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UCF Knights spoil the opening night party for Butch Davis and FIU

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Butch Davis returned to the sidelines on Thursday night.

It wasn’t much of a night to remember.

The host UCF Knights didn't give Davis a grand welcome to the old college game as they rolled to a 30-point halftime lead and beat FIU 61-17 in the season-opener for both teams.

The Knights, who went 6-7 last season, put up 447 yards of offense — in just the first half.

FIU, which went 4-8 in 2016 and lost to the Knights by 39 last year, kept things close for a bit on Thursday.

After UCF scored on its opening possession, the Panthers came back and made it an 8-7 game on a 75-yard catch-and-run from quarterback Alex McGough to senior Thomas Owens with 9:30 left in the first.