Central Florida 39, Temple 36
PHILADELPHIA -- Shawn Moffett's 23-yard field goal as time expired lifted Central Florida to a 39-36 victory over Temple.
The victory enables the 17th-ranked Knights (8-1, 5-0) to remain in control of their own destiny in the American Athletic Conference.
The winning field goal was set up by Blake Bortles' 64-yard pass to Rannell Hall that took the ball to the Owls' six-yard line with nine seconds remaining.
J.J. Worton's one-handed circus catch at the back of the end zone with 1:06 remaining in the fourth quarter brought UCF even, 36-36. The play, which was Bortles' fourth touchdown pass of the game, capped a four-play, 70-yard desperation drive.
The Owls had taken a 34-29 lead on P.J. Walker's seven-yard touchdown pass to Chris Parthermore with 2:04 remaining. Walker's two-point conversion pass to Parthermore made it a seven-point game.
With 6:37 remaining in the fourth quarter, UCF took a 29-28 lead when Bortles found Worton across the middle and the receiver raced to the end zone for a 38-yard touchdown to cap an 84-yard drive.
Walker, a freshman making his fifth start, completed 26-of-44 passes for 382 yards and accounted for five touchdowns, four through the air.
In a game that featured 10 lead changes, the teams combined for nearly 1,200 yards.
NOTES: With four touchdown passes, quarterback Blake Bortles moved into fourth place on the UCF career list with 50. Daunte Culpepper is the all-time leader with 84. ... Storm Johnson's 73-yard run in the first half was the UCF junior's career long. ... UCF wide receiver Breshad Perriman did not play Saturday. He sustained a head injury last week against Houston and it was reported that he was held out for precautionary reasons. ... The game was the first meeting between the teams.
