UCF football: 2014 Fiesta Bowl win over Baylor remembered by players

UCF hosts its first Big 12 football game Saturday afternoon when Baylor invades the Bounce House. A decade ago, the thought of those teams being worthy to share the same field — let alone as conference rivals — was perposterous.

Vegas set the opening line of the 2014 Fiesta Bowl at 16½ points in favor of Baylor, the second-largest spread of that year's 35 bowl games. Ahead of the 2013-14 bowl season, ESPN pundits Ed Cunningham, Robert Smith and Todd McShay expressed maximum confidence that Baylor's high-powered offense would be too much for a UCF team that needed its share of fourth-quarter heroics to become the American Athletic Conference's first champion.

Mark May took it a step further on ESPN's BCS Bowl Selection Special, saying Baylor would win the game by "about 30" and score "50-60 points" while UCF would be incapable of surpassing 20.

And that's when linebacker Terrance Plummer, watching in his dorm with roommates Brandon Alexander and Rannell Hall, just about snapped.

"It irked my nerves. I felt like we had played a gauntlet of opponents that UCF was finally able to beat," Plummer said. "I was upset, not outwardly upset but just steaming. We were coming in there to win this thing. We were excited to be in the Fiesta Bowl, but to put the cherry on top of our season, we needed to win that game."

Not only did the Knights win the Fiesta Bowl 52-42, their first of three New Year's Six bowl appearances in school history, they never trailed. UCF's 25-game winning streak between 2017-18 might indeed be the catalyst for UCF's eventual promotion to Power Five status, but the Fiesta Bowl triumph over Baylor stands as a landmark moment in program history.

Ahead of Saturday's game, when a gathering of alumni and former coaches will be honored at the conclusion of the first quarter, The News-Journal spoke to those on and around the team to reflect upon their memories.

Marc Daniels

Selected earlier this month as a 2023 inductee for the UCF Athletics Hall of Fame, Daniels has been the voice of the Knights for 29 years.

Daniels quickly points out that none of the magic produced that evening would have been possible had the NCAA not overturned its bowl ban imposed upon UCF as part of widespread recruiting violations in football and men's basketball.

The school accepted other penalties, including a $50,000 fine, basketball scholarship reductions, vacated basketball wins and tighter limits on football recruiting visits, but appealed the one-year bowl ban.

UCF pulled out a road win at Penn State, nearly rallied from 18 points down against No. 12 South Carolina, scored its first top-10 win in program history at Louisville and survived several scares down the stretch (namely, Temple and South Florida) to claim an outright conference title in its debut AAC season.

Those experiences, Daniels believes, gave UCF the confidence that it could not only compete with Baylor, but beat them.

"UCF never passed. They ran the ball every play, and it was a statement of their offensive line and the physicality over the game," Daniels said of an opening 6-play, 76-yard drive. "They ran over Baylor. It established early on they were not going to get pushed around.

"Baylor realized, 'What are these guys doing?' They ran a pro-style offense and did it with ease."

Jordan McCray

In his senior year, McCray started all 13 games at left guard for the Knights. He was selected to the American Athletic Conference's first team.

The Knights' statement opening drive settled McCray's nerves. The 6-foot-3, 310-pound lineman knew UCF would need points, and lots of them.

In 2013, Baylor ranked second in the nation in total offense (572.23 yards per game) and fourth in scoring offense (44.46 points per game).

Center Joey Grant committed a false start before snapping the first play from scrimmage. Storm Johnson gained seven of those yards back, and then Blake Bortles picked up 29 on a zone-read keeper off the left edge.

"That was all I needed for validation that the plan we put together throughout the week was going to work," McCray said. "It really settled us all down. A lot of the guys that year came from the 2010-11 recruiting classes. That's what we came to UCF for, to bring the school to prominence and play in games like that. It was a collective from the group of, 'Let's keep adding to this. Who's going to make the next play?'"

Storm Johnson capped each of UCF's first two drives with touchdowns, giving UCF a 14-0 lead.

Brandon Alexander

An Orlando native, Alexander switched positions from cornerback to safety prior to his junior year in 2013. He made 63 tackles, adding three interceptions, seven pass breakups, one sack, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.

Baylor, as expected, kicked into gear after falling behind. Bryce Petty plowed across the goal line from the 1 late in the first, and the Bears cashed in on Bortles' second interception with a 30-yard strike from Petty to Levi Norwood. However, a mishandled PAT snap kept the Knights ahead 14-13.

UCF committed its third turnover of the half when Jamal Palmer punched the ball free from Johnson, setting Baylor up at UCF's 19. As it seemed the Knights were spiraling, their defense made a major contribution. Facing 3rd-and-5 from the UCF 14, Petty lofted a pass toward the end zone that was intercepted by Alexander.

O'Leary told "The Beat of Sports" this week that UCF used just five defensive calls for the Baylor game.

"All we had to do was start the signal, and (our defensive players) knew the call," O'Leary said. "They knew how to line up against everything. They'd seen it 10 times.

"I thought that was a key factor in the game. We didn't have any guys running on late or trying to sub in. … It was limiting the game plan, so you could operate — get into position, get aligned and let's play defense. That was our focus."

Baylor sent two receivers to the right side of the formation, and Alexander shaded toward the boundary. He recognized the concept and was surprised Petty released the football.

"I didn't think he was going to throw it," Alexander said. "I was at the top of the route, but he did and all I had to do was catch it. I read my keys, ran the route for the receiver and turned into the receiver."

Terrance Plummer

Selected as the Fiesta Bowl's Defensive MVP, Plummer tallied 110 tackles in his 13 starts at middle linebacker. He was named an All-American honorable mention by Sports Illustrated and an All-AAC first team pick.

