ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Blake Bortles threw for three touchdowns and ran for another to lead Central Florida to a 38-17 victory over Ball State in the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl last night.
Bortles threw first-half touchdown passes of 7 and 5 yards to Latavius Murray to help the Knights (10-4) build a 21-point halftime lead and coast to victory in their final game as a member of Conference USA before joining the Big East.
Bortles had a 6-yard TD run and threw for 272 yards to become UCF’s first 3,000-yard passer since 2002. He also led the Knights in rushing with a career-best 80 yards on nine carries. Murray also scored on a 2-yard run.
Ball State (9-4) was hoping to finish with at least 10 wins for the third time, but its high-powered offense sputtered while being held to a season-low point total. Keith Wenning threw a 7-yard TD pass to Willie Snead early in the second quarter, but the Cardinals didn’t get into end zone again until Snead scored on a 16-yard reception with 5 minutes remaining.
Bortles completed 22 of 33 passes without an interception, and his three TD passes were a career-best and tied the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl record. Wenning was 22 of 34 for 217 yards and two TDs for Ball State, which had a six-game winning streak snapped before an announced crowd of 21,759.
UCF rebounded from an overtime loss to Tulsa in the Conference USA title game to finish with double-digit victories for the third time since stepping up to the Football Bowl Subdivision.
That loss kept Central Florida close to home for the postseason. Coach George O’Leary and his players settled for a 100-mile trek west from Orlando to Tropicana Field, home of baseball’s Rays.