Nov. 7, 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) - Before the season, when a UCF fan looked at the schedule, they could see a challenging three game stretch that likely would determine if the Knights could win a spot in the conference title game. East Carolina, Houston and Southern Miss would have likely been on any list of top teams going into the new season along with UCF.
Two down and the biggest one still left. Yes, beating East Carolina was big because UCF had not beaten them in years and the Pirates offense was rolling up big numbers on everyone. Taking down Houston on the road was perhaps the biggest road win in UCF's tenure in Conference USA. No offense to the win at Rice back in 2005 that clinched a spot in the title game, but quality of opponent goes to Houston of this year. Add a nationally-television audience and last week's game would get top honor.
But here comes Southern Miss. The Golden Eagles are still alive in the east division. They are 3-2 in the conference and 6-3 overall. They broke a 30-30 tie with 16 fourth quarter points at Tulane to win 46-30 and there's that other thing that has to concern UCF.
A huddle. For the third-straight game UCF's defense will face an opposing offense that believes a huddle is an extinct act in football. Don't underestimate the challenge for the Knights. The defense was tired and hurt at Houston. The Cougars were running plays at an Oregon pace and Dave Huxtable's troops made enough plays late.
But the concerns are there. Derrick Hallman and Lawrence Young got knocked out with bell ringing plays and defensive tackle Victor Gray left with an injury as well. Josh Linam had a monster game at Houston with 17 tackles (we will excuse the dropped interception Josh because UCF won). But even Linam would admit he played a ton of plays against an offense that required Linam to cover slot receivers who run a 1.8 40-yard dash (it seemed that way watching it).
The Knights must get healthy on defense because Southern Miss will not offer a break. More on the Golden Eagles in a bit, but first, the leftovers from Houston:
Sapp factor: I got off the elevator Friday at the team hotel in Houston and Warren Sapp walked by. The Orlando native was in town and I wasn't sure why. Perhaps he had work for the NFL Network and was going to do a piece on the Houston Texans. No. Warren Sapp traveled to Houston to watch Jeff Godfrey play. He told our Jerry O'Neill he loves watching "the kid" and wanted to see it firsthand. Sapp does know a member of the UCF equipment crew and there is that connection. In fact, if you were to get a glimpse of Sapp during the game as he watched Jeff Godfrey electrify you would have thought he was at a Miami Hurricanes game in the 1980s and 1990s. Sapp celebrated every big UCF play and marveled at Godfrey's performance. We have a new fan. Welcome Warren.
Oh, by the way: Jeff Godfrey was brilliant. But the numbers don't tell the story of his game at Houston. Yes, he was 15-19 for 294 yards passing and two touchdowns and he did run for 105 and another score, but his poise cannot be measured on a stat sheet. After Houston scored 21-straight points to grab a 24-23 lead and had their crowd rocking, what did Godfrey do? He told his offense they were going to score. And they did. He hit Jamar Newsome on a big pass for 25 yards and he ran four times on the drive, including the touchdown in which he picked up a bobbled snap and had the mind to grab the ball and still move forward for the score.
LT continues to shine: Houston bottled up Ronnie Weaver most of the night. When called upon, Latavius Murray responded. He averaged 7.1 yards a carry, including a 26 run and added his sixth touchdown of the season. Murray, Godfrey and Weaver have combined for 22 rushing touchdowns this season.
Josh Linam: Ok, he knows he could have put the game away if he gets that pick, but his 17-tackle effort was outstanding on a night were yards were a plenty. When UCF lost Lawrence Young and Derrick Hallman, Linam and Chance Henderson had to play a lot of plays against that Houston spread when they likely would have had limited minutes because of the matchup. Linam was all over the field and did make big plays late when needed. But about that pick...
Touchdown Machine Bruce Miller: All those who had Miller leading the defense in scoring before the season raise your hand? In fact, he trails only A.J. Guyton in touchdowns by a non-running back and those not named Godfrey. Miller's interception for a score was just smart football. He blocked his man and then sensing something was up, dropped back a few steps into coverage and picked off the pass and then showed his Carl Lewis like speed (Carl was at the game, so it fits) and raced to the end zone. Miller is such a scoring machine, I think I saw Charlie Taaffe diagramming a play for him on offense on the flight back.
That flight back was a good one. In fact, the timing was perfect. ESPN2 played back an edited version of the game into a two hour block. That two hours was the length of our flight. But now comes the biggest test of the three-game stretch. Can UCF's defense be ready for another no-huddle offense? But here's something else to consider; can Southern Miss stop UCF's offense?
Here are key matchups for this week:
UCF's offense vs. Southern Miss defense: I know you are probably saying "can you be more specific" at this point. But the UCF offense is averaging 41.4 points per game over their last five contests. It's the most points over a five game stretch since the 2007 conference title team averaged 44.2 per game late in the season. Southern Miss' defense is allowing 35.75 its last four games. They allowed 50 to UAB and 44 to East Carolina.
UCF's defensive front vs. Southern Miss quarterback Austin Davis: Davis has battled injuries the last couple of seasons, but when healthy is very good. He runs coach Larry Fedora's spread very well. UCF will need to get pressure in many forms to force Davis into a mistake or two.
Watch for the trick play: Southern Miss ran a flea flicker against Tulane to score a key touchdown. The Golden Eagles have been known to use a trick of two and UCF cannot be caught off guard.
UCF's physical receivers vs. Southern Miss secondary: Yes, I said physical receivers. UCF's ball catchers played their toughest game at Houston. Jamar Newsome stiff armed and ran over defenders. Brian Watters blocked down field for fellow teammates and the group made several big catches in traffic. And yes, the big play has been on display the last couple of games with deep balls to Kamar Aiken and Guyton for scores.
Knights notes and more: Southern Miss has won at least six games for the 17th-consecutive season. UCF has won 11-straight conference games. The record is 14, held by Southern Miss...One more interesting note from Houston is that if quarterback Case Keenum gets a sixth year of eligibility, it is not crazy to think the Cougars would redshirt David Piland next year. Despite his impressive performance as a true freshman, why would they lose a year of use if Keenum gets to play. Think that would be odd? In 1995, Chad Pennington took Marshall to the I-AA championship game. In 1996, he redshirted because Eric Kresser transferred from Florida for one season and led the Herd to the 1-AA title. In 1997, Pennington played his senior season and Marshall went 13-0 in its first year as a I-A program...Final thought: Why do most hotel tv remotes seem like the battery is going out all the time? You have to press the channel change button seven times to actually change the channel or the remote has to be positioned in the exact direction of the fire sprinkler to work properly.
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.