3 things to watch: Timmy McClain makes first start for UCF football against Villanova

ORLANDO — One last hurdle remains before UCF begins its inaugural Big 12 football gauntlet.

The Knights (2-0) host Villanova, ranked No. 24 in this week's Stats Perform Football Championship Subvision poll, at 6:30 p.m. in its non-conference finale. Colton Boomer's game-winning 40-yard field goal lifted UCF to an 18-16 victory over Boise State last weekend, snapping the Broncos' 21-game unbeaten run in home openers.

Of course, the victory came at a significant cost. Starting quarterback John Rhys Plumlee suffered a right leg injury that will keep him out for "a few weeks," Knights coach Gus Malzahn said Monday during his weekly press conference.

Know your foe: UCF to face experienced, upset-minded Villanova in Week 3

Redshirt sophomore Timmy McClain, who transferred last August from rival South Florida, will make his first UCF start. McClain led a pair of fourth-quarter scoring drives in the Aug. 31 win over Kent State, completing 3 of 5 passes for 53 yards and rushing twice for 21 yards.

"Like I told our team, JRP's one of the better quarterbacks in all of college football. So when you lose somebody like that, everybody else has got to raise their level," Malzahn said. "That's our challenge. I'm confident we'll do that."

Here are three things to watch Saturday night as UCF meets Villanova for the first time since 2006.

UCF strives to put red zone struggles behind it

The Knights could have been well and truly out of sight last weekend had it not been for a disastrous day in the red zone. UCF came away with points just twice on five drives inside the Boise State 20-yard line, including Boomer's walkoff kick.

Boise, by contrast, did not run a single play inside UCF's 20 and was outgained 530-384 in total offense. The Knights averaged 8.2 yards per play against the beleaguered Broncos defense.

The day's highs and lows were epitomized on the opening drive. Plumlee opened the game with a 49-yard strike to Kobe Hudson. Two plays later, he went back to Hudson on a slant, but the ball deflected off the receiver's hands and into the arms of Broncos safety Alexander Teubner.

Jordan McDonald was stuffed on a fourth-and-1 Wildcat run late in the first quarter, and Javon Baker bobbled a surefire touchdown shortly after halftime into a confounding interception in the end zone.

"Those weren't interceptions. Those were tipped balls that were thrown pretty darn good," UCF offensive coordinator Darin Hinshaw said earlier this week. "Ball security comes down to the discipline, also, of making the catch. We've got to catch the football when we have it in our hands, especially in the red zone when it gets tight windows and in different situations.

"Our ball security, all the way around at every position, has gotten tremendously better. I was excited to see us, in critical situations in that game, really hold onto that ball when they are a team that does a really good job stripping the ball and making turnovers happen."

Villanova's defense faced only five red-zone opportunities in its wins over Lehigh and Colgate, allowing two touchdowns and 20 points.

Expect UCF to test Villanova's stout run defense

Villanova enters with the No. 4 rush defense in the FCS, holding opponents to 55.5 yards per game. Shane Hartzell has been the standout performer at linebacker, tying for the team lead with eight tackles against Colgate and adding 1½ sacks.

"He's kind of the quarterback of our defense, if you will, playing in the middle there," Villanova coach Mark Ferrante said earlier this week. "He has a great knack to get to the ball, and he gets off blocks well. Shane is just an excellent football player, so [it's] awesome to see him progressing where he left off last year."

UCF will put the Wildcats' credentials to the test in a strength-versus-strength matchup. The Knights lead the Football Bowl Subdivision in rushing offense at 323.5 yards per game, averaging 7.4 per carry and scoring six touchdowns.

Of course, Plumlee's absence will be felt in the rushing department; he has a team-high 163 yards on 19 carries. Johnny Richardson (23 carries for 162 yards) and RJ Harvey (25 carries for 154 yards and two TDs) have received a nearly equal workload to date.

Harvey persevered through pain in the late stages of the fourth quarter last week. The Knights can also call on McDonald, Demarkcus Bowman and Mark-Antony Richards to spread the backfield wealth.

Beware of Connor Watkins, Villanova's big-play passes

Fifth-year senior quarterback Connor Watkins made Villanova history last week, needing just nine completions to top the 300-yard passing threshold.

He connected on passes of 51, 68 and 67 yards on the Wildcats' first three drives alone. The 6-foot-3, 225-pounder is a load at the goal line, too — polishing off a pair of drives with 1-yard keepers.

Rayjuon Pringle led the receiving corps with three catches for 168 yards and a touchdown. Jaylan Sanchez, filling in for injured Preseason All-Colonial Athletic Conference selection Jaaron Hayek, had 128 receiving yards for his first career game in triple digits.

Watkins has played 25 games for Villanova, completing 57% of his passes for 2,685 yards. UCF's secondary will need to force him into mistakes; last year, he had an interception rate of 4.7% — 11 picks on 233 throws.

UCF's starting boundary cornerback Corey Thornton shined at Boise State, recording an interception and a pass breakup while not allowing a completion the four times he was targeted in coverage.

Nickel safety DeJordan Mask logged just five snaps last week due to injury, and his status for Saturday is unclear. Should he miss out, true freshman Braeden Marshall would likely make his first start.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: UCF football: Timmy McClain to start against ranked FCS Villanova