ORLANDO, Fla. -- If it seems like the University of Central Florida has been here before, that's because it has -- again and again.

The Knights suffered another loss -- their fifth straight -- as No. 11 Brigham Young University rolled to a 37-24 road win on Saturday. It's the second five-game losing streak in as many seasons for the program, which has dropped 12 of its last 18 games.

"A disappointing loss, to say the least," said coach Gus Malzahn. "That's a good football team and they exposed some things. ... We didn't play our best football and that's what disappoints me."

BYU (8-0, 5-0 Big 12) dominated the time of possession in the first quarter, holding the ball for more than 12 1/2 minutes while running 24 plays. UCF, on the other hand, had the ball for just 2:22 while running just 5 plays.

Cougars quarterback Jake Retzlaff was far from perfect but made the plays when he had to, including a 29-yard scramble for a touchdown on the game's first possession. It was the third straight game in which the opposing quarterback rushed for at least a touchdown.

It was another slow start for UCF's offense, which failed to score in the first quarter for the third time this season.

To make matters worse, the Knights (3-5, 1-4 Big 12) lost one of their top playmakers: receiver Kobe Hudson.

The fifth-year senior was tackled low after making a 6-yard catch on a screen pass from Jacurri Brown. After a brief time on the field, trainers helped carry Hudson off the field. He returned from the locker room in street clothes, ending his day.

Malzahn had few details of Hudson's injury.

"I don't know exactly the severity of Kobe, but obviously, he's one of our best players," he said.

BYU built a 17-0 lead before UCF got on the scoreboard.

Running back RJ Harvey broke free for a 54-yard run at 8:13 in the second quarter, which set up a first-and-goal at the BYU 2. Harvey finished with a 2-yard plunge to cut the lead to 17-7. It was the senior's 12th rushing touchdown of the season.

The Knights tacked on a 38-yard Grant Reddick field goal to pull to within 17-10 with 59 seconds left in the first half.

But Retzlaff tossed a perfect over-the-shoulder pass to Chase Roberts, who raced 62 yards to push BYU's lead to 24-10 at the half.

Retzlaff finished 15-of-22 for 220 yards with two touchdowns as the Cougars accounted for more than 400 yards of offense.

Harvey finished with 127 rushing yards and crossed the 1,000-yard mark in the second half. He becomes the first Knight to rush for 1,000 yards in back-to-back seasons since Marquette Smith in 1994-95.

Brown, who was making his second start of the season, was 8-of-17 for 96 yards with two interceptions.

Dylan Rizk, a redshirt freshman, entered the game in the fourth quarter for Brown and drove the Knights 60 yards, setting up a 5-yard Harvey touchdown. Rizk was 2 for 2 for 44 yards.

©2024 Orlando Sentinel. Visit orlandosentinel.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.