Milton accounts for 6 TDs, No. 16 UCF routs FAU 56-36
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - McKenzie Milton ran for a career-best three touchdowns while throwing for three more, helping No. 16 UCF extend the nation's longest winning streak with a 56-36 rout of Florida Atlantic on Friday night.
The junior from Kapolei, Hawaii, completed 21 of 32 passes for 306 yards without an interception, and the Knights (3-0) won for the 16th straight time to set a record for consecutive victories by an American Athletic Conference team.
Milton scored on runs of 12, 9 and 13 yards, using a nifty jump cut to avoid a defender and get into the end zone on the last one.
Touchdown passes of 12 yards to Dredrick Snelson, 21 yards to Marlon Williams and 19 yards to Gabriel Davis hiked Milton's career total to 56 - tied with Blake Bortles for fourth-most in school history.
FAU (2-2) stayed close for a half, but ultimately couldn't keep pace with the prolific UCF offense. Devin Singletary rushed for 131 yards and three TDs for the Owls, who finished with 320 yards on the ground.
UCF led 21-17 at the half, letting a two-touchdown lead slip away and falling behind on a second-quarter field goal before regaining control on Milton's TD pass to Williams.
The Knights used an early interception to set up Milton's first TD run and then drove 92 yards in 10 plays to go up 14-0 on Snelson's TD reception midway through the first quarter.
But FAU, which won the Sun Belt Conference in its first season under coach Lane Kiffin, was unfazed.
Chris Robison settled down after throwing the interception that led to UCF's first touchdown and fed the UCF defense a steady diet of Singletary. The Owls battled back by putting together a couple of time-consuming scoring drives that kept Milton off the field.
Singletary's first touchdown finished an 11-play, 71-yard march. The Owls also held the ball for six minutes, driving 54 yards to position Vladimir Rivas to kick a 32-yard field goal for a short-lived 17-14 lead.
Robison was intercepted three times and finished 13 of 26 passing for 124 yards, including a 23-yard TD throw to Kerrith Whyte late in the third quarter.
THE TAKEAWAY
Florida Atlantic: The Owls entered the season with hopes of working their way into the playoff conversation in December. Those aspirations were dashed by a 63-14 loss at Oklahoma, but Friday was an opportunity to knock UCF off course to be part of the debate
UCF: Milton finished eighth in Heisman Trophy voting last season, when he helped UCF go 13-0, including a victory over Auburn in the Peach Bowl. With UCF trailing 17-14, he took over the game by going 4 of 4 for 74 yards on the Knights' go-ahead drive and then ran for a pair of scores in the third quarter to build the lead to 35-17.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
UCF moved up two spots in the Top 25 despite having an unscheduled bye week because of Hurricane Florence, which forced last week's game at North Carolina to be canceled. Beating FAU won't bolster the Knights' case for a higher ranking, but they could benefit if teams ahead of them stumble.
UP NEXT
Florida Atlantic: Conference USA opener at Middle Tennessee next Saturday.
UCF: Hosts Pittsburgh next Saturday in its final nonconference game.
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