Miami

UCF Routs FIU 61-17, Spoiling Butch Davis' Return to Coaching

McKenzie Milton threw for four touchdowns and 360 yards, and Central Florida routed Florida International 61-17 in Thursday night's season opener to spoil coach Butch Davis' return to the field for the first time since 2010.

Milton capped the opening drive with a 22-yard scoring pass to Jordan Atkins, and the Knights capitalized on an interception and a safety to lead 40-10 at halftime.

Milton was 16 of 21, with TD strikes of 50 and 3 yards to Tre'Quan Smith and 13 yards to Gabriel Davis before he and many other starters were pulled in the third quarter.

Four UCF rushers scored — Jawon Hamilton on a 16-yarder, Taj McGowan on a plunge, Cordarrian Richardson on a 10-yard run, and Greg McRae on a 6-yarder.

FIU's Alex McGough hit Thomas Owens on a 75-yard TD pass and Napoleon Maxwell scored on a 55-yard run. The Golden Panthers turned it over four times.

It was Davis' return to the sidelines after amassing a 79-43 collegiate head coaching record in 10 years at Miami (1995-2000) and North Carolina (2007-10).

In the locker room before the game, after warmups, the mood was high. Davis paced back and forth, arms folded across his chest. Quarterback Alex McGough walked through the room, stopping to shake hands with teammates in various position groups. Assistant strength coach Andreu Swasey handed out water and boxes of Gatorade energy chews. Linebacker Fred Russ — the team's emotional spark plug — rapped loudly to entertain anyone within earshot.

Eventually, Davis took his spot in the center of the room.

The Panthers took a knee in prayer, then Davis rose for his first pregame speech in years.

"You be the guy that starts the fire," Davis said. "You be the person that makes a statement about who we are and what our team's going to be about. Most importantly, have fun. Play this game tonight, no regrets whatsoever. Spill your guts, every single play. Play harder, faster, longer than they play. Be in the fight all the time, until there's no time on the clock."

But UCF went up 8-0 on their first possession, and the second-quarter blitzing filled with mistakes on both sides of the ball finished FIU off. And by the time the night was over, the Panthers were already looking ahead — to film on Friday, to Alcorn State next weekend, to getting a chance to wash this one away.

"It was just a step," McGough said. "Not all great things start off good. It's a step in a direction. Whether that was good or bad, we're just going to attack next week."

The locker room postgame was predictably somber. Davis led the team in prayer again, and then spent nearly five minutes giving the Panthers an unfiltered assessment.

The gag gift was not what he expects again anytime soon.

"In tough times, you find out who the good guys are, who's got grit, who's got determination," Davis said. "Reality sets in. We'll look at this film, you'll grow, you'll learn, you'll take it personal. Because the one thing about it is, that film won't lie. And we're going to get better, guys. I promise you, we're going to get better."

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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