Oct. 15, 2011
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By John Denton
UCFAthletics.com
DALLAS, Texas (UCFAthletics.com) - A third road game for UCF and a third disappointing result for the Knights primarily because of a sputtering offense and special teams groups that continue to be, well, less than special.
SMU used a 92-yard punt return for a touchdown, another 47-yarder to set up a short scoring drive and the first two TD passes against UCF all season to whip the Knights 38-17 at Gerald J. Ford Stadium.
UCF dropped to 3-3 with all three defeats coming away from Bright House Networks Stadium. The Knights, who beat SMU 17-7 in the Conference USA title game last December, are 1-1 in C-USA play. Surging SMU, a West Division favorite along with Houston, is 5-1 overall and 3-0 in league play.
``We can't hold onto this longer than the bus ride and the airplane because we have a game (against UAB) in four days,'' UCF sophomore defensive tackle Victor Gray said. ``Other than that we'll look forward to seeing (SMU) again in the conference championship. We look to see them again and we'll have a whole different attitude. I think we came out lax, it carried over to the second half and we kept shooting ourselves in the foot.''
For some historical perspective, UCF was 3-3 in 2007 when it rallied to win the C-USA title and advanced to the Liberty Bowl and also 3-3 in 2009 when it reached the St. Pete Bowl.
UCF got within 24-10 early in the fourth quarter on a 27-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jeff Godfrey to former high school teammate Josh Reese. But SMU immediately smothered any hopes of a rally with a 72-yard touchdown pass from J.J. McDermott to Der'Nikk Thompson on the first play of the next series.
``I didn't think we did anything well. I thought we were outcoached and outplayed on offense, defense and special teams,'' UCF coach George O'Leary fumed. ``We put ourselves in the hole with some bad (special teams) plays and I don't think we ever recovered.''
Godfrey completed 23 of 32 passes for 232 yards and a touchdown, but he was replaced late in the game by redshirt freshman Blake Bortles. The Oviedo native had a 48-yard pass and a two-yard TD strike to J.J. Worton with 3:52 to play. O'Leary said after the game he will have discussions with offensive coordinator Charlie Taaffe about playing Bortles more along with Godfrey in the coming weeks.
Said O'Leary: ``Jeff made a lot of good throws and made some yards with his feet. But Blake has more opportunity to throw down the field. We have to sit down and see what the best situation for our team. But we have to get Blake in more often.''
UCF's offense controlled the time of possession (37 minutes to 22 minutes) and moved the ball up and down the field all day, but again struggled to score points in the red zone. The Knights had 25 first downs and 459 yards of total offense, but got the ball into the end zone just twice.
Following a slow start, UCF trailed 17-3 at the half, and things only proceeded to get worse in the third quarter. After freshman kicker Shawn Moffitt missed a 39-yard field goal in the period, SMU drove 78 yards for what proved to be a clinching score with the final five yards coming on a McDermott touchdown pass.
It was the first TD pass allowed by UCF's nationally ranked defense since last December in the C-USA title game, ending a streak of 380 game minutes without allowing a score through the air. The 78-yard march was also the longest TD drive allowed all season by UCF, which entered with the nation's best pass defense.
``This is very frustrating because we're not used to this,'' junior cornerback Josh Robinson said. ``We expect more out of our defense.''
How deceptive can statistics sometimes be? Through three quarters, UCF had run 20 more offensive plays and possessed the ball 10 more minutes, but still trailed 24-3.
UCF's ineffective play on special teams continued on Saturday when SMU's Richard Crawford repeatedly gashed the Knights. He had a return of 47 yards in the first quarter to set up SMU's first touchdown, had a 50-yarder nullified by penalty and returned another punt 92 yards for a score to put the Mustangs up 17-0 just before the half. Three Knights got a hand on Crawford on the play, but couldn't bring him to the ground.
Said Robinson: ``We've got to make plays. I had an opportunity to make plays on that one they ran back for a touchdown and I missed (the tackle). That's on me. That was my mistake.''
What was most shocking about the special teams errors was that UCF was so successful in that area last season. UCF had the No. 2 ranked special teams coverage unit last season, allowing just 80 yards total in returns and none longer than 18.
Remarkably, SMU had nearly as many return yards (141) as offensive yards (144) in the first half. UCF actually had the ball for 10 more minutes than SMU in the first half, but it still trailed 17-3 at the break.
Special teams issues continue to haunt the Knights this season. UCF had three fumbled punts in wins against Charleston Southern and Boston College and two muffed returns cost the Knights dearly in losses against FIU and BYU. Also against BYU, UCF allowed a tying kickoff return for a touchdown.
Uncharacteristically, UCF got off to a flat start. The Knights came into the game having dominated first quarters this season to the tune of 41-6, but on Saturday they trailed 10-0 after one period.
With UCF forced to punt after picking up just one first down on the opening drive of the game, Crawford returned the kick 47 yards to the 19-yard line. Two plays later, SMU was in the end zone following an 11-yard rumble by Line.
SMU's early score made it the first time in seven games that UCF had allowed a first-quarter touchdown. The streak dated back to Nov. 27, 2010 against Memphis. Also, it was the first time since the 2009 St. Pete Bowl that a team has scored a touchdown on the first drive of the game against UCF.
On the next possession, UCF converted one fourth-down conversion, but failed on another, giving the ball back to the Mustangs. SMU hit on two long pass plays - the last one on third down - and eventually settled for a field goal that put UCF in a 10-0 hole.
John Denton's Knights Insider appears on UCFAthletics.com several times a week. E-mail John at jdenton@athletics.ucf.edu.