Oct. 10, 2010
="" alt="Knight Head" border="0" class="imported"> Read the Knights Insider | ="" alt="Twitter Logo" border="0" class="imported">Follow us on Twitter | ="" alt="Facebook Logo" border="0" class="imported">Get social with the Knights on Facebook
By Marc Daniels
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - The feeling was UAB had not seen a defense as good as UCF going into last week's game. The feeling was dead on. Before a nationally-televised audience, the Knights defense blitzed, ran over, pressured, smothered, sacked, hurried and devoured UAB's offense.
How good is UCF's defense? How about some numbers courtesy of my good friends in the UCF athletics communications department (I'd look it up myself, but they offered the info for free):
? UCF's defense ranks ninth overall in the country
? The unit is second in passing efficiency, fifth in pass defense and eighth in scoring defense
? Only UCF and Cal have defenses ranked in the top 10 in all four of those categories
? In Conference USA, UCF is first in all four defensive categories
But the story goes beyond the numbers. Bruce Miller, who recorded his 30th career sack against UAB, has been a dominating All-American beast the last two weeks. Darius Nall has become one of the top pass rushing ends in the country. Josh Robinson has locked down opposing receivers and showed his speed with his fumble return for a touchdown last week. And perhaps the player who has shined the most on defense is Kemal Ishmael.
Ishmael, a true sophomore, has done it all. He tackles as good as anyone. He stripped and recovered a fumble at Kansas State. He forced the fumble that led to Robinson's score against UAB.
"If you had to pick a MVP thus far on defense or picked a guy to start a defense today, you'd have to pick Kemal," said UCF head coach George O'Leary.
In a conference where few teams put an emphasis on defense, UCF has established itself as not only the best in its league, but among the best in the nation. It will need that defense to keep the pressure on because everyone will bring their "A" game when UCF comes to town.
Speaking of towns, Huntington, W.Va., awaits the Knights on Wednesday where a national audience will once again get to see UCF play. Marshall is struggling at 1-4, but the Herd believe a win against UCF can right the ship and get their season back on course. With that in mind, here are some matchups to watch:
UCF's run game vs. Marshall's defensive front: The Herd are allowing 173.8 yards per game on the ground. UCF has been more run heavy the last two games and a heavy dose of Ronnie Weaver and Jeff Godfrey could mean big plays and long drives.
Jump out to an early lead: Marshall has been outscored 97-48 in the first half this season. An early lead takes the crowd out of the game and allows UCF's defense to take over. Forcing Marshall to become one dimensional would be a big advantage to UCF.
Make more big plays by wide receivers: The Knights had some nice catches by Kamar Aiken, Jamar Newsome and Brian Watters last week. A.J. Guyton should return this week and this group needs to continue to help Jeff Godfrey and Rob Calabrese. Newsome's 44-yard catch is the longest play on offense this season. This is a good week to get something bigger.
Rattle whoever plays QB for Marshall: Senior Brian Anderson is expected to start. He was the quarterback last year when Marshall had a win in their pocket before Bruce Miller stripped Anderson of the ball on a play he needed only to fall forward and hold on to the ball and Marshall likely wins. Anderson has struggled at times this season. Two signal callers from Florida backup Anderson. Anderson is more of a pocket passer. UCF wants to get heat on him early and force him to get rid of the ball quickly.
A rivalry once dominated by the Herd has shifted to UCF. The Knights have won the last five in the series, including the last two at Marshall. UCF won 30-14 back in 2008 after a 23-22 win in 2006...Marshall has called for a whiteout for this game asking fans to wear white shirts for the ESPN game. A crowd of 41,382 was on hand for the game against West Virginia. Just over 28,000 showed up for the following home game. This game for Marshall comes after it lost 41-16 at Southern Miss. Even faithful locals in Huntington are concerned for the Wednesday night turnout...Marshall is 121-20 at Joan C. Edwards Stadium. That's the best win percentage at a home stadium in the country. It's worth noting 12 of those 20 home losses have come in the last five years and two of those losses are to UCF.
Knights notes and more: Wednesday's game is another showcase opportunity for UCF. The most important thing is to win. In addition to winning, UCF gets another chance to market itself to the rest of the country. Rarely do college football teams get back-to-back nationally televised games when you are the only game on that night...UAB officials brought a large group of school and business officials from Birmingham to the game last week. A big reason for the trip was for the group to see Bright House Networks Stadium up close. UAB needs a place to play because Legion Field simply cannot be a home much longer. One UAB official said to me, "you have no idea how jealous we are of all the facilities at UCF."...Don't have your basketball season tickets yet? Get them. Donnie Jones' team is going to be good and maybe even really, really good...Final thought: I got a new car recently. The manual came in English, Spanish, German and French. So now when the "service engine soon" light comes on, I won't know what to do in four languages.
Marc Daniels' From the Press Box runs several times per month on UCFAthletics.com. Listen to Marc during UCF football, men's basketball and baseball radio broadcasts on the UCF-ISP Sports Network. Each weekday, Marc hosts "The Beat of Sports" on ESPN 1080 in Orlando from 9-11 a.m.