Aug. 31, 2005
COLUMBIA, S.C. - UCF opens the 2005 season in primetime on Thursday, visiting South Carolina for a nationally televised contest. The game marks the first collegiate football broadcast of the year for ESPN.
For the fourth straight year, UCF will open the season in front of a national television audience as kickoff is slated for 7:52 p.m. at Williams-Brice Stadium. Mike Tirico and Kirk Herbstreit will call the game for ESPN, with Erin Andrews reporting from the sidelines.
Fans in Florida can listen live to the UCF ISP Sports Network and its flagship station, 740-The Team AM (WQTM). Marc Daniels and Gary Parris will have the call, while Jerry O'Neill will handle the sideline duties. Network affiliates include WMMV-1350 in Cocoa, WDCF-1350 Dade City, WROD-1340 in Daytona Beach, WMMB-1240 Melbourne and WWCN-770 in Ft. Myers.
The two teams will be meeting for the third time on the gridiron. Both previous games were in Columbia, with the Gamecocks claiming both contests. UCF's first matchup with South Carolina came in 1996; the Golden Knights first as a Division 1-A program. South Carolina took the contest, 33-14. The teams met again the following year. Despite throwing for 299 yards and three touchdowns, Daunte Culpepper could not lead the Golden Knights to victory, and South Carolina escaped with a 33-31 win.
About South Carolina
The Gamecocks spent the offseason saying goodbye to one coaching legend, and welcoming another. The retirement of Lou Holtz set the stage for Steve Spurrier to return to the college sidelines. Spurrier served as the head coach at Florida for 11 years, winning a national title with the Gators. After leaving Florida following the 2001 season, he spent two years as head coach of the Washinginton Redskins in the National Football League.
"This game is about our players against their players," said Spurrier. "I know sometimes the coaches; we get way too much spotlight of the game. I wish it wasn't that way but I understand that is how it's going to be."
South Carolina, which went 6-5 last year, returns 10 starters this season. The Gamecocks will have a new quarterback this year, as Syville Newton, their leading passer and rusher from 2004, moved to wide receiver. Taking over at quarterback is Blake Mitchell. The sophomore completed just 9-of-22 passes as a backup in 2004, but appears ready to take over the starting reigns. In the backfield, Bobby Wallace, is listed as the starter at tailback. The true freshman was a finalist for South Carolina's Mr. Football award a year ago.
About UCF
Thursday night marks the kickoff of season two of the George O'Leary era at UCF. The season also marks the first in Conference USA for the Golden Knights, who are moving from the Mid-American Conference. In O'Leary's first campaign with UCF a year ago, the Golden Knights posted an 0-11 mark.
At South Carolina, the Golden Knights are expecting to play in front of a boisterous crowd. The team practiced earlier in the week with artificial noise to prepare for the conditions.
"It will be interesting to see how we handle the crowd there, the noise factor there," said O'Leary. "I think we are under the radar a little bit with this one, but I will be very surprised if we don't go up and play very well."
UCF returns just six senior starters this year, the third lowest total in the nation. Senior Brandon Marshall is the top returning wide receiver. Marshall started off last season at wideout and caught eight passes for 84 yards through three games. A rash of injuries on the defensive side of the football forced Marshall to play defensive back for the remainder of the year. He ended up leading the team with 51 tackles.
Junior Steven Moffett lines up under center for the Golden Knights. He was forced to give up his redshirt freshman year in 2003 when then-senior quarterback Ryan Schneider was suspended near the end of the season. Last year, he entered the fall as top quarterback on the depth chart, but then was pulled in and out of the lineup as the season progressed. After an excellent preseason camp, Moffett enters the season as the starter. In 2004, he threw for nine touchdowns and also posted a 64.2 percent completion rate.
Junior Dontavius Wilcox takes over at the tailback position for the departed Alex Haynes. Wilcox, who rushed for 215 yards on 61 carries last year, has also had a solid preseason to push him to the top of the depth chart. Haynes, the school's all-time leading rusher, is now with the Baltimore Ravens.