Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl 2012: Grading Ball State and UCF's Performances

The UCF Knights destroyed the Ball State Cardinals 38-17 in the 2012 Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl.

The Knights were led by quarterback Blake Bortles' outstanding performance passing and rushing. They scored on their first two possessions and never looked back.

The Cardinals came out of the gate lethargic and were down two scores before they noticed, and they would never make the game competitive.

Although the game was a blowout, there were some good, bad and ugly performances from players on both teams throughout the game.

Here is a complete list of postgame grades from the Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl.

Quarterbacks

University of Central Florida: Overall Game Grade: A+ 

Blake Bortles had a great game and was the driving force behind UCF’s offensive dominance. He was 22-of-33 for 272 yards with no sacks or interceptions. His three touchdown passes tied the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl record previously set by Matt Grothe from the University of South Florida in 2008.

He also led the Knights in rushing with 80 yards on nine attempts and a touchdown

Bortles accounted for 242 yards of total offense and three touchdowns in the first half alone. His longest play was a 45-yard completion to Breshad Perriman in the second quarter to set up a touchdown seconds before halftime.

That quick start helped the Knights put the game away early, leaving little hope for Ball State.

Ball State University: Overall Game Grade: B-

Keith Wenning played a decent game for Ball State. He was 22-of-34 for 217 yards through the air with no interceptions. He struggled at the start, missing all five of his pass attempts in the first quarter.

The highlight of his night was the Cardinals' first touchdown drive, when he went 6-of-6 leading the team 82 yards down the field.

Down 21-7 in the second quarter, Wenning was sacked on a 3rd-and-goal from the seven, losing 11 yards and setting up a field-goal attempt that would ultimately be missed. That wasted opportunity was the last chance Ball State had at legitimately being in contention in the game.

Overall, he had a good game. Some of the offensive errors weren’t his fault, with receivers dropping passes or not getting open, forcing shorter passes to check-down options.

Running Backs

University of Central Florida: Overall Game Grade: B+

Central Florida’s running backs had a good game and helped maintain a balanced attack for the Knights’ offense, gaining 134 yards on 30 carries as a unit.

Latavius Murray carried the bulk of the load, running for 77 yards and a touchdown on his 21 carries. He also led the team with 104 all-purpose yards and added two touchdowns receiving.

Storm Johnson also blasted through the Ball State defense gaining 50 yards on only six carries including a 35-yard gain in the fourth quarter.

Ball State University: Overall Game Grade: B-

Jahwan Edwards had an outstanding day running the ball for Ball State.

He gained 91 yards on only 14 carries, including his 27-yard run in the second quarter. Unfortunately, the game got out of hand early, forcing the Cardinals to get one-dimensional and limiting his carries.

His two most costly plays both came in the third quarter. He lost the ball on a fumble and was stopped for a two-yard loss on a 3rd-and-4 play on the following Cardinals possession.

Wide Receivers

University of Central Florida: Overall Game Grade: B+

Breshad Perriman had the most surprising individual performance in the game.

The true freshman receiver had the best game of his young college career with 90 yards on five receptions. His 45-yard reception in the second quarter was the pivotal play on the Knights' scoring drive just before halftime.

Sophomore Rannell Hall also contributed with 74 yards on only four receptions.

The Knights receivers averaged over 10 yards per reception and were dominant over the Ball State defensive backs.

Ball State University: Overall Game Grade: C+

The Cardinals receivers didn't do enough to help their offense be successful.

Willie Snead did his part and led the receivers with seven receptions for 78 yards. He scored both of Ball State's touchdowns.

Snead caught four passes for 53 yards on Ball State's final scoring drive in the fourth quarter.

After Snead, the remainder of the receiving corps had a mediocre night, dropping passes and failing to get open.

KeVonn Mabon and Connor Ryan combined for five catches and 56 yards.

Tight Ends

University of Central Florida: Overall Game Grade: C

Tight end Justin Tukes doesn't play a large role in the Knights passing offense, coming into the bowl game with only nine receptions for 93 yards on the season.

He contributed by providing good blocks, but that was the extent of his productivity in the game.

Ball State University: Overall Game Grade: B

Zane Fakes made some nice grabs and has one of the best names in college football. He finished the night with six catches for 57 yards.

Unfortunately, he had a key drop on a deep-pass attempt and some other near misses throughout the game.

Offensive Line

University of Central Florida: Overall Game Grade: A

Central Florida’s offensive line played solid and consistent throughout the game.

They provided enough protection for quarterback Blake Bortles to have plenty of time to go through his progressions and find the open receiver. They also kept him from getting sacked in the game.

