Mikey Keene, Fresno State Football News: Draft Scout Player News

11/05/22 - QB Mikey Keene, rJr/2026, Fresno State

Mikey Keene passed for 219 yards and three touchdowns and RJ Harvey rushed for 151 yards and a score to lead No. 25 UCF to a 35-28 win over Memphis on Saturday. UCF (7-2, 4-1 American Athletic Conference) handed Memphis (4-5, 2-4) its fourth consecutive loss, the Tigers' longest losing streak since 2013. Keene was pressed into his first start of the season after quarterback John Rhys Plumlee suffered an injury in last weekend's upset of nationally ranked Cincinnati. Plumlee sustained a possible concussion in UCF's 25-21 victory over the Bearcats. "I haven't been playing consistently for a little bit, but nonetheless we prevailed," Keene said. "I've been preparing like I was the starter, but it's always a little bit different coming out there. We had to fight through and that's what championship teams do." Keene rallied the Knights, who were held scoreless in the third quarter, by tossing two fourth-quarter touchdowns. The first was a 13-yard pass to Kobe Hudson early in the fourth quarter for a 28-21 UCF lead.

Hudson's second TD reception of the game came after the Knights stopped the Tigers on downs at the UCF 39 in the closing minutes of the third quarter. Keene added his third TD pass - and second of the quarter - with 4:58 left by finding Javon Baker on a perfect strike to the left corner of the end zone for a 35-21 advantage. "Mikey stepped in and handled himself like a champ like we thought he would," said UCF coach Gus Malzahn. Malzahn said Plumlee, an Ole Miss transfer, could have played, but hadn't practiced much until late in the week. "I just felt real strong that we needed to go with Mikey and give (Plumlee) a little more time," Malzahn said. "It was just a gut instinct." Keene, who completed 22 of 28 passes, was aided by a UCF defense that ranks No. 1 nationally in red zone defense. The Knights held Memphis scoreless on three trips inside the UCF 10-yard line in the first half. - UCF/AP College Football

rJr/2026