UCF nearly lost its lead in the AAC standings as Temple provided to be a much tougher opponent than expected on Saturday in Philadelphia. The Owls got 382 passing yards and five total touchdowns from P.J. Walker, but Blake Bortles and J.J. Worton were too much to handle as the Knights overcame a 36-29 deficit in the final minutes to win 39-36.
J.J. Worton may have had one of the most spectacular catches of the year with just 1:06 remaining, pulling in this pass from Bortles for a touchdown to tie the game at 36.
The game appeared to be headed to overtime, but Bortles connected with Rannell Hall for 64 yards to set up a game-winning kick from Shawn Moffitt as time expired. The Knights quarterback finished the game with an impressive stat line -- 27-for-38 passing for 404 yards and four touchdowns with 63 rushing yards on 11 carries -- but the most important number is keeping the conference loss count at zero. Now UCF needs wins against Rutgers, South Florida and SMU to clinch a program-first BCS bowl bid.
