Sept. 11, 2009
By John Denton
UCFAthletics.com
The road to redemption this season for UCF's football team includes marquee matchups against Miami and Texas, but the primary focus is on the stops along the way against Conference USA foes.
Winning another conference crown is foremost atop UCF's stated goals. And one of the best ways to accomplish that feat would be to go into conference rival, Southern Miss, and deliver a resounding statement. It might still be early in the season, but UCF's players are well aware of the importance of Saturday's 7 p.m. game against the talented Golden Eagles.
``This just might be,'' quarterback Rob Calabrese said, ``our biggest game of the year.''
UCF and Southern Miss have usually been at or near the top of Conference USA play and that isn't expected to be any different again this season. UCF, Southern Miss and East Carolina are expected to fight it out for the East Division crown in Conference USA, and an early-season win could go a long way in deciding which team represents the East come December.
``We know that we have to bring our A-game to this one and be ready to play,'' UCF tackle Jah Reid said. ``This is a conference game, and a very important game for our season.''
Both teams were Week 1 winners, but in decidedly different fashions. UCF had to come from behind four times and didn't pull ahead of Samford for good until the fourth quarter in a 28-24 victory. Meanwhile, Southern Miss barely broke a sweat in a 52-0 romp of Alcorn State. Quarterback Austin Davis threw three touchdowns and ran for a fourth as the Eagles led 35-0 at the half.
UCF will also be out to avenge last season's 17-6 loss to Southern Miss at Bright House Networks Stadium. The Knights scored first in that game, but were ultimately done in by star wide receiver DeAndre Brown, who caught a touchdown and had 89 receiving yards.
Brown, a 6-foot-6, 231-pound sophomore who is widely considered a NFL prospect, didn't play in Southern Miss's opener as he recovers from a broken leg. But he's expected to be on the field tomorrow night and his blend of size and speed will present challenges for the UCF defense.
UCF will also again see Southern Miss star running back Damion Fletcher, who missed the game in Orlando last season. Fletcher, who had 126 yards and a touchdown in the opener, is trying to become just the ninth player in NCAA history to rush for 1,000 yards in four consecutive seasons. He enters this game with 4,413 career rushing yards, the first ever Southern Miss back with 4,000-plus yards.
UCF standout defensive tackle Torrell Troup knows that the Knights have their work cut out for them in trying to slow down Southern Miss's dynamic run-pass mix of offense.
``(Fletcher) is a really good running back and we have to do a good job of staying in our gaps and doing our assignments against a player like him,'' said Troup, who had three tackles, a quarterback hurry and a stop for a loss in the opener. ``Against a really good back like him we just need to do our jobs and we'll be fine.''
UCF should be just fine offensively with Calabrese and Brett Hodges sharing the workload at quarterback. Calabrese started the opener, but was replaced in the second quarter by fifth-year senior Hodges, who guided the Knights' offense on three scoring drives. Hodges was calm in the pocket and made plays for the offense on several deep crossing routes. He hit on 10-of-17 passes and those numbers would have been even more impressive had UCF receivers not had a couple of dropped passes.
But it's Calabrese, a sophomore, who will again get the start. He's evolved into a team leader and head coach George O'Leary has raved about the way Calabrese has excelled in practice. But now the pressure is on Calabrese to deliver in the white-hot intensity of a conference game on the road.
``When I visited with him, I just got the sense that Rob was trying to put everything on his shoulders and he didn't just let the game flow to him,'' O'Leary said. ``I just told him to relax. He sometimes puts too much pressure on himself and worries too much about the past. I think he'll be much better this (Saturday).''
O'Leary knows UCF will have to be better on Saturday if they are to win in Hattiesburg, Miss., before what players have predicted will be ``a very rowdy crowd.'' O'Leary said he doesn't mind playing such an important conference game this early in the season. After all, a win now would send a resounding message to the rest of the conference that UCF is a serious threat to win Conference USA's East Division.
``You play the schedule that you are dealt and TV has a lot to do with why we're into conference play so soon with our Miami and Texas games pushed back,'' O'Leary said. ``The month of September is very important for us because the two teams (Southern Miss and East Carolina) that I think you have to beat, we play this month. We have to come out of the gate fast. Every game is important, but when you play a conference team that will challenge you have to be ready to play. It's a very important game.''
John Denton's Knights Insider runs each Monday, Wednesday and Friday on UCFAthletics.com. E-mail John at jdenton@athletics.ucf.edu.