UCF had 639 yards of total offense and 454 rushing yards in their season-opening 57-3 win against New Hampshire.

The running backs showed why they're elite. RJ Harvey led the pack with 142 yards and two touchdowns. Peny Boone had 81 yards and a score. Myles Montgomery had 77 rushing yards, but he also had a 49-yard receiving touchdown. Johnny Richardson accumulated 62 yards between the run and pass.

Defensively, the Knights appeared to be much improved under Ted Roof. Linebacker Deshawn Pace led the way with five tackles and nearly had a pick-six. Braeden Marshall had four tackles, including two TFLs.

On special teams, Colton Boomer was a perfect 2-for-2 on field goals and looking strong on kickoffs. Xavier Townsend looked great in the punt return game.

The only area of concern was quarterback KJ Jefferson, who appeared rusty in the passing game though did rebound a bit in the second half.

Here's everything head coach Gus Malzahn said afterward.

Opening statement:

"Okay, first of all, proud of our team, taking care of business with a convincing win against a lesser opponent. Looking at the game, I just told the players, the thing that stood out to me is only three penalties. We had a face mask. I think we had a late hit late in the game with one of our backups, and we had to delay a game on a field goal, and we ended up making it. But the three penalties, we've been really focused on not beating ourselves.

"Now, defensively, we played a big-time game. I think (Deshawn) Pace's interception, that was the one that really turned the game into being able to breathe a little bit and play. With that, (Ladarius) Tennison had the blocked punt right there. He was one of the better special teams players in college football last year, and it showed.

"Xavier Townsend was big-time in the return game, I thought, and had a really good field position.

"Offensively, the first quarter really struggled. We had a little trouble. We had some sacks. I called a couple bad plays, put our quarterback in a bind a few times, and then we were able to kind of get in a rhythm, be able to run the football, play fast. Second half, we kind of got going.

"So, real excited. I think we rushed for 454 yards, and I think everybody sees we've got real running backs. When you put in the backups and they're guys that would start for most teams in America, the running back's right there.

"There's a lot to build on. I told our guys there were some mistakes, but the great thing is they're all correctable. I think any time that you've got 50 new players, that's to be expected at certain points.

"But I'm excited for our guys. We're 1-0. We've got a little extra time before Game Two."

Coach, how would you evaluate KJ Jefferson's debut, particularly from a passing standpoint?

"Yeah, I thought after that first quarter, I think he settled in, started playing. I mean, obviously, he'd like to have the interception back right there, but he responded, came back. I think he threw two touchdowns after that and really, you know, started getting more in control of the offense."

Gus, you spent a lot of the offseason talking about toughness and putting this team through the wringer a little bit to strain them. How do you think you saw that pay off?

"I think our guys, they played hard now. They played their guts out. They were flying around. Our defense was flying around, and I think you can see we've got some playmakers on defense. We've got quite a few more experienced guys that played a lot of football, and you saw that.

"And then offensively, it's just learning to play with each other. New quarterback, a couple new running backs, new receivers, a couple things like that, some new starters up front. So it's just a matter of correcting the things.

"I've said this every year in game one, but the good teams from game one to game two improve more than any other time, and we need to do that, and I really think we can."

Coach, you mentioned the first quarter struggles and then some of the mental stuff. The idea was to keep this team mentally tough. Do you think an element of it was just perhaps butterflies in a season opener?

"I don't know. I think we just didn't really do a real good job of executing. The unique thing about offense is 11 guys got to do what they're supposed to do. And if one guy doesn't, it makes everything look bad.

"Like I said, I made a couple bad calls. I put a quarterback in a bind twice early on. That didn't help, so I got to do a better job of that."

What did you think of the impact of the transfer players during this game?

"Like I said, defensively, Pace, he almost picked six that thing. He's a dynamic player. The other guys, the veteran guys played really good on defense, so I thought it was really good."

Coach, when you look at your halftime interview, there was a sense of dissatisfaction, I would say. What was your message to the team in the locker room given that they came out and went out to win?

"Well, I mean, I wasn't happy. We slopped around on offense. Y'all saw it the first quarter. Second quarter, we got in a rhythm. We scored right there, got in a rhythm. We scored right before halftime. That was good. Hey, we got to respond.

"And I just told our guys, it's 0-0, go out like a championship team in the second half, and let's get better, and let's play. And I feel like they did that."

You mentioned that KJ hasn't gone live in the scrimmages. Did you think there was any element of rust or lack of confidence?

