2014 Bitcoin Bowl: UCF will play without starting offensive lineman, second-leading receiver

Central Florida has a pretty healthy roster heading into the Bitcoin Bowl on Friday night, but the Knights are going to have to play without a pair of key contributors: center/guard Joey Grant and wide receiver J.J. Worton.

Grant had surgery on a shoulder last week, leaving the Knights with a hole at right guard. Grant appeared in nine games during the regular season, making eight starts. He started all of UCF's games at center in 2013.

Worton tore an ACL against Southern Methodist in November, so UCF at least has had a couple of games to get used to playing without him (and the Knights won both). Worton finished all four of his seasons at UCF with at least 500 yards receiving, and ended 2014 with 514 yards and five touchdowns. He is third on the team in receptions, second in receiving yardage, and second in receiving scores.

The Knights have decent depth at wide receiver, though, with three guys other than Worton with 30+ grabs this season. Big-play guy Breshad Perriman leads UCF with 906 yards receiving on just 41 grabs, which is an average of more than 22 yards per catch. He's got nine scores. Seniors Josh Reese and Rannell Hall have a combined 75 receptions this season.