touchdown run and a 14-3 lead early in the first quarter.

“We were definitely in sync as a unit and we moved the ball down the field and executed,” Bortles said. “I think as a unit, we were feeling (great) and we were able to execute what we were doing.”

The Huskies defense had little time to rest after Â鶹ԭ´´ forced a 3-and-out. Following a 26-yard punt return by J.J. Worton, the offense again had little trouble padding to its lead. Ultimately on 3rd-and-goal from the 7-yard line, Bortles saw a blitz coming from the left side, spun away and hit an open Johnson running toward the endzone for a 21-3 cushion with 13 seconds remaining in the first quarter.

Â鶹ԭ´´ looked to be in control until a UConn punt bounced off a Knight and the Huskies were able to recover on the Â鶹ԭ´´-24. The visitors converted the turnover into points by way of a McCombs 9-yard touchdown run.

Now holding a 21-10 advantage in the second quarter, the Black and Gold once again got on the scoreboard, this time on a career-long 50-yard field goal by Shawn Moffitt. The momentum stayed with the Knights as Terrance Plummer continued his impressive season on the ensuing UConn possession, stripping quarterback Tim Boyle on 3rd-and-9 as he was about to send the ball downfield. With the ball destined to hit the ground, Troy Gray came flying in for a diving interception.

Taking over at the UConn-31 with the pick, Â鶹ԭ´´ needed just three plays to bring it to 31-10 as receiver Rannell Hall notched his first rushing touchdown of his career on a 17-yard burst with 4:17 to play in the half. A little more than three minutes later, Bortles went 4-for-4 for 44 yards during his drive and found a wide open Godfrey in the left corner of the endzone, bolstering the lead to 38-10.

Â鶹ԭ´´ finally put an end to the first half, taking a Sean Maag interception and turning it into another seven points with the second Bortles-to-Godfrey connection, a 9-yard strike for the 45-10 halftime mark. Bortles wrapped up the opening stanza by going 19-for-23 with 225 yards, three touchdown passes and a touchdown run as Â鶹ԭ´´ amassed its most points in any half since 50 in the first half against Akron Nov. 3, 2001.

“I thought we needed to get out there and score early, just so you don’t give them any breath of fresh air,” O’Leary said. “We did what we needed to do on the first drive, we took it down and scored and were very efficient.”

Not wanting to let up on the gas, the Knights’ first offensive possession of the second half provided the home fans even more to cheer about when Worton snagged a pass from Bortles, broke two tackles on the 50 and sprinted home for his longest reception of his career, a 61-yard touchdown to bring it to 52-10.

“We are trying to keep our foot on the gas pedal,” Godfrey said. “I think we did a great job, coming back home, putting on a great show for the fans.”

After UConn’s third turnover which saw Michael Easton pop the ball loose out of McCombs’ arms and Maag recover, true freshman Justin Holman entered his second career game as the Â鶹ԭ´´ quarterback. He promptly led it on a drive where Moffitt closed it out on a 35-yard field goal. That moved the junior to a perfect 9-for-9 on the season.

“It is not just me, it is really the whole defense,” Maag said of the takeaways. “Every week, we are trying to get at least four turnovers as a defense.”

The Knights would utilize the situation to bring in several more players off the bench, giving them much-needed playing time since Â鶹ԭ´´’s last four games were decided by seven points or less. And the defense would be tested in the third as the Huskies began a drive on their own 20 only to reach the Â鶹ԭ´´-2. Following a false start, UConn went for it on fourth down and Casey Cochran’s pass fell incomplete to keep it at 55-10.

However the Huskies attempted another drive on the young defense now in the game, and this time succeeded on a 46-yard touchdown pass from Cochran to Brian Lemelle with 10:11 remaining in the game. Holman found Godfrey for a 5-yard scoring strike with 2:50 left in the contest.

Riding a three-game winning streak, Â鶹ԭ´´ now enters its third and final bye week of the season before it hosts Houston Saturday, Nov. 9, to cap off Homecoming week. Game time is slated to be announced on Monday. Tickets are available by calling 407-Â鶹ԭ´´-1000 or by visiting Â鶹ԭ´´Knights.com