UCF improved to 2-0 and won their first American Athletic Conference game with a 51-28 victory at ECU.

For the second straight week, the Knights produced more than 600 yards of total offense and had another big takeaway day on defense, forcing four turnovers.

UCF will make their Bounce House debut this Saturday against Tulsa. As a program, the Golden Hurricane represent the last time UCF lost (34-31 decision on Nov. 8, 2019 in Tulsa) and also the last time UCF lost at home (35-20 on Nov. 19, 2016).

Here's everything head coach Josh Heupel said at his weekly Monday press conference.

Now that you've had time to look at the film, what stood out against ECU and the penalties that you had?

"The penalties do stand out. We've got to get that corrected. It's a huge part of the football game. Making the situations tougher for us offensively. Defensively, extending the possession for those guys. Pre-snap, post-whistle penalties got to stop. Occasionally there's going to be a playing penalty when you're trying to play hard and aggressive. You can live with those. The other ones have to be eliminated. We have to find a way to do that by the time we get to Saturday night."

What was the cause of all those pre-snap penalties and what do you have to do to improve it?

"Up front, our guys got to be dialed in and pay attention and listening to Dillon and the cadence. Out on the perimeter, our guys should be watching the football. At the end of the day, we just didn't start very fast and weren't dialed into our assignments early. We've got to find a way to do that. Start fast on the offensive side of it and put us in a positive situation."

With a two-game sample this season, what areas can you see that Dillon Gabriel has made growth since last year?

"I think what we were anticipating going into the game and some of the things that he was seeing on the other side of the football that were different from our preparation. His ability to comprehend, understand alignment, assignment from what he's seeing on the other side of the football and how that affects where he needs to go with the football with the concepts we're running. Could be in the run game or pass game. I think that's the biggest growth maturation from where he was a year ago."

Daniel Obarski went 3-for-3 on Saturday. What have you seen in his growth since last season and how he earned the starting kicking job?

"He's had a big leg since he showed up on campus. That was evident during the recruiting process. I thought last year as the season went on became much more consistent in his kickoffs. More confident and comfortable in what he's doing. His technique improved. I think Coach Toth did a great job on him throughout last year. Heading into this season, limited opportunities in spring ball, felt like he was off to a great start. Since he's gotten back, continued to grow and refine his technique and become more consistent. Our football team has a lot of confidence in him and obviously he went out there and performed the right away, getting an opportunity to go 3-for-3."

Your defense has stood out in the first two games, particularly in the secondary. What can you say about those guys?

"I think they're playing with great technique. They're understanding their assignment. They haven't had very many coverage busts. They're not leaving guys running free on the back end of it very often. I think we've got some maturity back there with Aaron Robinson and Richie Grant, guys that have played a lot of football. Zamari (Maxwell) is starting to come into his own after getting a lot of reps a year ago. There have been young guys who have performed well when given the opportunity. They haven't performed like young guys. That's how they've been since they've got on campus. We're long. We're athletic. We play tight coverage and they're confident when the ball is in the air. You don't see them freak out. They're mature and play to the ball very well."

From the early second quarter through the rest of the game, you had Ja'Cyais Credle out there replacing Ryan O'Keefe in four-receiver sets. Talk about that move and what you saw?

"We have a ton of confidence in Stretch as we do in Ryan. I think you've seen in the first couple weeks there's a lot of guys at the wide receiver position that we're really comfortable with putting in the game and targeting. Wanted to get Stretch some opportunities. He earned that in practice. I thought Ryan performed extremely when given the opportunity. You'll see a rotation as those guys play. We played in more four-receiver sets than we probably did a year ago. So more and more guys will have those opportunities as we get into drives and sub in and out."

What does it show about your team, that even after the four false-start penalties, they were able to score after that?

"I thought we overcame some long yardage situation during the course of that drive. One was a 2nd-and-real long as we get started, backed ourselves up after the four false starts. Faced another 3rd-and-10 in that drive. I thought our guys did a great job of executing. When it was one-on-one matchups, Dillon was decisive and accurate with the football. I think it speaks to our ability to overcome and play the next play independent of the previous play."

