July 31, 2011
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By Marc Daniels
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. - What makes sports so different than most things is the element of unknown. We watch because, unlike a movie, we don't know the ending. And unlike that movie, we can watch the next game and the outcome may be completely different from the previous game. As fans we build a memory bank of moments and often think back to those big games and performances and love to talk about how we saw it and what it meant to us.
For UCF fans, two of the biggest moments in the football program's history came in 2007 and 2010 when the team captured the Conference USA title. So what if we compared those two special moments? What if we could close our eyes and see a crisp, cool fall afternoon in November at Bright House Networks Stadium and a standing room only crowd watched the 2007 UCF Knights come out of one tunnel and the 2010 UCF Knights come out of the other tunnel and square off. Who would win a matchup of the 2007 conference champions against the 2010 conference champions?
The 2007 version of the Knights will always be special for many reasons. It was the school's first conference title and it was the team that opened Bright House Networks Stadium. It knocked off NC State on the road and took Texas to the wire in the first ever true home game for UCF. The 2007 team featured one of the greatest years for a running back in college football history as Kevin Smith ran for 2,567 yards and 29 touchdowns. The season saw a seven-game winning streak, highlighted by the conference title game win over Tulsa and a Liberty Bowl appearance against Mississippi State.
The 2010 team won nine of its final 10 games and won the Liberty Bowl. It featured a two-time conference defensive player of the year, and one of the most decorated defensive players in school history, in Bruce Miller. Miller led a dominating defense that smothered opposing offenses all year long. The 2010 version of the Knights provided the best freshman performance by a quarterback since a guy named Culpepper with rookie Jeff Godfrey. Last year's team also featured one of the deepest backfields in the country and one of the nation's top kick return units.
A closer look at the statistical comparison shows how similar the two teams are. The 20007 team averaged 35.9 points per game while the 2010 team put up 32.1 per game. Last year's defense allowed just 17.1 points per game while the 2007 defense allowed 26.6. But the 2007 defense holds a sack advantage at 39-32 and wins the interception battle 24-17.
The 2010 defense allowed just 315.4 yards per game compared to 366.4 for the 2007 team. The 2007 team ran 116 more offensive plays thanks to a certain guy in the backfield. That season UCF ran 1,016 offensive plays. Smith had 450 carries and caught 24 passes. Smith accounted for 47 percent of all plays called that season.
Other numbers that stand out include penalties. The 2007 team was flagged just 74 times while the 2010 squad had 71 penalties against them. Both teams had great success in the red zone. The 2007 team scored 87 percent of the time inside the 20. The 2010 scored 83 percent of the time in the red zone. Both teams had tremendous kick coverage defense, but the 2010 team led the nation in that category, allowing just 17.5 yards per kickoff return.
When you try and compare positions it is a bit unfair. For example, Bruce Miller was a freshman in 2007 and played very well. By the time 2010 came along, and coming off the highly honored 2009 campaign, Miller was double and tripled team all year long. There are several others who won multiple titles while playing significant roles for both teams, but that's part of the fun in comparing the matchup.
You can, but shouldn't compare quarterback vs. quarterback or linebackers vs. linebackers because they would not play against each other. So compare how the 2007 offense would do against the 2010 defense and vice versa.
The 2007 offense was Smith. His workhorse performances were nothing short of remarkable. But Smith did get some help in his dominating season. UCF's offensive line that year was a blocking machine. It featured players who play in the NFL and includes a Super Bowl champion in Josh Sitton, who has become one of the best offensive linemen in the NFL. That line also included Kyle Smith, Patrick Brown and a guy named Cliff McCray, who now has a chance at a third conference title.
Kyle Israel was more than adequate. He managed the game and did more than hand off to number 24. Israel converted many big third down passes and relied on several young receivers who became upper classmen for the 2010 team. Israel's receivers included Rocky Ross, Kamar Aiken, A.J. Guyton and Brian Watters.
How fun would it be to see the 2010 defense try to shut down Smith? The 2010 defense allowed just 108.4 rushing yards per game. Imagine Miller trying to trip up Smith and get help from Derrick Hallman and Kemal Ishmael. How would Darius Nall and Miller get by Sitton and Brown to get pressure on Israel? Would Israel convert a big third down with Josh Robinson operating one corner on the defensive side?
The other matchup would be just as dazzling. Godfrey would glance across and see a defense from 2007 that had freshman Bruce Miller on one side and Leger Douzable on the other. As good as Miller became, Douzable was a beast in that 2007 season. He had 14 tackles for a loss, 11 quarterback hurries and 7.5 sacks. Cory Hogue and Hallman were among hard hitting linebackers and the secondary was loaded as well.
Could Jeff Godfrey hit Jamar Newsome deep with Joe Burnett covering? Would Watters be able to pull in a pass with Sha'reff Rashad playing man-to-man? Would last year's backfield depth be able to wear down the 2007 defensive front?
Even special teams would be fun to watch. The 2007 season featured Burnett returning punts and the 2010 team offered Quincy McDuffie on kickoffs while both teams took pride in the outstanding kick coverage defense.
You could debate for hours and make a case for each team. Who would win a showdown of the 2007 team vs. the 2010 team? No one knows. Both teams were outstanding and provided many memories for fans. Both teams were loaded with talent and many of those players now play on Sundays in the NFL. So debate away and have at it. Who would win the game that will never be played?
Knights notes and more: If you really want to get into an argument about who was the greatest UCF team and who would win a showdown, you truly have to add the 2005 team based on the success of so many players from that team who played in the pros. Don't forget the offense of that team featured Brandon Marshall, Mike Sims-Walker, Josh Sitton, Darcy Johnson and Kevin Smith. The defense had Paul Carrington, Joe Burnett and Sha'reff Rashad and UCF's kicker was Matt Prater...George O'Leary offered a great answer to the question about what he thought of so many conference commissioners calling for reform in regards to college athletics. The UCF coach said "notice the call for reform is coming from leagues who have teams getting in trouble? If you run a clean program, you don't need to reform it"...What is the real purpose of conference media days? It's where media people get to interview media people on what they think the coaches and players just said to the media... Final thought: The laundry detergent I typically buy for my family had a new label that says "Now Even Better Than Before" on the front of the bottle. Is it because the company had a breakthrough in the chemical makeup of detergent or are they just trying harder after being lazy for several years?
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.