Dec. 4, 2010
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By John Denton
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - George O'Leary has taken UCF to new heights in his seven years as coach, earning the football program's first national ranking, beating a ranked team for the first time and winning two Conference USA titles.
Now, with another college football conference alignment possibly on the horizon, O'Leary wants the Knights to be ready if there's an opportunity for UCF to springboard to a Bowl Championship Series conference such as the Big East.
O'Leary said the fact that UCF has appeared in three C-USA title games in the past seven seasons and won two of those titles - the latest one on Saturday against SMU at Bright House Networks Stadium - proves that the Knights are a program on the rise.
Continuing to win, especially in the upcoming Dec. 31 Liberty Bowl, can further show UCF's potential as a program, O'Leary said.
``The more you win the more you get people's attention and that's our focus. You can't do much more than what you can get done on the field. What's going to happen is going to happen, but no doubt about it winning obviously catches people's attention.''
UCF athletics director Keith Tribble and O'Leary have said they are pleased to be C-USA members, but will explore opportunities if they come along in the near future.
TCU accepted an invitation to the Big East this week, making the Horned Frogs the league's ninth football-playing school and its 17th basketball school. According to Nielsen ratings, the Big East now has six of the top 14 media markets. UCF has the second-largest enrollment in the nation and Orlando is the 19th largest media market in the country and could give the Big East another major market.
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MVP MURRAY: Quite possibly no UCF player was more delighted about playing in Saturday's C-USA title game than UCF starting tailback Latavius Murray, who caught the first touchdown pass of his career early in the game and ran for a 36-yard touchdown in the third quarter.
And the fact that Murray was on the podium after the game holding the game's Most Valuable Player trophy left him emotional considering the arduous path he's taken to get to this point.
``There were tears in my eyes, there really were and I was just speechless,'' Murray said. ``I just wanted to go give my mom and father a hug. I love those two to death and I wouldn't be here without them.''
Murray missed all of last season after tearing a knee ligament, and he briefly considered transferring back to a school closer to his native New York. He eventually stuck with the Knights, but was moved out of his favored position of tailback to the H-back spot during spring drills.
A season-ending injury to starting tailback Brynn Harvey allowed Murray to move back to tailback. Murray played in a reserve role in the first 10 games of the season, but he moved into the starting lineup three weeks ago against Tulane. He ran for 146 yards in his first career start and had another two rushing scores last week against Memphis. And the fact that he started Saturday's title game was significant to him considering how arduous climb it's been to the first-string spot.
``I got a ring for going to the bowl game last year, but really being a part of this team and being able to play would mean a lot more to me,'' said Murray, who has rushed for 10 touchdowns. ``When you think about where I was and how serious my injury was, I'm really blessed. There's not a minute that I don't thank God for it. I've come a long way and I'll never forget this season.''
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ROBINSON RETURNS: UCF cornerback Josh Robinson became an instant star in his first season at UCF, grabbing six interceptions and becoming a Freshman All-American.
Much to his dismay teams have mostly stayed away from Robinson this season. He entered Saturday's championship game with just one interception on the season, but he did return a fumble for a 56-yard touchdown. He did have 11 pass breakups, ranking him 23rd in the country.
Robinson showed once again why he is a star in the making on Saturday with his finest game of the season. He broke up two passes on deep balls to save touchdowns and in the third quarter he snatched a pass away from SMU standout receiver Aldrick Robinson for an interception. He finished with seven tackles and admitted that he was shocked that SMU dared to challenge him so much during the game.
``The play before the interception they ran the same route and when they did it again I was able to jump the rout,'' Robinson said. ``They tried me all day and I just had to go out there and raise my level of play and take it today.''
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ETC: UCF standout defensive end Bruce Miller dropped SMU quarterback Kyle Padron twice on Saturday for the 33rd and 34th sacks of his career. Already UCF's all-time leader in sacks, Miller moved into a tie for fifth all-time among players with Florida ties in sacks. Miller tied Florida State University defensive end Peter Boulware, who had 34 sacks from 1994-96. Miami's Daniel Stubbs is the Sunshine State's all-time leader with 39.5 sacks from 1984-87. ... UCF's 85-yard scoring drive in the third quarter was its 21st scoring drive of at least 70 yards this season. Of those drives, 20 have resulted in touchdowns. ... When Murray sprinted 36 yards for a score in the third quarter, it gave him a 10th rushing touchdown on the season. With tailback Ronnie Weaver having 11 rushing scores and freshman quarterback Jeff Godfrey and Murray running for 10 TDs, UCF and Wisconsin are the only two schools in the country with three players with at least 10 rushing TDs. ... UCF scored on its first drive of the game Saturday, making it the 12th time in 13 games that the Knights have scored first in a game. The only time the Knights didn't score first was against NC State.
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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.