Short-yardage / goal-line · enumeration
Who gets the tough yard
7/30Inside-5 share
7 of the team's 30 inside-the-5 carries (23.3%).
Taj McGowan
Taj McGowan: RB · UCF · #4.
Similar players
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Taj McGowan
Does a little of everything without one standout trait. Played for three head coaches at UCF: George O'Leary, Scott Frost and Josh Heupel. A game that shows it: 81 rushing yards and 2 rushing TD against Memphis — Week 7, 2018.
Style of play
Style of play
Play style
Plays within the scheme — consistent production without a dominant dimension.
Fans
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
UCF in the news
- Big 12 addresses UCF fan chants
- UCF beats BYU for first time
Yahoo Sports Oct 29 - Baylor fires Dave Aranda
- UCF names QB vs BaylorYahoo Sports Oct 26
Where to follow
Career stats
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
Game log
Game log · Week-by-week
2018 season · 13 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 56-17@ UConn | 3 | 34 | 11.3 | 0 | 23 | |
| Wk 2 | W 38-0vs South Carolina State | 9 | 33 | 3.7 | 0 | 9 | |
| Wk 4 | W 56-36vs Florida Atlantic | 7 | 35 | 5.0 | 1 | 9 | |
| Wk 5 | W 45-14vs Pittsburgh | 5 | 36 | 7.2 | 0 | 21 | |
| Wk 6 | W 48-20vs SMU | 5 | 15 | 3.0 | 0 | 6 | |
| Wk 7 | W 31-30@ Memphis | 4 | 81 | 20.3 | 2 | 71 | Season-high 81 yds |
| Wk 8 | W 37-10@ East Carolina | 5 | 29 | 5.8 | 0 | 16 | |
| Wk 10 | W 52-40vs Temple | 6 | 56 | 9.3 | 2 | 27 | |
| Wk 11 | W 35-24vs Navy | 6 | 16 | 2.7 | 1 | 5 | |
| Wk 12 | W 38-13vs No. 19 Cincinnati | 6 | 50 | 8.3 | 0 | 22 | |
| Wk 13 | W 38-10@ South Florida | 11 | 72 | 6.5 | 1 | 20 | |
| Wk 14 | W 56-41vs Memphis | 2 | 7 | 3.5 | 0 | 5 | |
 Bowl | L 32-40vs No. 11 LSU | 2 | 6 | 3.0 | 1 | 4 | |
| Total | 71 | 470 | 6.6 | 8 | 71 |
Signature game
Week 7 · 2018
W 31-30
at Memphis
81 rush yds (4 car) · 2 TD
Edged out Memphis on the road in a shootout.
With M. Loudermilk — 42.1 yards per punt · 7 punts · 2 inside the 20 · M. Milton — 296 yds · 1 TD · 0 INT
Signature plays
The plays that mattered most
- Week 7 · Memphis · 4th and 1 · Q3 · EPA +6.95Taj McGowan 71 Yd Run
- Week 11 · Navy · 2nd and 12 · Q2 · EPA −3.98Taj McGowan run for 4 yds to the Navy 13 Taj McGowan fumbled, recovered by Navy Taylor Heflin
- Week 2 · South Carolina State · 4th and 3 · Q3 · EPA −3.72Taj McGowan run for 2 yds to the SCSt 13
- Week 11 · Navy · 3rd and 2 · Q1 · EPA +2.54Taj McGowan run for 2 yds for a TD (Matthew Wright KICK)
- Week 1 · LSU · 3rd and 2 · Q4 · EPA +2.54Taj McGowan run for 2 yds for a TD (Darriel Mack Jr. pass to Otis Anderson for Two-Point Conversion)
- Week 4 · Florida Atlantic · 2nd and 6 · Q4 · EPA +2.53Taj McGowan run for 6 yds for a TD (Matthew Wright KICK)
4 more plays
- Week 10 · Temple · 1st and 10 · Q4 · EPA +2.51Taj McGowan 10 Yd Run
- Week 6 · SMU · 4th and 1 · Q2 · EPA +2.11Taj McGowan run for 2 yds to the SMU 44 for a
- Week 10 · Temple · 1st and 15 · Q2 · EPA +2.03Taj McGowan run for 27 yds to the Temp 25 for a
- Week 7 · Memphis · 4th and 1 · Q4 · EPA +1.98Taj McGowan run for 2 yds to the UCF 42 for a
Rushing profile
Rush profile · Shape, efficiency, and ball security
How he gets his yards, and how often it works
71 of 71 carries matched to play-by-play
Success rate
56%69 carriesFumble rate
1.4%1 of 71 carries · 1 lostStuffed
0 or fewer yds6%of carries
4 carries
Grind
1–3 yds35%of carries
25 carries
Chunk
4–9 yds44%of carries
31 carries
Explosive
10+ yds15%of carries
11 carries
8 of 8 (100%) converted on 3rd/4th & short (≤2 to go) · 5 of 7 (71%) scored from inside the 5-yard line
6.6 yds/carry on 71 carries · 15% explosive (10+ yds) · 56% success rate.
Teams and coaches
2015UCF0-12HC: George O'Leary · Balanced
2016UCF6-7HC: Scott Frost · Run-leaning
2017UCF13-0HC: Scott Frost · Run-leaning
2018UCF12-1HC: Josh Heupel · Run-leaning, fast tempo
Our ratings
Splits
Home and road splits, scheme and staff
Splits · Per-game
2018 season · 13 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home8g | 31.0 | 5.3 | 0.5 |
| Road4g | 54.0 | 11.0 | 0.8 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 34.3 | 7.6 | 0.6 |
| Weeks 8+6g | 38.3 | 6.0 | 0.7 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Josh Heupel
Pass share
40.0%
393 pass / 589 run
Plays / game
75.5
13 games
Team sack rate
4.4%
431 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning, fast tempo.
Awards
Player standing · 2018
71 carries and 1 catch in 13 games
Fewer touches a game than most FBS running backs who play every week.
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Four seasons at UCF
- 2018 UCF HeupelYear 4 · 13 games
- 2017 UCF FrostYear 3 · 10 games
- 2016 UCF FrostYear 2 · 9 games
- 2015 UCF O'LearyYear 1 · 8 games
- High school HallandaleHallandale, FL · Class of 2015Three-star, No. 1,412 in the 2015 class. Signed with UCF.
How it ended
Four seasons at UCF, 1,123 rushing yards — the college career is complete.
A stat line in 40 games over four seasons.
2015 8 games
- Signed with UCFThree-star, out of Hallandale
Coaching lineage · 2015–2018
3 coachesPlayed under 3 different head coaches: George O'Leary, Scott Frost, and Josh Heupel. Multi-era developmental context.