EAST HARTFORD — McKenzie Milton threw for a season-high 317 yards and three touchdowns to lead University of Central Florida to a 24-16 win over UConn on the Huskies homecoming weekend.
The freshman completed 29 of 45 passes and the Knights (4-3, 2-1 American) moved over the .500 mark by scoring 17 unanswered points and holding the Huskies (3-5, 1-4) scoreless in the second half.
Arkeel Newsome ran 21 times for 101 yards and Noel Thomas had his fifth straight 100-yard receiving game for UConn, catching nine passes for 165 yards.
But Thomas dropped a pass in the end zone on a third down with just over 3 minutes remaining, and quarterback Bryant Shirreffs came up short on a fourth-down scramble.
The Huskies got the ball back near midfield with just over 2 minutes left and drove to the 21, but failed to convert a fourth-down pass.
The Knights took the lead on the first drive of the second half, when Milton hit running back Adrian Killins over the middle for a 39-yard touchdown. It was the third consecutive drive of more than 70 yards for UCF.
A career-long 50-yard field goal by Matthew Wright early in the fourth quarter pushed the lead to eight points.
UConn scored the game’s first 13 points, capped by a 3-yard touchdown run from Newsome.
The Huskies final points came on a 35-yard Puyol field goal, one of three he kicked in the first half.
The lead was the first at halftime this season for the Huskies.
THE TAKEAWAY
UCF: The Knights have apparently found their quarterback in the freshman Milton, who started again over senior Justin Holman. It was Milton’s fourth start this season. His 317 yards passing were the most since Holman threw for 336 yards against Temple in 2014.
UConn: The Huskies have two offensive weapons in Newsome and Thomas and need to find a third. Shirreffs was again the team’s second leading rusher with 49 yards. Alec Bloom was the team’s second-leading receiver. He had two catches for 20 yards.
UP NEXT
UCF: The Knights visit No. 11 Houston next Saturday
UConn: The Huskies travel south to face East Carolina.
