Oct. 23, 2010
Recap | Final Stats | Quotes | Photo Gallery
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By Pat Salvas
UCFAthletics.com
| UCF vs. Rice Oct. 23, 2010 |
| From Bright House Networks Stadium | |||||
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final |
| Rice | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 |
| UCF | 13 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 41 |
Welcome Home
During halftime of Saturday's game, four former members of the UCF football program were honored during Homecoming ceremonies. Former players Daunte Culpepper, Kevin Smith and Joe Burnett and the late Wayne Densch all had banners with their numbers unveiled at Bright House Networks Stadium.
A #1 Wayne Densch banner was unveiled alongside banners for #8 Daunte Culpepper, #24 Kevin Smith and #19 Joe Burnett on the east side of the stadium in honor of their careers at UCF.
Following the presentation of the banners and a halftime performance by the Marching Knights, the 2010 UCF Homecoming Court made its way onto the field. With Knightro on hand to help announce the results of student voting, Michelle Messina was named the 2010 Homecoming Queen and Adam Brock was named the Homecoming King.
The halftime ceremonies were just part of the exciting festivities fans in attendance Saturday afternoon were treated to. After the national anthem and before kickoff, fans looked to the sky to see two T-38's from the 14th Flying Training Wing of the Columbus Air Force Base in a pregame flyover.
Following the flyover, three cadets from the United States Air Force Academy's famous Wings of Blue parachuted into Bright House Networks Stadium. The three cadets came into the stadium to a rousing ovation from the crowd. After landing, one of the cadets presented the game ball, while another presented the color guard with the U.S. flag.
With the game ball ready, the Knights came on the field and did their part to make the 2010 Homecoming a success.
Start with a Bang
UCF's offense came out firing to start the game. On the first play from scrimmage, Jeff Godfrey hit Kamar Aiken up the middle of the field for a 59-yard reception. The play was the longest for Aiken since his freshman season of 2007. In last season's contest with the Owls at Rice Stadium, the Knights also started the game with a 76-yard touchdown pass from Brett Hodges to A.J. Guyton on the first play from scrimmage. Godfrey finished Saturday's initial drive with a touchdown run two plays later.
True Freshman
Jeff Godfrey's 5-yard touchdown run 1:23 into the game was the fifth of the season for the UCF quarterback. Godfrey tied Dante Culpepper's UCF record for rushing touchdowns by a true freshman quarterback with the scamper. Culpepper, who was in attendance Saturday, accomplished the feat in the 1995 season.
Long Drive
The Knights' second-quarter scoring drive was the longest of the season. UCF took 9:06 off the clock as they capped a 17-play drive with a 4-yard touchdown run by Ronnie Weaver. The drive was the longest for the Knights since the team had an 18-play drive at Southern Miss on Sept. 12, 2009.
14 and Counting
Adam Nissley's 3-yard touchdown reception late in the second quarter helped put the Knights up by four scores headed into the half. Nissley became the 14th different UCF player to score a touchdown this season with the catch. The score also gave the team a 27-0 lead at halftime, the largest lead at home since Sept. 22, 2007 when UCF held a 42-0 lead over Memphis at the break.
Multiple Men
For the first time this season, two members of the Knights had multiple sacks in the same game. Darius Nall and Troy Davis both had 2.5 sacks in Saturday's win, marking the first time in 2010 that more than one UCF player got to the quarterback on more than one occasion. Only Nall had previously recorded two sacks in a game this year, when he got to the QB twice at Buffalo on Sept. 18. Victory Gray joined his two teammates as he recorded the Knights' other sack, bringing the total to six in the game for UCF. Gray's sack was the first of his career.
Weaver's Magic
Ronnie Weaver scored three times on Saturday afternoon. He has now managed to find the end zone multiple times in three of the last five games for the Knights. Prior to Weaver's three-touchdown effort against the Owls, the last Knight to rush for three scores in a game was Brynn Harvey against Tulane on Nov. 21, 2009.
They Did Protect This House
The Knights are now 17-7 all-time at Bright House Networks Stadium. UCF also improved to 7-0 against C-USA opponents at home since the beginning of the 2007 season with the win over Rice. Overall, the Knights are 12-3 against C-USA opponents at Bright House Networks Stadium.
Potent Offense, Solid Defense
This season, UCF is outscoring C-USA opponents, 118-35. In each of the last two home games, the Knights have scored more than 40 points as they put 42 on the board against UAB on Oct. 6 in the conference opener. The UCF defense has done its job as well, allowing conference opponents just over 11 points per game. The Knights have allowed just one opponent in seven games this season to reach the 20-point mark.
4-of-4 on Fourth
Entering the game, UCF had converted on 4-of-8 fourth-down conversions. Against the Owls on Saturday afternoon, the Knights were a perfect 4-of-4 on fourth down. Three times after converting on fourth down, the Knights would cap the drive with a touchdown.
Late Score
L.D. Crow hit Ricky Kay with a 40-yard touchdown pass midway through the fourth quarter. The TD pass was the first for Crow at UCF after transferring from Stanford prior to last season. The 40-yard touchdown reception was a new career high for Kay as he ran into the end zone with the final UCF score of the day.