Nov. 15, 2010
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By John Denton
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFathletics.com) - The day after UCF shockingly lost to Southern Miss, the sun still came up even if the Knights' name didn't in the national rankings.
But clearly not all was lost in UCF's 31--21 defeat to Southern Miss on Senior Day because the Knights still have their destiny firmly in their grasp thanks to their solid play early in the season. The likelihood is that UCF will have to win its final two games on the road at Tulane (Saturday, 3:30 p.m.) and at Memphis (Nov. 27), but factors could work out where the Knights can lock up Conference USA's East Division title and home field advantage for the Dec. 4 title game with merely a victory this Saturday.
Regardless, UCF head coach George O'Leary knows that the path has been clearly defined if the Knights still want to accomplish their goals of a league title.
``We had that one (on Saturday) that could have helped us, but we've still got to win these next two,'' O'Leary said. ``We can't count on anybody else. It will be addressed to the team that, `Hey, life's a lot tougher now boys.' You've got your backs to the wall and you come out and realize these last two games are going to be a war. We have to really go after them.''
UCF (7-3 overall and 5-1 in C-USA play) saw its 11-game conference win streak and its five-game winning run this season come to an end on Saturday at Bright House Networks Stadium when it blew a 14-0 lead and couldn't slow down Southern Miss. The loss spoiled UCF's first-ever foray into the national rankings, dropping them out of the Top 25 in both polls after a one-week stay.
But all of the Knights' goals are still on the table despite suffering their first loss since late September. Because East Carolina (6-4 and 5-1) will be favored to win its final two games against Rice and SMU, the Knights will have to win. Dead ahead for the Knights are closing games against rebuilding Tulane (4-6 and 2-4) and struggling Memphis (1-9 and 0-6).
Tulane beat Big East squad Rutgers earlier in the season and whipped Rice on Saturday by scoring 54 points. The Green Wave rank 47th in the nation in passing yards (238.7) and 68th in scoring offense (26.2), but they are 106th in points allowed per game (34.7).
``We want to get the (Southern Miss) game to lock up home field advantage, but we're still in a position to reach all of our goals,'' UCF senior wide receiver Brian Watters said. ``It's always tougher to win on the road, but that's the position that we've put ourselves in. We'll be ready.''
O'Leary felt the Knights were ready to play on Saturday, and that seemed evident when they jumped to an impressive 14-0 lead in the game's first nine minutes. But, from there things crumbled when the Knights couldn't run the ball, turned it over twice through the air and couldn't get many stops defensively. Southern Miss converted 11 of 16 third downs, allowing the Eagles to run 72 plays compared to UCF's 59.
UCF's defense led the way much of the early season as the offense got comfortable with freshman quarterback Jeff Godfrey taking the reins. And of late, the offense has been the stars, averaging 41.4 points in the five games before Saturday.
But when both had off days against a solid Southern Miss team, the Knights faltered. Now, O'Leary said the charge is to get both units back up to the dominating level where they were playing just weeks ago.
Defensively, O'Leary said the Knights' problems are more with execution than scheme. Too often, linebackers are being blocked by wide receivers, defensive backs are slow to break on balls and the line is failing to get to the quarterback. And offensively, he noted that the Knights didn't finish blocks and missed too many blitz reads and pick-ups.
``As a team we've got to play offense and defense and complement each other,'' O'Leary said. ``I don't think one is dominant enough to just take over a game without the other one. So we have to get better on both sides of the ball.''
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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.