July 17, 2011
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By Marc Daniels
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - It is summer and most people would take a few weeks off to charge up the batteries for the start of the football season. Our way of a little time off means just a shorter weekly piece than we normally offer. So while enjoying a nice refreshing glass of iced tea and bag of pistachio nuts, we offer some notes to know for the upcoming Conference USA football season:
--Over the last 10 seasons in league play, which includes teams from the previous alignment of the conference, UCF and Tulsa have the second-best winning percentage of the 17 teams that have been affiliated since 2001. The Knights and Golden Hurricane have identical conference records at 33-15 for a winning percentage of 69 percent. Only Louisville, now a member of the Big East, had a better percentage. The Cardinals were 24-7, good for 77 percent.
--Last season marked the first time one, let alone two, Conference USA teams finished the year ranked since the league realigned. UCF and Tulsa held spots in the final polls.
--The league returns its top eight quarterbacks in passing efficiency from the 2010 season. Jeff Godfrey led the conference in this category.
--The league returns its top seven offensive players, and 10 of its top 12, in regards to total offense from 2010.
--Ten of the top 12 running backs, in regards to rushing yards per game are back, including the top six.
--Eleven of the top 12 kick returners return for 2011, including UCF's Quincy McDuffie, who led the league in returns in 2010.
--The top 10 kickers in field goal percentage are back for this season.
--What is 5,671 and 44? The number of passing yards and touchdowns Houston's Case Keenum threw for in 2009. Keenum is back for the Cougars after getting a sixth year of eligibility.
--What is 300? The number of passing yards Southern Miss quarterback Austin Davis needs to become the all-time yardage record holder at the school. Whose record would he break? Brett Favre.
--Conference USA teams combined to average 60.6 points per game last season.
--What is 71-81? The combined record of UCF opponents from last season.
--What is 16? Total number of points allows by UCF in two Liberty Bowl games.
Knights notes and more: Despite the loss in the final of the Women's World Cup, the United States team gave us two weeks of exciting play. Former UCF All-American Michelle Akers was on my radio show last week and when I asked her to describe what it's like to represent your country she responded: "There is no greater feeling then having your country's colors on your jersey and it is hard to explain what you feel. But there is nothing like it."...Former UCF basketball star Brad Traina has played professionally in Europe and other international cities. On my radio show last week he said he would be surprised if a lot of NBA players opted to play in Europe during the lockout. One reason is the practice schedule. Traina said, "you have a two-a-day practices usually six days a week. Some of these NBA players don't have 12 practices in a season when they start playing games"...Final thought: My neighbor asked me if I thought he was weird because he waited in line at two in the morning to see the latest Harry Potter movie? How do you answer that without hurting his feelings?
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 Sports Network. Each weekday, Marc hosts The Beat of Sports on ESPN Radio 1080 in Orlando.