May 18, 2009
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - On Sept. 5, the UCF football team will open the 2009 slate at home against Samford. The contest will mark the start of the Knights' third campaign at Bright House Networks Stadium. UCF and the Bulldogs will be meeting for the first time since 1997. The Knights have a 7-3 edge in the all-time series.
Samford, from Birmingham, Ala., is a member of the Football Championship Subdivision and the Southern Conference. The squad went 6-5 in 2008 while facing a tough schedule. The slate included contests against four nationally-ranked teams, including three top-10 squads. The Bulldogs faced one Bowl Subdivision team, dropping a hard-fought 34-10 contest at Ole Miss. Samford led 7-3 after the first quarter.
Offensive Player to Watch
Dustin Taliaferro started all 11 games at quarterback last season. He earned Southern Conference Freshman of the Year honors after completing 151-of-225 passes for 1,745 yards with 13 touchdowns. At Ole Miss, Taliaferro completed 16-off-22 passes for 124 yards. He is one of eight starters back offensively for head coach Pat Sullivan.
Defensive Player to Watch
A transfer from Alabama, Andy Davis recorded 45 tackles at safety in 2008. He also forced two fumbles and had a pair of interceptions. Davis totaled six tackles and a forced fumble at Ole Miss. After the season concluded, he earned a spot on the All-Southern Conference Second Team.
Connections
Samford defensive coordinator Bill D'Ottavio is no stranger to UCF fans. He served on the UCF coaching staff from 1999-03. D'Ottavio mentored the Knights' linebackers and was the program's defensive coordinator from 2002-03. He worked with some of the best defensive players in school history, including Atari Bigby, Elton Patterson and Asante Samuel.
Oddball
Before UCF moved to Conference USA, and the Bulldogs headed to the Southern Conference, the schools were rivals in several sports in the Atlantic Sun Conference. The program's men's basketball teams met 20 times from 1993-03. UCF ended the series in style, winning the last three contests.
Season tickets for the 2009 UCF campaign at Bright House Networks Stadium are currently available. To order your season tickets today, contact the UCF ticket sales office at (407) UCF-1000 or visit UCFAthletics.com.
For the latest news on the Knights, log on to UCFAthletics.com - the official site for UCF varsity sports. The site, which also contains ticket and Golden Knights Club donor information, is also the home of UCF's new online apparel store. Also visit UCFPhotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pictures.