Sept. 26, 2005
UCF Game Notes in PDF Format
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ORLANDO - After snapping the nation's longest losing streak of 17 games, the UCF Golden Knights visit Louisiana-Lafayette in their final non-conference game of the season. The Golden Knights (1-2, 1-0 C-USA) shined in their inaugural Conference USA game last week, thundering past Marshall 23-13. The victory was the first-ever vs. Marshall in four tries and the first for head coach George O'Leary at UCF.
Louisiana-Lafayette (1-2) was idle last week. The Ragin' Cajuns defeated Northwestern State 49-28 two weeks ago for their first win of 2005.
The UCF ISP Sports Network begins pregame coverage at 6 p.m. with kickoff set for 8 p.m. The voice of the Golden Knights Marc Daniels will handle the play-by-play duties while Gary Parris provides color commentary and Jerry O'Neill patrols the sidelines. The radio broadcast is also available at ucfathletics.com.
Series Notes
UCF leads the all-time series 2-0. The last time the two schools met, UCF defeated the Ragin' Cajuns 31-0 at the Florida Citrus Bowl on November 24, 2001. UCF has not shut out a team since the 31-0 victory vs. Louisiana-Lafayette.
UCF stopped the Ragin' Cajuns 42-10 in its only visit to Cajun Field on October 24, 1998 with senior quarterback Daunte Culpepper at the controls.
UCF is 8-3 all-time vs. current Sun Belt conference members and 13-6 vs. schools from the state of Louisiana.
Tough Against the Run
In two of UCF's three games in 2005, the Golden Knights have recorded two of the top 10 defensive performances in Division I school history against the run. The Golden Knights limited South Carolina to 32 rushing yards in the season opener, then the seventh-best total in UCF single-game Division I history. The Gamecocks rushed 28 times for 32 yards, an average of 1.1 yards per attempt.
Against Marshall, the Thundering Herd were held to just 11 yards on the ground, the third-best total in the UCF record books. Marshall rushed 16 times for an average of 0.7 yards per rush.
Fewest Rushing Yards Allowed in a Game1. -20 vs. Louisiana-Monroe (10/21/00)2. -7 vs. Louisiana Tech (10/23/99)3. 11 vs. Marshall (9/24/05)4. 12 at Louisiana Tech (9/5/98)5. 20 vs. Eastern Kentucky (10/14/00)6. 30 at Eastern Michigan (9/30/00)6. 30 vs. Louisiana-Lafayette (11/24/01)8. 32 at South Carolina (9/1/05)9. 35 vs. UAB (10/6/01)10. 36 at Western Michigan (10/12/02)
With a Win ...
UCF would capture its first win on the road since November 23, 2002 at Miami of Ohio. The Golden Knights stopped Ben Roethlisberger and the RedHawks 48-31 in Oxford, Ohio.
A victory at Louisiana-Lafayette would also end the nation's longest losing streak on the road. UCF has lost 15 consecutive games away from the Citrus Bowl.
UCF would even its record on the season at 2-2 with a victory as well. The last time UCF won two straight games was at the end of the 2002 season as UCF closed out the year with four consecutive victories.
Starting on the Right Note
UCF's quick 17-0 start vs. Marshall was a first in the George O'Leary era. The last time UCF led by two touchdowns to start a game was November 2, 2002 vs. Syracuse. The Golden Knights scored the game's first 14 points vs. the Orange and led 17-3 before Syracuse rallied for a 38-35 victory.
UCF led at the half for the first time under O'Leary with a 17-0 advantage in the Marshall game.
Under Pressure
UCF's defensive line caused havoc on Marshall's two quarterbacks in UCF's 23-13 win over the Thundering Herd. The Golden Knights finished the game with four sacks and eight quarterback hurries.
Senior DE Paul Carrington set the tone on Marshall's first drive of the game with a sack of Marshall QB Bernie Morris, which led to a fumble and recovery by sophomore DT Keith Shologan. With the ball on the Marshall 12, UCF used three plays to grab an early 7-0 lead.
Senior DT Frisner Nelson also made a critical stop in the fourth quarter as he sacked Marshall QB Jimmy Skinner, forced a fumble and recovered the fumble - all on the same play.
Carrington led UCF with two sacks while Nelson and junior DE Kareem Reid each totaled one sack.
Winning the Battle on 3rd Down
For the second time in three games in 2005, both sides of the ball for UCF won the battle on third down vs. Marshall.
The Golden Knights converted 7-of-17 third down attempts while the defense limited Marshall to four third down conversions in 13 attempts.
Back on Track
Senior PK Matt Prater got back on track with three field goals vs. Marshall. Prater, who ranks sixth in school history in scoring, drilled three of his four field goal attempts, including two from 40-49 yard range.
Prater also booted three touchbacks on kickoffs.
Hitting Double-Digits
For the first time since 2002, UCF had a wide receiver catch at least 10 passes in a game in the season opener at South Carolina. Senior wide receiver Brandon Marshall became the first Golden Knight since Doug Gabriel to record 10 receptions in a game. Gabriel caught 10 passes for 206 yards vs. Syracuse (Nov. 2, 2002).