As an offense that wants to go as fast as possible, do officiating crews in some respects have to learn how to call a UCF game in terms of getting the ball set as fast as you'd like? Is that something changes week to week? Do you look in advance and see a crew you've worked with before and say, I like how fast these guys work and maybe some other crews, not as much?

"I think there is some ebb and flow and some differences between different crews and their ability to get the ball down and get it set. Some of that we're responsible for too. Our ball mechanics once the play finishes is important as well. We do want to play with tempo. Our guys have to operate that way. With officials, you want consistency with them throughout the course of a game and also from crew to crew."

You were able to get a better push from your defensive line in the second half, getting to the ECU quarterback, what have you seen from that group in creating negative plays?

"I think they've been relentless. I think that shows up in the second half when you can wear on your opponent. I think that's led to some of the turnovers in the second half of the ballgames. I think our ability to rotate guys and not have any drop off in our front four as we substitute has been critical too. Our guys can go in and play as hard as they possibly can and when they can't go anymore we put in the next group."

What's the status of Otis Anderson? How is he feeling after that game? Looks like he got nicked up.

"Yeah, got nicked up early in the football game. We haven't been back on the practice field, but this morning was a light jog and lift. I full anticipate being 100 percent here."

Everybody seems this offense as a high-powered offense, big play offense, how much does that speed and the ability to take the top off a defense really help your wide receiver screen game and quick hitches? When Dillon was rolling in the second and third quarters, you were relying on those kind of passes.

"I think the ability to be balanced in everything that you're doing is critical to what you're trying to do offensively. If you become one-dimensional, whether that's in the pass game or in the run game, inevitably teams are going to be able to catch up to you and stop what you're doing. I think our ability to maintain balance, be able to run the football is critical to who and what we are. Create some isolation and one-on-one matchups that we're able to take advantage of and push the ball down the field. The speed we have on the perimeter also makes it scary to play super tight coverage at times and the ability to use your perimeter screen game is critical as it becomes an extension of your run game."

Greg McCrae, being a senior, can you speak to the importance of what he brings to the team on and off the field?

"I've said this about Greg since we first got here. He went from a walk-on to being put on scholarship. His consistency in who he is and how he approaches every day is the No. 1 thing he brings to the table. He's got a great skill set. He understands what we're doing. In that way, he's provided great leadership for the running back group but also four our offense and football team every day that he's part of our program. I think that's why when guys get nicked up in week one that he can bounce back and play the way that he did this past Saturday."

Is there anything about playing at home that becomes more difficult with the COVID protocols?

"For us, there's a comfort in playing at home because of your routine and your hotel. Your food is consistent. It's what our players know. It will not be the exact same that it's been in years past because of certain protocols. I think what's different for us that you're running out of the tunnel in your home stadium with your crowd there. 20 or 25 percent capacity, it won't look and feel the exact same. Understanding that we still have to create our own energy and sustain it. That's a big part of Saturday evening for us as well."

Tulsa has only played one game against Oklahoma State. Their last game was cancelled because of COVID. What are your impressions of Tulsa an do you think your players maybe have a sour taste in their mouth last season with how that game went at Tulsa?

"We certainly recognize and were disappointed we weren't able to find a win last year on the road. I think the biggest thing for us is realizing the quality of opponent that they are. They've got good players. Who they are physically. Their ability to move and run. Their size on both sides of the line of scrimmage. Got to be able to control the line of scrimmage. I thought we lost that a year ago on both sides of the football. I think you look at how they've played the second half of the season, every ballgame was tight. The way they performed against Oklahoma State. This is a really good football team that continues to get better under their head coach. For us, it's about doing the things we need to do to play our best football. We've got to eliminate the penalties, take care of the football, create turnovers on the defensive side, win the field position battle and we've got to score when we're in the red zone."

How special will this Saturday be considering everything you guys have gone through?

"Unique in that we started the first two weeks on the road. Our kids are excited about playing a home game and having some of their family here. All the local kids that we have here throughout the state, their family and friends can travel to the ballgame. I think that's big for them. The fanbase being able to come in. This is our next opponent, our first one at home, our kids are definitely excited about playing this game."