Sept. 11, 2011
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By Marc Daniels
UCFAthletics.com
"They're fast, they're very fast, definitely faster than Northwestern, but they're smaller, too. If we come out real physical like we've known to be in the past, and just get bodies on bodies and try to run it up the middle on them, I think we can control them in that way."
- Boston College offensive lineman
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Whether that quote made a bulletin board in UCF's locker room or not, that particular BC player was right about one thing. That thing is that UCF's defensive front was smaller than most BC will face this year. But it may also turn out to be the best defensive front BC faces all year. That "small" defensive front got even smaller when the Knights used redshirt freshman LeBranden Richardson at tackle at times along with its speed ends.
In the end, Boston College was held by that "small" defensive front and the rest of the UCF defense to 141 total yards, and only 101 after BC's opening drive. BC quarterback Chase Rettig, who threw for a career high 351 yards against Northwestern, was held to 70 yards on 10-of-23 passing. Running back Andre Williams ran for 59 yards. He had 28 on his first two carries. After that, Williams had 10 carries for 31 yards.
How good was UCF's defense? BC went three-and-out on eight of 11 possessions. And if there were any questions about UCF's ability of playing tough in the trenches, go to BC's opening possession of the third quarter when they marched to the UCF 33 trailing 9-3. On third and fourth down, UCF's "small" defensive front stuffed BC's rushing attempt and made a clear statement who controlled the line of scrimmage.
"He's a good quarterback, but in the ACC we face good quarterbacks every week."
- Boston College defensive player
Not sure if that quote made that same bulletin board as the other quote but my guess there are a lot of teams in the ACC that would love to have Jeff Godfrey as their quarterback. In what is a typical Jeff Godfrey night, he skillfully carved out another efficient game where he took what the defense gave him and made BC defenders look dizzy trying to find him when he ran the option. Need a big third-down conversion? In Jeff we trust. He ran and threw and he dissected a defense that was among the nation's best last season.
With two more rushing touchdowns, Godfrey now has 15 career scores on the ground. The school record for a quarterback is 24 set by Daunte Culpepper. It will be one of many records Godfrey will claim before he is done at UCF.
Knights notes and more: UCF is 2-0 for the first time since 1998, Culpepper's senior season. Boston College is 0-2 for the first time since 1994...Latavius Murray looked like the guy who ran in the Liberty Bowl against BC. He hit the hole and ran over defenders on the way to a 72-yard night...Jonathan Davis seems quite comfortable on defense. The one-time Georgia high school defensive player of the year picked up a sack and some big time hits on BC backs and receivers all night...Adam Nissley had six catches in 2010. He already has five this season. Nissley remembers the 2008 loss to BC and enjoys the outcome this time, "It feels great after that game in 2008. It was my first college start and to beat these guys here like we did feels good."...How many other teams in college football had one Josh tip an interception to another Josh in Robinson to Linam...Find a better interception than A.J. Bouye's pick and let me know...Do you know the last touchdown the UCF defense has allowed? That would be 12+ quarters ago in the Conference USA title game to SMU last season...UCF is 11-1 in its last 12 games and the Knights have won six straight and have given up just 47 points in those six games...Among the 45,671 at the game was Boston Celtics head coach and Orlando resident Doc Rivers. He was rooting for UCF, right? Right Doc?...Speaking of the crowd, I will say it again. Celebrate those who go to the game and stop paying attention to those who don't, although the celebration is more fun with a packed Bright House...Kudos to Rice for their win over Purdue. The conference needs wins like this and now owns wins over the Pac-12, ACC and Big 10...Aaron Taylor, the former Notre Dame all-American and Super Bowl champion, is now an analyst for CBS Sports Network. Taylor was part of the broadcast of the game and he appeared on my radio show last week and offered this about UCF: "The facilities are amazing and you can see the talent base that makes them a very good team and someone who can compete on a national level."...FIU's starting quarterback is Wesley Carroll. Anyone remember where you've heard that name before? Carroll was the quarterback for Mississippi State when UCF faced the Bulldogs in the Liberty Bowl in 2007, where he went 8-for-18 for 39 yards and one interception. He also was Nick Pieschel's quarterback when the two played high school ball at St. Thomas Aquinas in Fort Lauderdale...Final thought: I get to visit my parents this week in south Florida before the game FIU. I asked my parents where they might want to go out for dinner on Friday night. My mom said, "We don't eat out much anymore so I really don't know." I then made a suggestion and my mom said, "No, that place is awful." I then recommended another restaurant and she said, "The wait is too long there." I then offered another choice and she said "I don't like the menu there." For someone who doesn't eat out much she sure knows a lot about restaurants.
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.