TAMPA, NOV. 23, 2018 – Freshman Johnny Ford rushed for 120 yards and his 34-yard touchdown reception helped make it a seven-point game late in the third quarter before the Bulls fell to No. 8/9 UCF, 38-10, in front of the second-largest War on I-4 crowd ever of 57,626 at Raymond James Stadium on Friday.

USF (7-5, 3-5 in AAC) saw its War on I-4 series lead trimmed to 6-4 as UCF (11-0, 8-0 in AAC) claimed its second straight win in the series.

Ford (Miami) averaged 7.5 yards on 16 carries in his third 100-yard rushing game of the season. His first career touchdown reception came on a pass by sophomore starter Chris Oladokun (Tampa) with 1:15 left in the third quarter before UCF responded with 21 straight points.

Starting for the second time in place of injured Blake Barnett (Corona, Calif.), Oladokun completed seven of 12 passes for 77 yards and opened the game's first drive with a 22-yard run. Junior Brett Kean (Lakewood, Ohio) also saw action, completing eight of 17 attempts for 36 yards.

Defensively, USF stayed within striking distance most of the way by forcing six punts, including four in the second half. Linebacker Khalid McGee (Miami) made a game-high 13 tackles, becoming the 15^th player in program history to record 100 stops in a season, after he and 17 other seniors were honored in their final regular season game at Raymond James Stadium.

The 10^th War on I-4 clash started with teams trading punts and takeaways on defense, including a 30-yard interception return by Nick Roberts (Jacksonville, Fla.) down to the UCF 12. After the Bulls couldn't convert on fourth-and-1 from the UCF 3, the Knights drove 97 yards and took a 7-0 lead with 25 seconds remaining in the first quarter.

UCF extended its advantage to 10-0 four minutes into the second quarter, one play after star quarterback McKenzie Milton was carted off the field with a devastating leg injury that caused both teams to surround him with support.

Trailing 17-0, USF chipped away at its deficit with a 25-yard field goal by Coby Weiss (Gainesville, Fla.) with 3:09 remaining in the half. Ford rushed three times for 67 yards on the 70-yard scoring drive and his 38-yard run set the Bulls up at the UCF 13. Ford finished the first half with 76 yards on seven attempts (10.9 ypc).

Friday's second half opened with five straight punts before Oladokun found Ford over the middle for a 34-yard touchdown with 1:15 left in the third quarter. It marked Ford's first career touchdown reception and his third explosive play of 20-plus yards in the game helped cut the deficit to 17-10.

UCF responded with a touchdown on the next drive and capped off the scoring with 14 more points in the fourth quarter.

Key Stats
558 – UCF's total offensive yards while it matched USF's AP Poll era record of 24 straight games with 30-plus points. The Bulls accomplished the feat from 2015-17.

21 – The number of unanswered points scored by UCF after USF cut the Knights' lead to 17-10 with 1:15 remaining in the third quarter.

Notables

• Today's attendance of 57,626 for the 10^th playing of the War on I-4 marked the second-largest crowd in the game's history. The largest was a crowd of 65,948 that witnessed No. 5 ranked USF down UCF, 64-12, in Raymond James Stadium in 2007 (the Bulls would ascend to the No. 2 ranking the following week). A crowd of 47,129 (third largest) witnessed the game last year in Orlando.
• USF now leads the War on I-4 series, 6-4.
• Totaling a game-high 13 tackles, senior Khalid McGee became the 15^th player in program history to post 100 tackles in a season. McGee now has 104 tackles and he's 17 away from Tyrone McKenzie's school record 121 stops in 2007.
• Freshman Johnny Ford posted his third 100-yard rushing game of the season and his first career touchdown catch on a 34-yard reception.
• TE Mitchell Wilcox finished with five receptions for 38 yards. Wilcox has 69 career receptions and needs six more to match the USF record of 75 set by Sean Price (2012-15).
• Former defensive end Greg Reaves started at linebacker for the sixth straight game and posted his third double-digit tackle game in that span with 10 on the night. Reaves has posted 52 tackles in the last six games (8.6 tpg)
• Prior to kickoff, USF honored 18 seniors that have been a part of the most successful era in program history, including a record 36 wins in the past four seasons. The 18 seniors honored were: WR Ryeshene Bronson, WR LaDarion McBride, OL Eric Mayes, WR Tyre McCants, TE Riley Sheehan, RB Davion Sutton, K Jake Vivonetto, DB Chris Barr, DT Kevin Bronson, DE Josh Black, DE Juwuan Brown, LB Jeffery Farrar, DE Derek Hintze, DB Ronnie Hoggins, DE Vincent Jackson, LB Khalid McGee, S Jaymon Thomas and DB Mazzi Wilkins.

 
Up Next
USF awaits its destination for the program's fourth straight bowl game appearance (10^th overall).
 
ABOUT USF FOOTBALL
USF posted its second straight 10-win season in 2017 (10-2) by winning its second straight Birmingham Bowl with a 38-34 victory over Texas Tech. USF is one of just 15 teams nationally to win 20-plus games in the last two seasons (21-4) and posted a program-record 20 straight weeks ranked in the top 25, reaching as high as No. 13 in Week 8 of the 2017 season. The Bulls have won five of their last six bowl appearances and made nine (6-3) total bowl appearances in 21 seasons, including a current run of three straight bowls. USF won a program-record 11 games in 2016 (11-2) and has posted 14 winning seasons. The USF program, which first took the field in 1997, reached No. 2 in the rankings in 2007 and has seen 30 players selected in the NFL Draft, 14 named All-American and had 28 first-team all-conference selections.
 
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