Oct. 19, 2009
ORLANDO (UCFAthletics.com) - UCF resumes its Conference USA schedule when it will meet Rice in Houston Saturday at 3:30 p.m. The Knights will be looking for their first road win of the year this weekend after tough losses at Southern Miss and East Carolina.
THE OPENING DRIVE
? The Knights hope to improve to 4-3 for the third time in five years.
? A disciplined team, UCF ranks 10th in the nation for fewest penalties and 16th for fewest penalty yards.
? UCF has the best rushing defense in C-USA and ranks 10th in the nation.
? The Knights also rank second in C-USA in scoring defense and third in total defense.
? UCF's powerful defensive line has helped the team rank 10th nationally in tackles for loss and 11th in sacks.
? UCF's six sacks vs. Miami were one shy of the O'Leary era high.
? Brynn Harvey ranks 26th in the nation in rushing at 93.50 ypg.
? The Knights have 16 pass plays of 20 yards or more this year after having just 12 all of last year.
? UCF has had four scoring drives of 80 yards or longer in its last three games.
? The Knights stand at 3-3 despite never leading at the half.
? UCF ranks fourth nationally in kickoff coverage and 13th in punt coverage.
? The Knights are 10-8 in C-USA road games and 2-2 in Texas.
? UCF starts a stretch where three of its next four games are against teams from Texas.
? Rice Stadium is one of five where UCF has played that has also hosted a Super Bowl.
TEAM NOTES
RESILIENT KNIGHTS SHOW THEIR HEART
? No mountain has seemed too steep for the Knights in 2009 as the team is 3-3 despite never leading at the half. Even both of UCF's C-USA losses nearly saw the Knights rally to win as both games dramatically got down to onside-kick situations. The Knights have been outscored 71-34 in the first half this year and outscored opponents 89-56 after intermission.
29 WAS FINE
? UCF scored 29 second-half points to secure its C-USA win over Memphis. It was the most points that UCF had scored in the second half of a game since scoring 31 at Buffalo on Nov. 9, 2002.
DON'T CALL IT A COMEBACK
? UCF trailed defending MAC Champion Buffalo 17-7 at the half on Sept. 19 but scored 16 unanswered second-half points to win the game 23-17. It marked the first time the Knights rallied back from a double-digit deficit to win since Nov. 19, 2005. UCF trailed Rice by 12, 21-9, at the half in Houston before rallying to win 31-28.
KNIGHTS ARE .500 THROUGH SIX
? For the second time in three years and the third time in five years, UCF stands with an even .500 record through six games at 3-3. UCF won its seventh game both previous times to improve to 4-3.
OFFENSE NOTES
THE BIG PLAY IS BACK
? UCF promised to get more dynamic on offense this year and thus far has delivered. The Knights have 16 passing plays of at least 20 yards through six games. In all of 2008, UCF had a total of just 12 completions of 20 yards or more. Six different Knights have a catch of at least 20 yards already this year while only four did all of last year.
KNIGHTS ABLE TO PUT LONG DRIVES TOGETHER
? A clear sign of UCF's improved offense in 2009 is its ability to sustain long drives. UCF has had four scoring marches of at least 11 plays through its first six games this year after having just five in 12 games a year ago. UCF had scoring drives of over 8:30 against both Southern Miss and Buffalo, a feat it had not accomplished since 2007.
- Against the Bulls, UCF had two separate 14-play scoring drives. It was the first time that UCF had two scoring drives of at least 14 plays in the same game since the 1993 NCAA Division I-AA Playoffs at Youngstown State.
- Against Memphis, UCF secured the victory with a 92-yard fourth quarter touchdown drive, its longest march since a 99-yard drive against Marshall in 2007 and tying for the second-longest of the six-year George O'Leary era.
- It all adds up to first downs. UCF's 28 vs. Memphis were its most in a game since ECU on Oct. 6, 2007.
HE'S THE GUY-TON
? Wide receiver A.J. Guyton missed the entire 2008 season with an injury but showed that he was back to his old self at East Carolina, hauling in a career-high nine passes for 119 yards. The nine receptions tied for the most by a Knight since current Jacksonville Jaguar Mike Sims-Walker caught 13 passes against Rice on Oct. 21, 2006.
HARVEY'S DANGEROUS FOR OPPONENTS
? Sophomore Brynn Harvey is 26th in the nation in rushing, averaging 93.50 yards per game. Harvey ran for 219 in UCF's win over Memphis, the 10th-highest total in a nation in a game this year. He proved to be a workhorse in that game, carrying the ball 42 times, third-most in school history and the most nationally this year. He ran for 111 yards and two scores in UCF's season-opening win over Samford. It was just the second time in the FBS era (since 1996) that a Knight eclipsed the century mark on opening day. He narrowly missed having another against Buffalo, ending up with 98. Harvey has six rushing touchdowns through six games. UCF as a team had just eight all of last year.