What was also impressive was how they were able to maintain their blocks as Bortles left the pocket, helping the Knights gain a total of 222 yards on 42 carries.

Job well done.

Ball State University: Overall Game Grade: C

It's not a good game for the offensive line when the quarterback gets sacked four times and you finish the day with 71 rushing yards.

That was the unfortunate reality for Cardinals offensive line as they were taking on more than they could handle from UCF's defense.

They did, however, have one highlight when senior guard Kitt O'Brien caught a pass that was tipped by a defender. Even though the play resulted in a loss of two yards, it's always a win when a big man becomes a ball-carrier.

Defensive Line

University of Central Florida: Overall Game Grade: A

UCF's defensive line put consistent pressure on Keith Wenning, sacking him four times.The unit also gave the Cardinals running backs a hard day, clogging holes and stopping them for short gains.

Redshirt freshman Thomas Niles led the effort with six tackles, including two sacks for 12 yards. Niles sacked Wenning on the 3rd-and-goal play that set up Ball State's missed field goal in the second quarter.

Troy Davis added five tackles and a sack as well.

Ball State University: Overall Game Grade: D

Ball State's defensive line did a horrible job of pressuring UCF's Blake Bortels. They were never able to sack him and even when they got some pressure, he was able to escape and make a positive play for his team.

Sophomore defensive end Nick Miles led the unit with seven tackles.

Linebackers

University of Central Florida: Overall Game Grade: B-

UCF's linebackers did a great job stopping the opposing offense and making their presence felt.

They were led by sophomore linebacker Terrance Plummer with six tackles, including a tackle for a loss.

Jonathan Davis added an additional five tackles and two tackles for a loss.

Ball State University: Overall Game Grade: B-

Ball State's linebackers had a lot of work Friday night.

Senior linebacker Travis Freeman, the defensive player of the game for the Cardinals, led the defense with 10 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss.

Justin Cruz added seven tackles in the losing effort.

Defensive Backs

University of Central Florida: Overall Game Grade: B

Central Florida’s defensive backs shut down Ball State's receivers for the majority of the game. With the exception of the two touchdown drives, their pass defense was consistently solid.

Senior safety Kemal Ishmael recovered from a rough start to to finish the game as the defensive player of the game for UCF. The 2012 Conference USA Defensive player of the Year tallied seven tackles, two pass deflections and a forced fumble in the Knights win.

Redshirt sophomore safety Clayton Geathers led the team with 10 tackles.

Ball State University: Overall Game Grade: D

The Cardinal DBs were exploited on numerous occasions. They were unable to cover receivers, missed tackles and got beat deep with under a minute left in the first half.

Safeties Jarrett Swaby and J.C. Wade led the unit with five tackles each. Swaby also had a pass deflection in the game.

The Cardinals didn't seem to have enough speed to keep up with their assignments.

Special Teams

University of Central Florida: Overall Game Grade: D

Central Florida's special teams had a bad game, but it didn't matter, as the team won handily anyways. The Knights only returned two kickoffs for a total of three yards.

Kicker Shawn Moffitt made his only field-goal attempt from 25 yards and had an extra point blocked.

Punter Jamie Boyle was only needed once and punted the ball 32 yards.

Ball State University: Overall Game Grade: D

Ball State's special teams unit had a decent game. They returned four kickoffs for 81 yards, led by Jamil Smith's two returns for 43 yards.

Punter Scott Kovanda had three punts for 125 yards, including a 45-yard punt.

Kicker Steven Schott had the lowest moment in the game with a complete shank of a 35-yard field goal. Although he later made one from 45 yards, his second-quarter miss was the biggest wasted opportunity of the game.

Coaching

University of Central Florida: Overall Game Grade: A

George O'Leary's game plan was very well executed.

The team had a balanced attack on offense that gained 494 yards and 33 first downs. The Knights started out strong, scoring on their first two drives, and even with a lead the Knights continued to attack with succes.

Defensively, they stopped Ball State early and were able to make them one-dimensional with the early lead.

It was a good win for O'Leary and UCF.

Ball State University: Overall Game Grade: D

Pete Lembo is in his second season with Ball State. Unfortunately, UCF proved too much for the Cardinals and dominated early and never let up throughout the game.

Once the game started off in UCF's favor, Lembo never could make the right adjustments defensively to stop the Knights. On offense, they also struggled to move the ball and failed to capitalize with a touchdown on three of their most productive drives.

The good news for Ball State is that it won nine games in Lembo's second season, and should continue to grow as a program.