Nov. 6, 2009
By John Denton
UCFAthletics.com
At some point Saturday afternoon, after they run onto the field before 100,000-plus fans and stare into the eyes of potential Heisman quarterback Colt McCoy or dare a stout Texas defense, it's sure to hit UCF fifth-year seniors Cory Hogue and Rocky Ross.
Sure, there is plenty more football left to be played after Saturday, but today's game against No. 2 Texas likely represents a last chance for Hogue and Ross to face a mammoth, BCS-affiliated school. Hence, it could be UCF's last chance to shake up the national landscape with a massive upset.
Of course, few are giving UCF much of a chance of pulling off an upset against the No. 2 Longhorns, 36-point favorites. But that was also the case two years ago when Texas came to Bright House Networks Stadium and narrowly escaped with a 35-32 victory.
Hogue and Ross said there's one thing they are sure about going into this game: UCF should already have Texas' respect based off what happened two years ago.
"It's a good shot for us to see how we matchup against them," Hogue said. "We had a close game against them two years ago and almost beat them. We're excited and can't wait for Saturday."
Added Ross: "Anytime you get to play in a game like this, it's special. There aren't too many stadiums that hold over 100,000. It'll be exciting and we're looking forward to the challenge. ... We know who Texas is and they know who we are. From my years of playing football, I'm sure their coach is telling them not to take us lightly because of what happened a couple of years ago. But they're a different team now and we are too, and we'll just have to see what happens."
UCF (5-3 overall) is still riding the emotion provided by Sunday night's thrilling 21-20 defeat of Marshall, a victory that kept the Knights alive in the chase for the East Division's top spot in Conference USA. UCF wiped out a 13-point deficit and scored the winning points with 23 seconds to play on a touchdown catch by Ross.
The game poses an interesting dilemma for UCF because it's next Saturday's game against C-USA rival Houston that actually holds more importance than this one against Texas. Whereas the Texas game has no bearing on the C-USA race, next Saturday's game is nearly a must-win for the Knights.
Ross said several Knights players were still struggling with soreness and minor injuries following what he called ``a very physical game,'' against Marshall. UCF coach George O'Leary might face a decision as to whether he should pull some of UCF primary player early in order to save them for next Saturday's showdown against No. 15 Houston.
"Our most important goal is the conference. That dictates what happens at the end of the year (with bowls)," O'Leary said. "Our team is aware of that. Our goal is to win the conference championship and our second goal is to go to a bowl game. I think that is what is on their minds. They are real enthused to play Texas. You have to play to win. The players that can go 100 percent are going to play and that's the way I have always run the game. I don't look at the next game until we have to play it. We are going to play the people that are available to play and hopefully those are the people who played last game."
Quarterback Brett Hodges, one of the heroes of the Marshall win, emerged from Sunday night with a gimpy knee and bruised ribs from the many hits he took. Hodges is expected to play today, but the Knights can ill afford to expose him to too many hits from a Texas defense that is as good as any in the nation. The Knights need Hodges healthy next week if they are to keep up with high-scoring Houston.
O'Leary feels that Hodges' toughness has been infectious for the rest of the team. He waved off the coach several times last Sunday after taking big hits, picking himself up off the turf several times. Ross said the team is often amazed by their quarterback when they go back and watch the film the next day.
"Brett's only been here a few months, but he's earned the respect of everyone on this team. That just tells what kind of person and player that he is," he noted. "We watch the film and there's countless times when he's getting laid out. He's so sore right now, but he's fighting through it. That's what you want out of your quarterback and we're lucky to have him."
Texas has a pretty good quarterback of its own in McCoy, who along with Florida's Tim Tebow are the favorites to win the Heisman Trophy. And the Longhorns defense has been incredibly consistent all season, ranking first in the nation against the run (52.8), 29th against the pass (187.8), third in total defense (240.7) and 11th in scoring defense (13.6 ppg.).
Add it all up and it's an incredible challenge for UCF, but one that Hogue feels the Knights will be up for.
"Going into the game you think about going up against a Heisman quarterback in Colt McCoy, a good receiver in Jordan Shipley and a great team in Texas," he said. "But once the game starts and you get those butterflies out, then it's just all football. We'll be ready."
John Denton's Knights Insider appears several times a week on UCFathletics.com. E-mail John at jdenton@athletics.com.