DEFENSE NOTES
NO RUNNING ALLOWED
? UCF tops C-USA in rushing defense, and ranks 10th nationally, yielding just 90.33 yards per game. UCF is second in the league in scoring defense (21.17 ppg) and third in total defense (344.17 ypg).
CONTINUING TO BRING THE PRESSURE
? UCF ranks 10th in the nation, and second in C-USA, in TFLs with 8.17 per game, continuing its 2008 pace where UCF was third nationally at 8.17 TFLs per game. A total of 13 Knights have at least half of a TFL. UCF is also 11th nationally and first in C-USA in sacks with 3.00 per game.
HALLMAN STOPPING EVERYONE IN HIS PATH
? Linebacker Derrick Hallman, who switched to OLB from his safety position for the Miami game, led UCF in tackles in back-to-back games vs. Buffalo and at ECU and is tied for the team lead with 48 tackles in 2009. Meanwhile, he notched UCF's first interception of 2009 when Buffalo was trying to take the lead with less than three minutes left in the fourth quarter. One week later vs. the Pirates, he racked up 13 tackles. Only Cory Hogue had collected 13 tackles (13 vs. UTEP No. 24, 2007) or more dating back to Jason Venson's 14 against ECU on Nov. 4, 2006.
BRUCE IS LOOSE
? C-USA's sack leader, Bruce Miller had 3.5 TFLs, including 2.5 sacks, in UCF's win over Memphis. For the year he has 7.5 TFLs and 5.5 sacks, tying him for 41st and 20th nationally in those categories.
JARVIS GATHERS SACKS
? Jarvis Geathers played a huge role in UCF's come-from-behind win over Buffalo, recording three second half sacks, forcing fumbles on two of those which were recovered by the Knights. One of the fumbles set up the game-tying field goal and the other effectively ended the game with 0:26 to play. He ranks 20th in the nation with 5.5 sacks and first in Conference USA, tied with teammate Bruce Miller.
HURRICANE HOGUE
? Cory Hogue was a disruptive force against Miami on Oct. 17, recording 3.5 TFLs and two of UCF's six sacks on the night. He is tied for the team lead with 48 tackles and 7.5 TFLs on the year.
YOUNG IS RESTLESS
? Through six games in 2009 junior linebacker Lawrence Young has seven TFLs. He also has a sack, interception and fumble recovery to his credit in 2009. Young is third on the team with 46 total tackles.
BEND BUT DON'T BREAK
? UCF has been solid in the red zone defensively all year and ranks 34th overall nationally with an opponent scoring percentage of 76. UCF has been particularly stingy against touchdowns, yielding just seven on the year in 17 opposing trips to the red zone, the fewest in C-USA.
SERIES NOTES
UCF VS. RICE
? UCF and Rice split their first two meetings right after the Knights joined C-USA in 2005. UCF took a 31-28 decision in Houston in 2005 en route to the 2005 East Division title. The Knights lost, 40-29, to the Owls at the Citrus Bowl in 2006.
ALL SQUARE OUT WEST
? Since joining Conference USA, UCF is an even .500 against every West Division team except for SMU (2-0). In addition to its 1-1 mark vs. Rice, since 2005 UCF is 1-1 vs. Houston, Tulane and UTEP while holding a 2-2 mark vs. Tulsa, including a similarly-even 1-1 record vs. the Golden Hurricane in the C-USA Championship Game.
RICE CONNECTIONS
? The Knights' lone Texan, Theo Goins, is from the Houston area where he played at Hightower High School...UCF safety Reggie Weams and Rice wide receiver Toren Dixon were teammates at Redemptionist High School in Baton Rouge.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
? The Knights are 10-8 all-time in C-USA road games and are 2-2 in their last four outings. UCF is 2-2 all-time against C-USA foes in Texas, beating Rice in 2005 and SMU in 2007 but losing last year at UTEP and in 2006 at Houston.
DEEP IN THE HEART OF TEXAS
? UCF will play three of its next four games against teams from the state of Texas and two of the next three in the Lone Star State. After a home date against Marshall next week, the Knights will head to Austin to face the Longhorns on Nov. 7. UCF then returns to Orlando and will play host to Houston a week later on Nov. 14. UCF also faced three Texas teams in 2007, losing at home to Texas but beating SMU in Dallas and UTEP in Orlando.
A SUPER SITE
? UCF will be playing in a venue that has hosted a Super Bowl this week. Rice Stadium was the site of the Miami Dolphins' victory over the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl VIII. It is one of five Super Bowl sites where the Knights have played. UCF has also played contests in its brief football history at Land Shark Stadium (vs. Miami), the Louisiana Superdome (vs. Tulane), Raymond James Stadium (vs. South Florida) and Sun Devil Stadium (vs. Arizona State).