Nov. 25, 2007
IRVING, Texas - By posting victories on Saturday afternoon, UCF and Tulsa have punched their tickets to the third annual Conference USA Football Championship Game. The East Division champion Knights (7-1 in C-USA play, 9-3 overall) will meet the West Division champion Golden Hurricane (6-2 in C-USA, 9-3 overall) on Saturday, December 1 at Bright House Networks Stadium in Orlando. ESPN will televise the championship game live, beginning at Noon EST/11 a.m. CST.
The game represents a rematch of the inaugural Conference USA Football Championship game in 2005, which was played in downtown Orlando at the Citrus Bowl In that game, Tulsa posted a 44-27 victory, as Tarrion Adams had three touchdowns, including two on the ground, while Paul Smith passed for two scores. After a wild first half that saw the Golden Hurricane take a 31-27 lead at the break, TU's defense shut out UCF in the second half to seal the victory and its first conference title since 1985. The game was played in front of a UCF school-record crowd of 51,978.
UCF enters the game on a six-game winning streak and are 9-3 overall, one win shy of tying the school record of 10, set in 1990. Tulsa has won five in a row and is also 9-3, one win away from its highest win total since 1982.
"This should be an outstanding matchup, said Commissioner Britton Banowsky. "Both teams are playing at a high level and have been very exciting to watch all season long. We are looking forward to a terrific atmosphere and a great game. "
UCF is led by junior RB Kevin Smith, who became the 13th player in FBS history to rush for 2,000 yards in a single season on Saturday when he gained 219 against UTEP to give him 2,164 for the year. He leads the nation in touchdowns with a league-record 26 touchdowns, a figure that ranks 12th in FBS history.
Tulsa's high-powered offense is led by record-setting senior QB Paul Smith, who has passed for more than 300 yards in every game this season. He ranks among the top three in the nation in total offense (4,450 yards), passing yards (4,327), and passing touchdowns (39), breaking all three of those C-USA records on Saturday at Rice.
Back on October 20, the two teams met in Orlando with UCF prevailing, 44-23, in front of a sellout crowd of 45,510. Kevin Smith ran for 170 yards and scored a career-high four touchdowns for the Knights, while UCF QB Kyle Israel was 21-of-29 for 224 yards and a touchdown. Paul Smith threw a career-high 56 times, going 34-of-56 for 316 yards and three TDs for the Golden Hurricane.
The all-time series is tied 1-1.
Tickets for the C-USA Football Championship game are available now. Please visit the football championship page on www.ConferenceUSA.com or www.UCFAthletics.com for detailed information.