Chosen as the game's Defensive MVP, Plummer could have easily picked any of his game-high 14 tackles (eight solo) or the sack he shared with Miles Pace as a highlight. Instead, he immediately thought of one of his roommates, wide receiver Rannell Hall.

As effective as UCF's ground game was in the early stages of the first half, so too was its quick passing game just before the break.

Alexander protected the Knights' advantage at one end of the field, and Hall quickly extended it at the other by taking a screen 50 yards to the end zone. Baylor counterpunched to pull within 21-20, but Hall again broke free for a 34-yard score with 44 seconds left until halftime.

On both occasions, Plummer recalls the noise rising inside State Farm Stadium.

"The thing was it's a bubble screen. He had to break the tackle," Plummer said. "I was like, 'Go Speedy!' He broke another one, I yelled 'Go Speedy!' Then I see Josh out front setting the block. You hear that collective roar in that crowd, getting louder and louder as he went down the sideline. That's my homie."

Josh Reese

A consensus four-star recruit from Florida high school football juggernaut Miami Central, Reese made 21 receptions for 252 yards, appearing in all 13 games during the 2013 season.

Reese learned in high school that downfield blocking all boiled down to "want-to." Perhaps more than any of his 101 career receptions at UCF, including touchdowns in consecutive seasons against Penn State, Reese is remembered for two key blocks to spring Hall.

On the first, a 50-yard slot screen, Reese engaged with Baylor cornerback Demetri Goodson at the Bears' 21-yard line and pushed him nearly 10 yards toward the left sideline. For the second, he escorted Goodson a similar distance on the right boundary after Hall slipped past the initial tackler.

Reese improvised on Hall's second touchdown reception, unable to hear Bortles' call at the line of scrimmage.

"Before the play was called, it was loud. We didn't get the call to the right side. (Hall) was looking to Blake for the call, but he never looked to the right," Reese said. "Without even saying something, he went screen. It was us being on the same page. We're always taught to look at the ball. I'm on the outside, I come off the ball and have time to glance and see if it's a run or pass play. I see Rannell run the screen and Blake open up. I go out and block my guy, he made his guy miss.

"There was no way we could lose this game with us being intact like that together."

Torrian Wilson

Hailing from Miami Northwestern, Wilson was a mainstay at left tackle for UCF with 42 career starts. He missed the Knights' 2013 games against Penn State and Memphis due to injury.

Baylor pulled even when Petty ran the option from the 1-yard line, and tacked on the two-point conversion with his legs, but UCF went back in front late in the third on Bortles' 10-yard touchdown pass to Perriman.

The Knights were finally able to give themselves some breathing room just over a minute into the fourth, and left tackle Wilson atoned for an earlier mental mistake — albeit not a particularly costly one. On Bortles' 29-yard keeper in the first quarter, Wilson double-teamed a defensive lineman rather than get up to the second level.

"(Offensive line coach Brent) Key told me all week that when we run zone read the Sam linebacker's going to be there. First time we ran it, I missed the linebacker," Wilson said. "He was ripping me, and all I said was, 'I got you, coach.'"

When the Knights went back to that play against the same Baylor defensive front, Wilson cleared out linebacker Eddie Lackey and sprung Bortles for a 15-yard touchdown.

"This time, I made the key block and Blake went off and scored and did the infamous Michael Jordan-ish jump," Wilson said.

Storm Johnson

Johnson a transfer running back from Miami, broke out as the starter in 2013, cracking the century mark five times and finishing with 1,139 yards, 260 receiving yards and 16 touchdowns.

Baylor pulled back within 42-35 on Glasco Martin's 9-yard run with 12:16 left, but the Knights delivered the knockout blow on the next drive.

Bortles made a cross-body, 23-yard completion to Hall, and then fit a 13-yard throw to JJ Worton through a tight window over the middle. With the ball at the Baylor 40, Johnson took a handoff, sprinted up the middle, cut back around the 20 and split two defenders to reach the end zone.

"The blocking was amazing," Johnson said. "It was a zone play. I think, in the first 10 steps of me running the play, I did not get touched. It's definitely one of those things I can appreciate now as I see the situation and how everything transpired. … That was a great play call at a great moment, putting one of their marquee guys in space and the rest was history."

At halftime, Johnson said the team's goal was to "finish" and "carve their place in history." UCF never led by less than double digits again after Johnson's third touchdown, stretching out the lead as large as 17 points during the final 10:26 of the Fiesta Bowl.

UCF gained 556 yards of total offense. Johnson had the lion's share of the Knights' 255 rushing yards, toting 20 times for 124 and the three scores.

Rannell Hall

Nicknamed "Speedy," Hall led the Knights with 57 receptions and 886 yards during the 2013 season. He also rushed for 121 yards and a score, and averaged 23.8 yards per kick return.

Hall produced two of the night's signature highlights and led all receivers with 113 yards and his couple of touchdowns. However, he pinpointed a play in which he did not touch the ball as the one he treasures most.

Victory formation. Bortles taking a routine snap back, dropping to a knee and letting the final 38 seconds tick off the clock.

UCF, in its first New Year's Six bowl game and universally seen as underdogs, cemented a 52-42 victory. The Knights were ranked No. 10 in The Associated Press' final Top 25 poll — a mark bettered only once, by the undefeated 2017 squad (No. 6).

For Hall and many of his teammates, the kneeldown marked the culmination of a multi-year mission — to catapult UCF into the national spotlight, and to accomplish something barely dreamed of.

"Running onto the field. It was a wholesome feeling, not one you can just put into words," Hall said. "It's something I can take with me to the end of time. That will live forever, not just personally but within the school."