UCF football

The UCF Knights will play against a Division II opponent, the South Carolina State Bulldogs, in an early-season tune-up Thursday at 7 p.m. ET at FBC Mortgage ...

South Carolina State 0 Regional restrictions may apply.) After a 9-4 record last season and a win in the Gasparilla Bowl, UCF is coming in with an eye to spark another quality season.

UCF starting quarterback John Rhys Plumlee threw for 4 touchdowns for the first time in his career.

The South Carolina State Bulldogs will meet the UCF Knights in Week 1 of the college football season on Thursday night.

Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage. [ESPN+](https://go.web.plus.espn.com/c/1205322/661047/9070?subId1=NCAAFootball&subId2=FTW&subId3=SEO). [watch now](https://go.web.plus.espn.com/c/1205322/661047/9070?subId1=NCAAFootball&subId2=FTW&subId3=SEO)) As for UCF, they went 9-4 and knocked off Florida in the Gasparilla Bowl to finish out the year. The South Carolina State Bulldogs will meet the UCF Knights in Week 1 of the college football season on Thursday night at Bright House Networks Stadium. [ESPN+](https://go.web.plus.espn.com/c/1205322/661047/9070?subId1=NCAAFootball&subId2=FTW&subId3=SEO) will have 350 FCS games from 11 conferences with around 100 Group of 5 games including 24 AAC, 10 CUSA, 29 MAC, 25 Sun Belt, and 6 Independent.

ORLANDO, Fla. — The college football season kicks off Thursday as the University of Central Florida takes on South Carolina State at home in the Bounce ...

[Read: UCF reaches 400K degrees conferred with summer commencements](https://www.wftv.com/news/local/orange-county/ucf-reaches-400k-degrees-conferred-with-summer-commencements/QECL2JMRBJGVDHOIG7CITOI76U/) [Click here](https://www.wftvapps.com/) to download the free WFTV news and weather apps, and [click here](https://www.wftv.com/smart-tv/) to watch the latest news on your Smart TV. [Read: 9 things to know: UCF football Game Day](https://www.wftv.com/sports/college-football/9-things-know-ucf-football-game-day/EYRSFTJ2S5ETNNHYNZTDBZRVHM/) [Read: UCF’s Countdown to Kickoff returns, helps student-athletes](https://www.wftv.com/news/local/orange-county/ucfs-countdown-kickoff-returns-helps-student-athletes/KRPCN4TR2RGM3FG3M7HNK7P3OU/)

Isaiah Bowser added a pair of 1-yard TD runs, and Johnny Richardson ran wild in the second half of UCF's big win to open the 2022 season.

The sophomore sprinted ahead and appeared to have enough daylight to convert a 4th-and-19, but he instead kicked the ball 12 yards beyond the line of scrimmage. The Bulldogs rolled the dice after a quick three-and-out as punter Dyson Roberts caught the Knights napping and picked up 6 yards and moved the sticks. Instead, UCF got it spotted at the S.C. The Knights' offense found a second gear and put the game away, scoring on three consecutive possessions. Plumlee lost a fumble just outside the red zone on the team's next drive, returned 80 yards by Jeblonski Green to the UCF 2. Gavyn Zimmerman kicked a 23-yard field goal in the second quarter, ending a string of 121 unanswered UCF points dating back to 2008. Andrew Osteen had a punt blocked deep in Knights territory, which S.C. UCF's special teams unit caused a 10-point swing, starting with Daniel Obarksi's 43-yard field goal miss as time expired in the first half. The score matched his career total in two seasons at Alabama. State's drive stalled again shortly thereafter, rendering the gutsy call meaningless. Corey Fields tossed a 26-yard touchdown to Shaquan Davis. [John Rhys Plumlee](https://www.news-journalonline.com/story/sports/college/football/2022/09/01/ucf-football-roster-quarterback-john-rhys-plumlee/7904540001/) accounted for five touchdowns in his anticipated [UCF](https://ucfknights.com/sports/football) debut, leading the Knights to an expectedly comfortable 56-10 victory Thursday over [South Carolina State](https://www.news-journalonline.com/story/sports/college/football/2022/09/01/ucf-knights-play-south-carolina-state-football-live-updates-score/7951959001/).