Nov. 27, 2009
ORLANDO, Fla. -
By John Denton
UCFAthletics.com
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Losses always stick with athletes longer than the wins, and there's one particular defeat from last season that still galls many of the UCF football players.
When UAB beat UCF 15-0 last season on Senior Day, it was a loss that haunted many of the players for a year for a variety of reasons.
"I was real good friends with (former UCF standout cornerback) Joe Burnett and to see him walking off the field because he lost his last game, that hurt me bad," UCF senior defensive tackle Travis Timmons said. "And them beating us 15-0, that was bad. We're trying to finish out strong and make sure that doesn't happen again."
UCF (7-4) already has a bowl bid locked up, but the Knights still have plenty to play for today when it faces UAB (5-6) at legendary Legion Field. The Knights are trying to get to eight wins and if things fall right today they can still earn a piece of the Eastern Division regular-season title in Conference USA.
And UCF also wants to erase that memory of last season's dismal shutout finish.
"UAB beat us 15-0 and that was kind of embarrassing to all of us," UCF tight end Adam Nissley said. "But we want to go out now, finish strong and prove to everybody that we're one of the best teams in this conference."
UCF has easily been one of the best teams in the conference for the past two months, winning five conference games in a row. In that stretch was a come-from-behind 21-20 thriller against Marshall, a massive upset of No. 12 Houston for the program's first win against a ranked team and a 49-0 whipping of Tulane last week. It proved to be the largest shutout win in the history of Conference USA play.
It's enough to make the Knights wonder what would happen if they could play East Division leaders Southern Miss and East Carolina at this point in the season with their momentum surging. Southern Miss beat UCF 26-19, while East Carolina nipped the Knights 23-17 in September.
"I really do wish we could play those guys again," Timmons said. "We've changed so much as a team since playing those teams early in the season. I think it would be two pretty good games now."
UCF has salvaged its season by getting steady play from senior quarterback Brett Hodges and improved running from sophomore back Brynn Harvey. And defensively, the Knights have consistently been one of the nation's best teams against the run. UCF ranks third nationally against the run, trailing only third-ranked Texas and second-ranked Alabama.
"That's something that we take a lot of pride in and we go out every weekend trying to protect," said UCF standout defensive end Bruce Miller. "We go out saying we're going to stop the run and make teams one dimensional. We know if we can take care of the run the game will swing our way."
To get their revenge against UAB, the Knights have to slow down the one-man wrecking crew of Joe Webb. The quarterback has completed 60.2 percent of his passes for 1,977 yards and 18 touchdowns. And on the ground, he's UAB's leading rusher with 1,290 yards and 10 rushing touchdowns.
The Knights' 13 seniors are determined to do everything possible to make sure they don't suffer the same fate as last year in the final regular season game.
"I'm going to do everything possible to make sure that does not happen," UCF senior wide receiver Rocky Ross said. "I was close to people like Joe Burnett and Pat Brown and I grew up with Sha'Reff (Rashad) and we felt sorry for them having to go out like that. You remember that and you know you don't want to have that feeling on Saturday."