Aug. 5, 2011
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By John Denton
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Whereas most viewed last December's defeat of Georgia in the Liberty Bowl as UCF's crowning achievement and the finish line to a figurative race the Knights have been running for years, Athletics Director Keith Tribble instead saw it as just a start.
As in the start of the golden age of UCF football from this day forward. In Tribble's eyes, UCF's defeat of a traditional Southeastern Conference power for its first-ever bowl victory was an announcement to the rest of the football world that UCF is ready to compete on a national level.
``No question about how that win was just the start for us,'' Tribble said. ``We're still a young program and we're doing some great things. Reaching a milestone like beating Georgia in the Liberty Bowl, I think that game will be looked at as a start of what's to come in the future for this football team.''
With training camp underway under the blazing Central Florida sun, UCF is hard at work to make sure that the upcoming season is even better than the 11-3 one from last season. The Knights worked out in helmets and shorts for the second time on Friday before conducting media day. UCF will put on shoulder pads for Saturday and Sunday's drills and then don full gear starting on Monday.
UCF opens the season Sept. 3 against Charleston Southern at Bright House Networks Stadium. Key nonconference games against Boston College, Florida International and BYU follow before the Knights shift their focus to trying to repeat as champions of Conference USA.
UCF made huge strides as a program last season, climbing into the national polls for the first time and finishing the season ranked No. 20 and 21 in the two rankings. The Knights won their third East Division crown and their second C-USA championship before stifling Georgia in the Liberty Bowl.
Tribble returned to Memphis earlier this week for the first time since he celebrated at midfield with the football team following the defeat of Georgia. Going back to West Tennessee sparked a flood of memories about the greatest moment in school history. Tribble said it's been amazing to him to see the ripple effect that the Liberty Bowl victory has had on the program in the past eight months.
``It did a lot for our program. We had been at that point so long where we wanted to make that final push to get some national respectability. And to play a team like Georgia, which has always been at the top of the SEC, and beat them in our championship bowl game, it's done wonders for our program,'' he said. ``Now, it's something that we've got to continue to build upon. We're looking forward to picking up this year where we left off last year.''
With eight starters back on offense and defense - including standouts Jeff Godfrey, Latavius Murray, Nick Pieschel, Kemal Ishmael, Josh Robinson and Darius Nall - UCF is a favorite to win another C-USA crown. But the Knights have even bigger aspirations such as making a push up into the Top 10 in the national rankings. And because they believe every game on the schedule is winnable, the Knights have even dreamt of authoring an undefeated season and crashing the BCS party for an invite to an elite bowl game.
Tribble said such a scenario would not only enhance UCF's profile as a rising power in college football, but it would also bring some much needed credibility to Conference USA's quality of play.
``It would be so good for our conference to get up to that level and be sort of a BCS buster. We've struggled as a conference against really good SEC and ACC teams, and that's where we have to do better in those games,'' Tribble said. ``Also, we have a very strong conference schedule and we sort of beat up on each other. Other schools such as Boise State and TCU didn't have as strong of a conference. Our conference is always been competitive and now it's important for some of us to get some big wins in these nonconference games.''
Tribble said he likes the schedule the way it is constructed this season with the four nonconference games first, followed by the C-USA games where the team can focus on repeating as league champs. He likes that the Knights have a winnable home opener (Charleston Southern), a marquee opponent at home (Boston College), a national game that will be broadcast nationally (BYU) and an intrastate game (FIU). Eventually, Tribble said, the hope is that the Knights can play more home-and-home series against foes from the SEC and ACC.
For now though, Tribble is sure of one thing: The UCF name is becoming more and more recognizable across the country because of the success of the football program. Being on national television eight times last season and winning in the biggest games of the season - in the C-USA title game against SMU and in the Liberty Bowl versus Georgia - helped spread the word across the football world that UCF is a power on the rise.
``Being ranked in the Top 25, getting as many exposures as we've had on national television the last five years and winning - all of those things have combined to give us some really good notoriety across the country,'' he said. ``We have to keep growing that so that UCF is a household name everywhere. I'm very proud of what we've accomplished, but I know that we have a lot more to do too. What we have done is great, but this is just a start for us.''
John Denton's Knights Insider appears on UCFAthletics.com several times a week. E-mail John at jdenton@athletics.ucf.edu.