UCF Football: 3 takeaways from win over Marshall in Gasparilla Bowl

2. UCF backfield was loaded as ever despite no Adrian Killins Jr.

For many teams, having a player like Adrian Killins Jr. sit out a bowl game to preserve his health for the NFL Draft would put a serious damper on their chances of postseason victory. Killins finished second in rushing yards for UCF this season, and he did so with a ridiculous 7.2 yards per carry average. That level of production is usually hard to replace.

For the Knights, however, they just kept rolling along with a loaded backfield that picked up the slack and continued to dominate against the Thundering Herd. By halftime, the combination of Otis Anderson, Greg McCrae, and Bentavious Thompson racked up 161 combined rushing yards on 20 carries to outpace the average posted by Killins in the regular season.

McCrae ended up leading the pack with 80 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries. Thompson racked up 74 yards on just nine carries. Anderson notched 61 yards on nine handoffs. Trilion Coles took two carries for 40 yards, Darriel Mack Jr. pitched in 58 yards from the quarterback position, and UCF finished with 310 net rushing yards as a team.

Killins has been a valuable and valued member of the UCF backfield for the past few seasons, there is no denying that fact. The Knights proved at the Gasparilla Bowl, however, that no single running back is an essential component to continue dominating opposing defenses on the ground.