Oct. 3, 2005
UCF-Memphis Game Notes in PDF Format
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ORLANDO - UCF looks for its third consecutive victory Saturday as the Golden Knights host Memphis in a Conference USA contest at the Florida Citrus Bowl. The Golden Knights (2-2, 1-0 C-USA) snapped the nation's longest losing streak of 17 games two weeks ago in their inaugural C-USA game vs. Marshall and made it two straight with a 24-21 victory last Saturday at Louisiana-Lafayette. The victory ended the nation's longest road losing streak of 15 games.
Memphis earned a key 27-20 victory at home over UTEP last week to even its record at 2-2 overall and 1-1 in league play.
The UCF ISP Sports Network begins pregame coverage at 4 p.m. with kickoff set for 6 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.
The game will be televised by UPN-30 in Memphis and also on the CSTV All-Access package (Internet, DISH Network pay-per-view).
Series Notes
Memphis defeated UCF in the only meeting between the two schools 37-28 on Sept. 22, 1990 in Memphis. The last time the two schools met, UCF was a member of Division I-AA while the Tigers were on the I-A level.
George O'Leary and Tommy West have met five times as head coaches during their tenures at Georgia Tech and Clemson, respectively. West leads the all-time series 3-2. O'Leary coached vs. Clemson and West in his first game as interim head coach of Georgia Tech in 1994.
UCF is 5-5 vs. schools from the state of Tennessee. The last time UCF played a team from the Volunteer State, the Golden Knights defeated Middle Tennessee 39-14 in 1999.
Cool Under Pressure
Senior place-kicker John Brown showed why being clutch is so important to a kicker and a winning team. The Orlando native came off the bench Saturday to kick a game-winning, 28-yard field goal with three seconds left to lift UCF to a 24-21 victory at Louisiana-Lafayette.
The game-winning field goal was the first for UCF since Javier Beorlegui's 37-yard field goal with three seconds left to win at Alabama, 41-38, in 2000.
The game-winner was the first of Brown's career over his 15 years of playing football.
Hitting the Century Mark
True freshman tailback Kevin Smith did something at Louisiana-Lafayette no true freshmen has ever done in UCF's Division I-A football history - rush for 100 yards in a game.
The Miami native carried the ball 25 times for 110 yards to become just the sixth true freshman tailback in school history to reach the century mark. The last true freshman to reach the 100-yard mark was Gerod Davis in the season-finale at Samford (Nov. 21, 1992) with 120 yards vs. the Bulldogs.
Grinding it Out
UCF's offensive line and Kevin Smith stepped up on UCF's final drive of the night at Louisiana-Lafayette to secure the victory.
The Golden Knights ran nine straight times with Smith as the drive started on the UCF 38-yard line. Smith rushed for 49 yards on the final scoring drive to set-up John Brown's game-winning 28-yard field goal.
Streak Stoppers
In UCF's last two games, the Golden Knights have ended two of the nation's longest losing streak. After the 23-13 victory over Marshall, UCF ended the nation's longest losing streak of 17 games.
In the Lafayette victory, UCF ended the longest road losing streak in NCAA Division I-A football of 15 games.
Streak Starters
For the first time since the end of the 2002 season, UCF has won two consecutive games. The Golden Knights captured four straight victories to close out the 2002 campaign.
Getting off to a Good Start
UCF has outscored the opposition 21-0 in the first quarter over the last two games in wins over Marshall and Louisiana-Lafayette. In UCF's first 13 games of the George O'Leary era, the Golden Knights were outscored 89-23 in the first quarter of play.
In its last two games, UCF has outscored the opposition 38-7 in the first half of play. In UCF's first 13 games of the George O'Leary era, the Golden Knights were outscored 220-52 in the first half.
Going in the Right Direction
For the third time in Division I-A history, UCF has a .500 or better record after four games to start the season. The last time UCF started the season 2-2 was in 2000. UCF's best start ever after four games was in 1998 when Daunte Culpepper led the Golden Knights to a 3-1 mark.
Quick Strike Offense
UCF's offense came out on fire at Louisiana-Lafayette. The Golden Knights scored on their first three possessions, including a three-play, 71-yard drive on their first possession.
Steven Moffett found Brandon Marshall on a 60-yard touchdown pass to give the Golden Knights an early 7-0 advantage. The 60-yard pass play was UCF's longest play from scrimmage in 2005.
Spreading the Wealth
Steven Moffett completed passes to a season-high seven different wide receivers in the 24-21 win over Louisiana-Lafayette. The junior quarterback was 15-of-25 for 232 yards and a career-high three touchdown passes.
Take it to the House
Senior wide receiver Brandon Marshall is putting together his best season yet in Orlando. The big-play wide out caught five passes for a career-high 107 yards and two touchdowns at Louisiana-Lafayette. Marshall set a personal-best with two touchdown receptions.
1-2 Punch
Wide receivers Brandon Marshall and Mike Walker are the second-best wide receiver duo in Conference USA. The two players average 152 yards per game, with Marshall seventh in the league in receiving yards per game while Walker is eighth.
Marshall's Hiram Moore and Marcus Fitzgerald average 158.2 yards per game in C-USA to lead the league.
Scouting Memphis
Memphis brings a record of 2-2, including a 1-1 mark in Conference USA play into Saturday's game. The Tigers defeated previously unbeaten UTEP last week 27-20 at the Liberty Bowl in Memphis.
UCF fans will get their first chance to see one of the nation's top players in Memphis senior tailback DeAngelo Williams. The preseason All-American leads the nation in rushing with 749 yards in 2005. He is averaging 187.2 yards per game and has eight touchdowns on the season.
Williams and the Memphis rushing attack rank first in the conference and fifth nationally with an average of 276 yards per game.
The injury bug has depleted the quarterback position for the Tigers. Memphis has lost its top two quarterbacks to season-ending injuries. Freshman quarterback Billy Barefield made his first career start in Memphis' 27-20 victory over UTEP. Barefield completed 12-of-19 passes for 79 yards. He also rushed nine times for 15 yards.
Memphis ranks 26th nationally and second in C-USA in total offense (429 ypg), 102nd nationally in pass offense (102 ypg) and 38th in the NCAA and third in C-USA in scoring offense (30.7 ppg).
Defensively, the Tigers are 67th in the NCAA in total defense (382.5 ypg), tied for 37th in scoring defense (20.2 ppg), 80th in pass defense (244.2 ypg) and 58th in rushing defense (138.2 ypg).
Memphis Head Coach Tommy West
Tommy West, the former Clemson head football coach who came to Memphis in 2000 as defensive coordinator, was hired as the Tigers' 21st head coach on November 30, 2000. The hiring has proven to be very beneficial for the U of M football program as the popular coach has led the Tigers to a 17-8 record the last two years, as well as back-to-back bowl appearances for the first time ever in Tiger football history.