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Costly plays add up for the Knights

It was not as close as the score indicated. But it could have been.

Central Florida fell 27-24 to Penn State on Saturday at Happy Valley, extending its winless streak against ranked teams to 11.

The culprit this time? Well, there's the touchdown catch that wasn't. Wideout Doug Gabriel laid out for a 36-yard pass from Ryan Schneider with 2:30 left in the first half. He appeared to have control, and the lead, but the ball popped loose when he landed in the end zone.

"The ESPN guys told me the officials blew it," coach Mike Kruczek told the Orlando Sentinel. "Looking at the replay, I thought it was a touchdown. How is it not a touchdown?"

There were other plays. Schneider fumbled the snap on the second play of the second half and later that quarter threw a third-down pass over Jimmy Fryzel and into the hands of Penn State's Calvin Lowry. Penn State took a 20-9 lead from there, one that reached 27-9 before UCF's comeback. Then there's that blocked field goal in the fourth.

But the real culprit again, Kruczek said, was a failure to convert third and short. UCF made 11 of 19 third-down conversions and had 2.1 yards per carry.

"We worked all spring and all summer on how critical it is to run the ball when it becomes third and two or three," Kruczek said, "and we didn't get that accomplished Saturday."

WHAT A DEBUT: The Division I-AA quarterback completed 8 of 14 passes for 52 yards and a touchdown and rushed 13 times for 58 yards and another score against No. 1 Miami.

But it wasn't Casey Printers under center for Florida A&M in the second half Saturday against the defending I-A champion. It was senior backup Reggie Hayes.

The Miami Central grad shined in front of his hometown crowd at the Orange Bowl -- albeit playing against 'Canes reserves -- and accounted for 110 ofFAMU's 152 total yards.

As for Printers, he sat the bench that second half, trying to put a forgettable performance behind him after the Rattlers' 63-17 loss in a game that earned FAMU more than $300,000.

The record-setting senior transfer from Texas Christian was sacked six times and completed 8 of 22 passes for 42 yards, 24 before halftime.

Printers was asked to make his FAMU debut under the most trying circumstances, coach Billy Joe said, but he still expects the world of his new quarterback.

"I think Casey was a little nervous," Joe told the Tallahassee Democrat. "It was, of course, his first game as a Rattler. It was a very big game on national (pay-per-view) television. He may have been a bit nervous; I haven't spoken to him yet. I will sit down with him and evaluate his performance."

After the game, Printers told the Democrat: "Nothing was working. What can you do? I did my best. That's all I can ask for."

WELCOME BACK: XFL coaching refugee Pete Adrian is back at Bethune-Cookman, and it showed in Saturday's 41-9 Gateway Classic victory over Savannah State at Jacksonville's Alltel Stadium. With Adrian calling the defensive plays, the Wildcats allowed 172 yards on three completions and 53 rushing attempts. That's about 3 yards per play.

Coach Alvin Wyatt took over defensive coordinator duties last season on the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference's top-rated unit, but he was glad to give them back to Adrian, who coached for the Chicago Enforcers. Now Wyatt returns to offensive coordinator, heading a unit that rolled up 265 rushing yards, 109 passing yards and six touchdowns Saturday.

Tampa Catholic product Allen Suber rushed for three scores. The quarterback turned in a career-best 71-yard touchdown run off a draw with 10:57 left in the second quarter for a 14-0 lead.

-- Information from other news organizations was used in this report.

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