ORLANDO, Fla. _ Central Florida coaches have spoken at length about how the Knights are blessed with plenty of depth on offense this season.
The No. 22 Knights proved it during the first four games, with 12 different players finding the end zone. Saturday night in a homecoming matchup with East Carolina, the Knights showed even more of their arsenal, but some of it wasn't of the conventional nature.
Six-foot, 311-pound defensive tackle Jamiyus Pittman got in on the act, scoring on a 4-yard pass from quarterback McKenzie Milton. It was just one of numerous UCF offensive highlights at Spectrum Stadium as the Knights rolled to a 63-21 blowout of East Carolina.
UCF (5-0, 3-0 AAC) entered the game leading the nation in scoring and that won't change this week. The Knights scored on four of six first-half possessions and, by halftime, had rolled up 392 yards of offense. Milton was near flawless to start the game, connecting on eight of his first nine passes for 94 yards and two touchdowns and UCF led 14-0 just nine minutes into the game.
He completed 78 percent of his passes (21 of 28) for 324 yards and two touchdowns in three quarters before giving way to freshman Noah Vedral.
Vedral scored his first career touchdown on a 13-yard run in the fourth quarter.
Milton's first touchdown pass was a 48-yarder to tight end Jordan Akins. He also added his first rushing touchdown of the season with a 1-yard bootleg in the second quarter. Adrian Killins and Taj McGowan also scored short first-half rushing touchdowns.
Just for good measure, UCF added a 49-yard interception return for a touchdown by Tre Neal in the second quarter as UCF coasted to a 42-14 halftime lead.
Things could have been worse in the opening half for ECU. UCF's Mike Hughes returned a punt 81 yards for a touchdown, but the play was called back due to an illegal block.
Hughes, however, scored in the second half, speeding 66 yards on a punt return for his second touchdown as a Knight. His first was a 57-yard interception return for a touchdown against Maryland.
The Knights' last punt return for a touchdown was by Joe Burnett, who went 83 yards against Tulsa in 2007.
Things weren't all pretty for UCF, however, and, like at Cincinnati last week, the defense bent again in the first half.
After impressive performances in each of the first three games, during which UCF allowed just 13 points and 309 yards per game, the Knights gave up 23 points and 391 yards against Cincinnati and then allowed East Carolina to put up 195 yards and 14 points in the first half alone.
Those numbers will not sit well with UCF coaches, who figured they knew what they needed to do this week to get the defense refocused. ECU's first scoring drive was particularly disconcerting. UCF players missed numerous tackles during a 57-yard run by Darius Pinnix that put the Pirates in the UCF red zone. That scoring drive ended in a 5-yard touchdown pass to ECU sophomore Deondre Farrier.
The offense, however, has been clicking. During a two-game span, UCF scored on 10 consecutive possessions. Punter Mac Loudermilk was called onto the field for the first time in two games during the first quarter against East Carolina, but he mostly stayed on the sidelines as the Knights' offense dominated the Pirates.
The Knights didn't show any signs of letting up, taking just 1 minute and 14 seconds to get in the end zone against East Carolina. Milton hit tight end Jordan Akins with a 48-yard touchdown pass and the nation's top scoring offense was off and rolling.