Marshall hauled in a career-high 10 receptions for 102 yards vs. the Gamecocks.
Double Trouble
UCF quarterback Steven Moffett is happy to have Mike Walker and Brandon Marshall back on offense. The two players spent part of 2004 in the UCF secondary, but both are back at wide receiver in 2005.
The duo both eclipsed the 100-yard mark in receiving yards in the season's first game at South Carolina.
Walker set career-highs in receptions (9) and receiving yards (105), including a 13-yard touchdown pass from Moffett. He is tied for 11th in the nation in receptions per game (7.0) and is 35th nationally in receiving yards per game (83.3).
Marshall established a personal-best with 10 catches for 102 yards vs. USC. The Winter Park native is 40th in the NCAA in receptions per game (5.67) and 59th in receiving yards per game (68.6).
The last time two UCF players both went over the century mark in receiving yards in one game was Walker and Marshall vs. Florida Atlantic in 2003.
Carrington Named C-USA POTW
Conference USA named Paul Carrington its defensive player of the week for his efforts in leading the Golden Knights to a 23-13 victory over Marshall in Saturday's C-USA contest. Carrington is the first UCF football player in school history to be named one of C-USA's Players of the Week.
Carrington led a UCF defense that held Marshall to 11 yards rushing and 13 points in a 23-13 UCF victory. The fifth-year senior totaled three tackles-for-loss and two sacks, including a sack and forced fumble of Marshall quarterback Bernie Morris to set up UCF's first touchdown of the game inside the Marshall 20.
On This Date
UCF is 3-0 all-time in games played on October 1.
Immediate Results
Freshman cornerback Joe Burnett did not play like a rookie at South Florida. The Eustis product totaled four tackles - two for loss - and returned two punts for 77 yards in his first career start.
Burnett's 60-yard punt return to the USF five-yard line set up UCF's first touchdown.
Against Marshall, Burnett recorded a career-high six tackles and returned three punts for 34 yards.
He leads Conference USA and ranks sixth in the nation in punt returns with an average of 22.2 yards per return.
Sack Attack
By the time UCF recorded its third sack of the season in 2004, the Golden Knights played six games. It only took one game in 2005 for UCF to record three sacks.
UCF sacked South Carolina's Blake Mitchell three times in the season opener. Seniors Paul Carrington and Frisner Nelson totaled one sack each while junior Chris Welsh notched his first career sack as well.
In the Marshall game, UCF had four sacks, including two by Carrington. He leads UCF with three sacks in 2005.
In UCF's last seven games, the Golden Knights have 17 sacks as a team.
Back to the Bayou
UCF has three natives of Louisiana on its roster in 2005. Sophomore DT Emeka Okammor and redshirt freshman CB Johnell Neal are both from Baton Rouge while sophomore WR Javid James is a native of New Orleans.
In the Month of October
Since joining Division I-A in 1996, the Golden Knights are 19-15 in the month of October.
UCF in October1996 1-21997 2-11998 4-01999 3-12000 3-12001 3-12002 2-12003 2-22004 0-5Totals 20-14 (.590)
Scouting Louisiana-Lafayette
Louisiana-Lafayette brings a record of 1-2 into Saturday's game vs. UCF. The Ragin' Cajuns lost at No. 2 Texas 60-3 in their season opener and lost 31-10 at Eastern Michigan before posting a 49-28 victory over Northwestern State.
The Ragin' Cajuns boast one of the nation's top rushing attacks. ULL averages 192 yards per game on the ground, 27th in the NCAA rankings.
Nationally, Louisiana-Lafayette ranks 75th in passing offense (205.3 ypg) and 48th in total offense (397.3 ypg). The Ragin' Cajuns average 20.6 points per game, 88th in the NCAA.
Defensively, Louisiana-Lafayette is near the bottom of the NCAA rankings. ULL is 108th in total defense (481 ypg) nationally. The Ragin' Cajuns are 113th in scoring defense (39.6 ppg), 115th in rushing defense (148.9 ypg) and 45th in pass defense (208.3 ypg).
Junior quarterback Jerry Babb leads the Ragin' Cajun attack. Babb ranks first in the Sun Belt in total offense, second in passing efficiency and ninth in rushing.
True freshman tailback Tyrell Fenroy is averaging 7.1 yards per carry and ranks third in the Sun Belt in rushing. He has 221 yards on 31 carries with one touchdown this season.
ULL Head Coach Rickey Bustle
Louisiana-Lafayette head coach Rickey Bustle enters his fourth season at the helm. Bustle has seen his winning percentage increase each season since taking the job for the 2002 season.
The Summerville, S.C., native, became the 24th head coach in ULL's football history on December 13, 2001.
Bustle earned his first collegiate victory as a head coach on Sept. 21, 2002 with a 34-0 victory over UAB. UL Lafayette held the Blazers to just eight first downs and only 94 yards passing.