Based on the way that the halves played out on Saturday, one would think that the UCF Knights were two entirely different teams out on the field.

UCF dominated much of the first half, by maintaining possession for over 22 minutes while Missouri only had the ball for eight during the half.

The Knights went into the locker room at halftime, up 10-7. They could have earned more had it not been for a Blake Bortles sack as time expired, which kept the Knights from kicking a field goal and going up by a score of 13-7.

Central Florida head coach George O’Leary said, “We had opportunities that we didn’t take advantage of.”

“I think it would have been great if we would have gotten the three points,” he said.

In the second half, The Knights came out flat, possessing the ball for only five minutes in the third quarter and another six minutes in the fourth.

O’Leary shrugged off the idea that his defense was fatigued. The play of his defense suggested otherwise.

“You can’t miss tackles and give up big plays,” said O’Leary.

The defense was on the field for 19 minutes in the second half, doubling the amount of time they were on the field in the first half. Although linebacker Ray Shipman said, “I wouldn’t say we were fatigued, maybe just mental lapses.”

UCF held Missouri to negative 5 yards rushing in the first half, but Missouri got it going in the second half by gaining 94 yards on the ground, thus keeping offense off the field.

Missouri tailback Kendial Lawrence was held to only three yards in the first half, but the UCF defense couldn’t continue the trend in the second half, as Lawrence went on his way to rush for 106 yards on 19 carries for a touchdown.

The Knights were able to get within five points of Missouri with less than five minutes to go in the game. The comeback was stopped short though when Jeff Godfrey fumbled on the 42-yard line, giving the ball back to Missouri for the final minutes of the game.