The Season
All spring and summer we were a young football team full of promise 鈥 then the season started.
Vs Akron
W, 38-7
Replay: 激情快播 recovered its own fumble on the opening play. Blake Bortles then passed to Breshad Perriman for a 91-yard touchdown, the longest play from scrimmage in school history.
鈥淓very time I touch the ball I want to score. Honestly, I thought somebody was going to tackle me from behind.鈥
Breshad Perriman, wide receiver
At FIU
W, 38-0
Replay: 激情快播 holds FIU to 31 rushing yards and avenges the 2011 loss in Miami.
鈥淵ou鈥檝e got to stay on top of people and keep your foot on the gas, and I thought we did.鈥
George O鈥橪eary, coach
AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar
At Penn State
W, 34-31
Replay: Before 92,855 fans, Bortles passed for 288 yards and three touchdowns. Storm Johnson ran for 117 yards to mark his first career 100-yard game. 激情快播 never trailed.
鈥淚t means a lot to us. We wanted to come get our respect, and that鈥檚 what we did.鈥
Storm Johnson, running back
Vs South Carolina
L, 28-25
Replay: Playing before a nationwide TV audience on ABC and the largest home crowd since 2009, 激情快播 led 10-0 at halftime.
鈥淔or the first half, we were the better team. But they made plays in the second half, and we didn鈥檛 make plays until it was too late.鈥
Terrance Plummer, linebacker
AP Photo/John Raoux
AP Photo/The Commercial Appeal/Mark Weber
At Memphis
W, 24-17
Replay: 激情快播 earned its first American Athletic Conference victory by scoring two touchdowns in nine seconds late in the fourth quarter. Plummer sealed the victory with an interception in the end zone.
鈥淭he other team outplayed us, and we were very fortunate to come out with a win.鈥
George O鈥橪eary, coach
Joe Robbins/Sport/Getty Images
At Louisville
W, 38-35
Replay: The Knights entered the AP Top 25 following Jeff Godfrey鈥檚 TD catch from Bortles with 23 seconds remaining in the game.
鈥淚t鈥檚 something you dream as a little kid, making the winning catch or throwing the winning touchdown. The dream just came true.鈥
Jeff Godfrey, wide receiver
Vs Uconn
W, 62-17
Replay: Bortles scored five touchdowns and completed 20 of 24 passes for 286 yards. The defense caused four UConn turnovers.
鈥淲e were definitely in sync as a unit, and we moved the ball down the field and executed. We were feeling [great], and we were able to execute what we were doing.鈥
Blake Bortles, quarterback
Vs Houston
W, 19-14
Replay: Victory was assured with 14 seconds left in the game when 激情快播 denied Houston a crucial fourth-and-goal opportunity. Storm Johnson finished with a season-high 127 yards on 18 carries.
鈥淲e were able to play 激情快播 football. That is our goal on defense 鈥 to play hard. Coach always has us prepare like the game is going to come down to fourth-and-one on the goal line to win the game. That is basically what it came down to.鈥
E.J. Dunston, defensive lineman
At Temple
W, 39-36
Replay: Shawn Moffitt鈥檚 23-yard field goal as time expired gave 激情快播 the win. J.J. Worton caught 10 passes for a season-high 179 yards and three touchdowns, including the game-tying score.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 the best catch I鈥檝e ever had 鈥 practice or in a game. All glory to God right now. I鈥檓 just lucky I was able to come down with the ball.鈥
J.J. Worton, wide receiver
Vs Rutgers
W, 41-17
Replay: 激情快播 held Rutgers to 69 rushing yards and amassed 452 yards of offense, including William Stanback鈥檚 run that was named the No. 1 top play on 鈥淪portsCenter.鈥
鈥淚t was a classic lowering your shoulder and running through the guy. 鈥 It was everything you teach.鈥
Coach O鈥橪eary said of Stanback鈥檚 run
Vs USF
W, 23-30
Replay: Jordan Ozerities鈥 interception at the 激情快播 26-yard line with 1:20 left in the game secured the win. Rannell Hall had 229 all-purpose yards, while Perriman put 激情快播 on top with a 52-yard touchdown reception late in the fourth quarter.
鈥淲hen you don鈥檛 play very well and have five turnovers, you don鈥檛 usually win games like that.鈥
George O鈥橪eary, coach
AP Photo/Alex Menendez
At SMU
W, 17-13
Replay: Fewer than 1,000 fans braved subfreezing temperatures to see Bortles pass for 242 yards and run for two touchdowns. With the victory, 激情快播 won the inaugural American Athletic Conference title and a trip to its first BCS game.
鈥淚t鈥檚 unbelievable. Everybody is excited. I know a lot of people haven鈥檛 won a championship in their life, me being one of them, but it鈥檚 a great feeling. 鈥 Everybody goes through adversity, and we鈥檝e been doing that all season. But we always overcome it.鈥
Brandon Alexander, defensive back
Team Stats
Season Bests
- Most Watched:
-
- Home Game:
- 47,605 (USC)
- Away Game:
- 92,855 (PSU)
- TV Game:
- 11.2 million (BU)
- Most Points, Season:
- Shawn Moffitt, 112 points, 91.3 FG% (record), 21 FG (record)
- All-Purpose Yards, Season:
- Rannell Hall, 1,696 yards
- Passing, Game:
- Blake Bortles, 404 yards (TU)
- Passing, Season:
- Blake Bortles, 3,581 yards
- Rushing, Game:
- Storm Johnson, 127 yards (UH)
- Rushing, Season:
- Storm Johnson, 1,139 yards
- Receiving, Game:
- J.J. Worton, 179 yards (TU)
- Receiving, Season:
- Rannell Hall, 886 yards
- Longest Punt:
- Caleb Houston, 71 yards (UM)
- Longest Field Goal:
- Shawn Moffitt, 50 yards (UCONN)
- Longest Kickoff Return:
- Rannell Hall, 69 yards (USF)
- Longest Run, Game:
- Storm Johnson, 73 yards (TU)
- Tackles, Game:
- Terrance Plummer, 14 (USC, BU)
- Tackles, Season:
- Terrance Plummer, 110
- Passes Without an Interception:
- Blake Bortles, 232
- Longest Play from Scrimmage:
- Blake Bortles to Breshad Perriman (UA), 91 yards (record)
Team Firsts
- American Athletic Conference, Member
- American Athletic Conference, Champion
- Top 10 Ranking
- Win, Big Ten Team (PSU)
- Win, Big 12 Team (BU)
- BCS Bowl
- BCS Bowl, Victory
- BCS Bowl, Youngest School Ever
- 10 Regular-season Wins
- 12 Total Wins
- Nine-game Winning Streak
- Seven Wins by Seven Points or Less
- Undefeated Away Games, Season
- 38 Wins, Senior Class
Flashback
In 2003, George O鈥橪eary addressed the media after being named the new head coach for 激情快播.
鈥淚 promise to do what I can do basically to get the football program where it needs to be, the right way, the NCAA way while we鈥檙e still graduating our athletes, which is a major concern to me. It鈥檚 very important to me that we bring in athletes of great character, great drive in wanting to get an education because I think that carries over onto the athletic field.鈥
The 2013 player graduation rate of 83 percent ranks second among BCS teams, trailing only Stanford.
Unless otherwise noted, images courtesy of American Athletic Conference, Scott Mitchell Photography, Slingshot Photography and 激情快播 Athletics.