The refreshed UCF offense ends its five-game losing streak and keeps Arizona on its toes

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — RJ Harvey rushed for 184 yards and three touchdowns and freshman Dylan Rizk threw for 209 yards and a touchdown to snap UCF's five-game losing streak and beat Arizona 56-12 on Saturday.

UCF (4-5, 2-4 Big 12) looked refreshed and energized for their annual Space Game after the team fired defensive coordinator Ted Roof and transferred offensive play duties from head coach Gus Malzahn to offensive coordinator Tim Harris Jr. earlier this week.

The Knights totaled 602 yards on offense, the most since the first game of the season against FCS opponent New Hampshire.

The switch to Rizk paid off as the team got the ball out quicker and moved the ball up the field. That was most evident at the end of the first half when Rizk completed a 48-yard Hail Mary pass to tight end Randy Pittman Jr. It was the senior's first touchdown reception of the season and just his 17th reception of the season.

Pittman added another touchdown late in the game and had five catches for 80 yards, a season-high.

After UCF struggled to distribute the ball throughout the season, Rizk completed passes to seven different receivers.

That included a 40-yard touchdown throw to Jacoby Jones, who had five catches for 106 yards, his second straight game with at least 100 receiving yards. Before his breakthrough last week, he had just two catches for 29 yards.

The Knights still relied heavily on their ground game, rushing for 308 yards. Harvey rushed for 184 yards on 22 carries and scored touchdowns of 17, 18 and 19 yards.

Arizona (3-6, 1-5) struggled to get much going offensively to keep up with UCF's newfound firepower.

Arizona finished with 261 total yards and just five rush yards. Quarterback Noah Fifita completed 24 of 33 passes for 256 yards and two touchdowns. Star receiver Tetairoa McMillan finished the game with six receptions for 84 yards and a touchdown. Chris Hunter had seven catches for 102 yards.

But Fifita was sacked four times and the Knights' often faltering defense suffered 10 tackles for loss.

The Wildcats' Quali Coney provided an early hurdle, fumbling the ball on their second possession as rain began to fall in the stadium, setting up Harvey's first touchdown run for 17 yards and a 14-0 Knights lead.

The loss was Arizona's fifth straight.

Rizky debut

UCF has had a revolving door at quarterback this season, returning the team's fourth starting quarterback of the season in redshirt freshman Dylan Rizk.

Rizk came into the game against No. 9 BYU last week and led two late touchdown drives to replace Jacurri Brown as the starter. Rizk came into the game with just 11 pass attempts and 102 yards, with all of those yards coming against BYU.

After the rotation of KJ Jefferson, EJ Colson and Jacurri Brown, the strong offensive performance seems to have clarified who will start at quarterback for the Knights for the foreseeable future.

Still charging Rizk for rundowns, Brown scored on a 4-yard run on UCF's first scoring drive.

I approach the school documents

Tetairoa McMillan continues to inch closer to multiple record goals in Arizona. With six receptions for 84 yards and a touchdown, McMillan surpassed 1,000 receiving yards for the second straight year. He became the first player in Arizona history to have two consecutive 1,000-yard seasons.

He also passed Dennis Northcutt with 3,170 career yards, ranking third all-time in Arizona history. Bobby Wade holds the school record with 3,351 yards.

Additionally, RJ Harvey passed Alex Haynes for second place on UCF's all-time rushing yards list. He rushed for 3,416 yards in his career at UCF. Kevin Smith holds the school record with 4,679 career rush yards.

The takeaway food

Arizona continues to reel, losing its fifth straight game and sixth in its last seven. The Wildcats must win all three of their final games – against Houston, at TCU and against Arizona State – to achieve bowl eligibility.

UCF looked refreshed on offense, not only with the switch to Rizk, but also with the change in play style. After rotating through the starting quarterbacks, Dylan Rizk had command of the offense, putting the Knights in scoring position and finishing drives.

Next

Arizona has next week off before hosting Houston on November 15th.

The Knights travel to Arizona next week to take on Arizona State.

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