Dec. 21, 2009
ORLANDO, Fla. -
By John Denton
UCFAthletics.com
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The balancing act of feeling great pride over a tremendous bounce-back season and the disappointment of losing the St. Petersburg Bowl game is sure to be a tough one over the coming weeks for UCF's football team.
UCF won its final six Conference USA games to qualify for the school's third bowl game in five years, but that game turned out disastrously when the Knights were beaten 45-24 by Rutgers on Saturday night.
UCF was within 21-17 late in the second quarter, but an interception return for a touchdown sapped the Knights' momentum and things turned ugly in the second half. UCF's inability to consistently move the ball doomed any chances it had of capturing the first bowl win in school history.
``We're disappointed, but I'm proud of the team as far as what they accomplished,'' UCF coach George O'Leary said. ``With the schedule the way it was we lost two conference games early but they came back and won six in a row as far as conference games. They took the challenge as far as making it a six-game season. So I have nothing but great praise for them as far as showing perseverance, sticking through things and the leadership of our senior class. But you always want to win that bowl game because heading into the offseason it leaves you with a better taste in your mouth as far as the season.''
How to view a season with so many highs and lows was difficult for an 8-5 Knights team in the moments after Saturday's St. Pete Bowl. The Knights started the season 2-2 following close conference losses to Southern Miss and eventual champion East Carolina. The Knights also dropped key nonconference games against Miami and Texas, but played exceptionally well down the stretch. UCF rallied past Marshall 21-20 in dramatic fashion and notched its first-ever win against a ranked team, beating No. 12 Houston. And in the final game of the season at Bright House Networks Stadium, the Knights also delivered the largest shutout victory in C-USA history when it routed Tulane 49-0.
But that momentum didn't carry over to the postseason against a fast and physical Rutgers team that was in a bowl game for a fifth consecutive season. The Scarlett Knights turned two interceptions into 14 points and they used their speed on the outside to burn UCF's defense for big plays.
``We played hard, but early in the first half we gave up too many plays,'' said UCF junior Bruce Miller, who was Conference USA's Defensive Player of the Year. ``You can't do that against a team like this. We fought hard, but we waited a little too late.''
UCF wanted to win Saturday for the 20,000 fans who travelled across the state and packed the dome at Tropicana Field. Balancing the pride of the season and the disappointment of the bowl loss was difficult for several of the players in the minutes following the game.
``I'm proud of the season that we had,'' said defensive tackle Torrell Troup, a likely draft pick in the NFL in the spring. ``The guys fought hard for the season, but (the bowl game) is still disappointing.''
Kamar Aiken, who caught touchdowns on Saturday and was named UCF's Most Outstanding Player for the bowl, was highly disappointed by the result.
``We needed to win this game for this to be considered a full season,'' Aiken said. ``We didn't get our conference championship goal, so (winning on Saturday) was another goal for us and we didn't get that either.''
O'Leary is plenty excited about the promising players that the Knights have returning. Several top-performing juniors will return, as will the freshmen and sophomores who were pressed into duty and thrived. The future is bright, O'Leary said.
``We'll what-if this and what-if that as far as the season, but there are a lot of good players coming back with maturity,'' he said. ``We're really pleased with that.''
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John Denton's Knights Insider appears on UCFathletics.com several times a week. E-mail John at jdenton@athletics.ucf.edu.