"Obviously it's been a year since he went live, but you could see him the second half. He started getting his pads down and doing some things and making some plays with his feet."

In a game like this where you're expected to handle your business against a lesser opponent, what do you look for in game one? What are you trying to take away from this?

"Yeah, my whole deal was you got 50 new players. How are guys going to respond? How are they going to respond to adversity? How are they going to respond to success? How are they going to respond? We got depth. I mean, guys ain't getting to play. Are they over there pouting, or are they a team? I mean, that's really what I'm looking for in a game like this.

"I feel like for the most part, from what I saw, I was happy. We got to keep building upon that. But we got the makings of a good football team. I'll tell you right now, what did we win by? 50-something to three or something like that? And there's a lot of things to improve on. That's the good thing.

"But I really feel good about this team. I think we got a chance to be really good."

You talked about how you have one of the better running back groups in the entire country. I believe you guys broke the program record for rushing yards. What did you see out of them today?

"Yeah. They're real running backs. They're all a little bit different. You put Peny (Boone) in there, and he's a full-grown man. He's running over linemen, offensive linemen, defensive linemen. He's got a little speed to him, too. Johnny (Richardson's) got his deal.

"Myles Montgomery, he's been like the MVP of fall camp. And he carried that over. And then RJ. RJ's elite, and I think everybody knows that.

"I think you'll see two of those guys on the field at the same time. You know, first game's first game. We're pretty vanilla. Okay? And sometimes when you're vanilla, you know, it is what it is. But we got a lot of good things to build upon."

You had a chance to put Jacurri Brown in during the fourth quarter. How did you evaluate him?

"That's good. There's nothing like getting in there to play. And it was good. He'd like to have a couple things back. But, you know, he's got a live arm. He can really run. It was good for him to get in there and play. And I know he had the fumble at the end. That was tough right there. But he did some good things while he was in.

Coach, you talked a lot about Deshawn Pace, the interception and how it just kind of changed the trajectory of the game in the first half. How do you think that maybe gave some confidence to KJ?

"Yeah, it all works together. Good teams find a way to pick each other up. Obviously the offense is struggling. He made that play right there and got a short field right there and scored right after that. That was one of the bigger plays of the game."

Coach, let's take it over to special teams for a minute. How did you feel about Xavier Townsend returning kicks tonight?

"Xavier Townsend, man, it's hard to grab his flag sometimes. I thought he did a really good job, broke tackles, showed a lot of courage going north-south, and he protected the football."

Working with helmet communication for the first time and the tablets, how did that go in a real-live game?

"Yeah, it's really good. The first game, we had some growing pains, there's no doubt about it. It was good to see the information. Halftime is completely different now, and so it was really good for us to go through that. We got to be better organized the next time in halftime.

"And then the helmet communication, my thought was early on to not say as much. And then we're getting used to working together and what are you like, because sometimes it's too much information. And so we kind of got in a better flow in that second half that I think we got some things to build upon moving forward."

First game of the season, blacked out, fans filled the stadium. How was it being in front of your fans?

"Oh, man, hats off to the fans. Man, on Thursday night, I mean, it was awesome. They were loud, real excited. That's what building into a program and getting to be a big-time program, I mean, that's what it's about. And hats off to our fans. Man, the first game on a Thursday night, that was really big time."

You talked about Xavier, but the versatility of how you used Xavier, how you used Randy Pittman, how you used Johnny Richardson and how you wanted to use them in your offense. Talk a little bit about how that worked out.

"Yeah, I know Randy didn't do a whole lot with the ball, but Randy's been one of the more consistent offensive players all through fall camp, and he will be in the mix moving forward. Johnny's Johnny. I mean, he's going to do stuff that other guys can't.

"They were doing some things. Give them guys credit, too. I mean, they were playing a four-down front, and they were taking chances, mixing matches. We had a couple ugly plays, with trying to draw a play. It was minus three or something like that. But, no, Johnny's the dynamic guy."

You said you wanted to see progress from game one to game two. What do you want to see more from KJ Jefferson during this next week?

"Yeah, I just think just getting more comfortable with our offense, be more efficient. That's probably the big thing. And playing a new offense with new players, there's going to be growing pains. That's to be expected. That was the first time we played an opponent and all that.

"So a lot of good things to build upon. I'm excited to watch him next week."

Braeden Marshall had a couple of early tackles. How has he taken ownership of that nickelback position?

"Yeah, Braeden's turning into one of our better all-around players. He's a confident guy. He's one of our best special teams players. And, you know, he's no longer a freshman. He's a real guy."