UCF Football: 3 takeaways from home takedown of Houston in Week 10

UCF football pulled away in the second half to down Houston at home. Here are some things we learned about the Knights and Cougars on Saturday in Orlando.

UCF was tested by Houston through the first half, as the Cougars opened up a 10-point lead in the first quarter and went into the locker room up 23-21 at halftime. But the Knights defense clamped down in the second half, allowing the Knights more time with the football as they pulled away for a 44-29 victory on Saturday afternoon at Spectrum Stadium in Orlando.

It really was a tale of two halves for both sides. UCF was pushed to their limit in the first two quarters, while Houston seemed to lose every ounce of fight in the last 30 minutes of the contest. With 21 unanswered points in the third quarter, the Knights pulled away to improve to 7-2 and keep alive their slim chances of returning to the AAC championship game.

This was exactly the kind of freewheeling contest one might have expected between offenses molded by Josh Heupel and Dana Holgorsen. The two teams combined for nearly 900 total yards of offense in Florida on Saturday afternoon, putting on offensive displays that were worth every cent of admission. But UCF found its footing on defense as well in the second half to lock down victory.

With three games left in the regular season, UCF could miss out on the conference title game yet still reach 10 or more wins this season. That speaks to the depth of the AAC this year, and it also speaks to the quality of the Knights that didn’t go away with the end of a winning streak.

What else did we learn about UCF and Houston on Saturday in Week 10? Here are three things to take away from the interdivisional encounter that ended in a runaway Knights win.