Oct. 28, 2008
ORLANDO, Fla. - ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - On Tuesday, UCF head coach George O'Leary met with the media in his weekly press conference to discuss the Knights' upcoming home game against East Carolina at Bright House Networks Stadium on Sunday night at 8:15 p.m.
During the Tuesday conference, O'Leary discussed an array of topics including his final thoughts on the Tulsa game, the five remaining conference games and the emergence of freshmen Rob Calabrese and Brynn Harvey.
On the Tulsa game
"Obviously it was a tale of two halves. The first half we went out and executed and did what we needed to do to keep the ball away from Tulsa. The second half we started off poorly with the kickoff and the 62-yard return. We are still in the game at 21-19. Then we are driving the ball to the 27-yard line and turn the ball over. From there we proceeded to get into a passing situation which we didn't want to get involved in because of the nature of the pressure they put on us. The offensive line is being ridiculed for a lot of what happened, but when you look at it, the running backs were involved in a couple of sacks. The quarterback himself held onto the ball when it called from him to get rid of it a little quicker. Defensively, I thought (they) played solid in the first half. In the second half, especially the fourth quarter, they tackled very poorly. As I told the players, the game was in grasp. We had an opportunity to get some things done, and if we played a full 60 minutes of just execution of what we practiced we would have made more of a game of it."
On remaining conference games
"We have five games left, all (Conference USA) east games, which is unusual because you don't always get that opportunity. The way the season has gone from a win/loss standpoint, we still have a chance. We have to come out and win the next five, the team knows that. It isn't that often in football that you have the opportunity to control the situation. We have the opportunity, and we have to go after it." On Rob Calabrese
"I have been very pleased with him. People keep trying to make a controversy out of him and (Michael) Greco. Until I see something better on the field, Calabrese will be the quarterback. Michael knows what he has to work on, and that is all you can do. Rob, for the duress he was under, he progressed in the game. I think Calabrese has a lot of potential to be the guy that can win a lot of ball games at UCF."
On East Carolina
"They have a good team back as far as both quarterbacks, a good tight end that can get vertical on you and on the offensive line they have two or three of them back. I think they came out early and got some good wins for themselves and the conference. They can read like we can, they know what each and every conference game means to them. It should be a heck of a donnybrook on Sunday night." On playing at home
"I think it is good to get home. The players enjoy playing at home. It is difficult on a team when you are traveling three hours or four hours in a plane. I think the kids have handled it extremely well, but there is no place like home. There are a ton of (alumni) coming. It will be well attended. Our team knows the importance of a Sunday night game." On Brynn Harvey "He will be starting this week. Tim (Salem) was worried about his ability in the passing game to protect; obviously it showed up some in the game from a protection standpoint. He has always had a little more quickness in the hole, and I think he showed signs of that Sunday. He showed that as a true freshman. He has a bright future."
On improving the offense
"We don't have to get 50 points on the board. We just have to make sure we secure the ball, and then, when we have the opportunity to get points, we have to take them. I don't think we have the real go-to guys right now that you can count to make real big plays. We have won two divisions, a conference championship and many other games running pretty much the same offense. The only thing we are not doing that I question is adding a little bit more option in the game plan. The problem has been ball security."
On this being a "must-win" game
"If you have to win five to win the division so that you don't have to worry about not controlling where you end up, then I would say this is a red-letter game. If you want to control your own destiny, then you cannot afford a setback."