Nov. 4, 2011
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By John Denton
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. - When UCF couldn't convert from the 5-yard line and ultimately couldn't keep pace with Tulsa's up-tempo offense Thursday night, the Knights were left with a haunting microcosm that is very much indicative of a frustrating season.
UCF failed to score four times from inside the 5-yard line on its final offensive possession, and couldn't get the defensive stops necessary to get the ball back inside the final four minutes, leaving it with a deflating 24-17 loss at Bright House Networks Stadium.
Troubled by red-zone woes all season, UCF's bid at tying the game died when it was stopped on two runs and two incomplete passes. Tight end Adam Nissley broke open on the fourth-down play, but quarterback Jeff Godfrey couldn't complete the pass because of heavy pressure from the Tulsa defensive line.
``This is my senior year and this is a game I'm going to think about the rest of my life. Being on the 5-yard line, we take great pride in punching it in there and we had (four) opportunities, but we couldn't capitalize,'' UCF guard Cliff McCray said. ``This is very disappointing and frustrating. We just couldn't put it in.''
UCF (4-5 overall and 2-3 in Conference USA play) lost more than just a game Thursday night before 36,712 fans at Bright House Networks Stadium. The Knights no longer control their own destiny as it relates to C-USA play and they will now need major help to return to the conference title game. Also, the Knights must win two of the final three games remaining to be bowl eligible.
``I never thought we'd be in this position,'' admitted Godfrey, who played well with 226 yards and a touchdown passing and 46 rushing yards. ``Like I tell the guys every day, we have to keep pushing. The season is not over with and we have to keep playing.''
The Knights led 7-0 early on, 14-13 at the half and 17-16 in the fourth quarter, but they couldn't keep pace with Tulsa's torrid offense. The Golden Hurricane, who played the nation's toughest schedule early in the season and has since won five in a row, got 203 passing yards from senior quarterback G.J. Kinne and another 251 yards on the ground. And Tulsa salted the game away late by running for two first downs in the final four minutes.
``It was a game of making plays and we obviously didn't make enough, especially at the end when you get the ball inside the 5-yard line. And defensively, you have to stop them and we didn't,'' UCF head coach George O'Leary said. ``The effort was good, but from a responsibility standpoint we just have to make more plays on defense and offense. When you have your opportunities you have to make plays and we didn't.''
Redshirt freshman J.J. Worton was a big bright spot for the Knights, catching a 28-yard touchdown and a 41-yarder late in the game to get UCF to the 5-yard line. Worton also had an acrobatic 40-yard catch at the 1-yard line wiped out by a penalty. UCF was penalized six times for 64 yards, while Tulsa was not flagged.
``Those are things that you have to overcome, but they are also things that get you beat,'' O'Leary said. ``The penalties, the missed tackles, not punching the ball in and the defense not getting the ball back, those things are frustrating.''
UCF must now attempt to solve one of the most puzzling mysteries of the season by attempting to win on the road over the next two weeks. The Knights travel to Hattiesburg, Miss., next Saturday to face East Division co-leaders Southern Miss (7-1 and 3-1). UCF is 0-4 on the road this season, losing at FIU, BYU, SMU and UAB this season.
After the Southern Miss game, UCF travels to East Carolina (4-4 and 3-1). The Knights then close the regular season at home against UTEP.
``We've still got games left and still have a season left to play,'' UCF junior defensive back Josh Robinson said. ``We're still going to work hard toward our goal of being conference champions. I'm not sure if that can even happen, but you always keep fighting no matter what happens.''
UCF's inability to stop the run and make Tulsa (6-3 and 5-0) one-dimensional led to its undoing on this night. Trailing 17-16, Tulsa mixed the run and the pass beautifully while driving 72 yards to take the lead once again. Kinne scrambled for a key first down on the drive and found tight end Clay Sears for a 16-yard score. Kinne then found Bryan Burnham for a two-point conversion that put Tulsa up 24-17. Not only was it Tulsa's first two-point conversion of the season, but it was also the first conversion allowed by UCF since 2008 when Miami did it.
Said Robinson: ``We always focus on stopping the run first and then force them to pass, but we didn't do either one. We just made it even more difficult for our defense and it hurt us.''
Tulsa took the opening kickoff of the second half and marched 83 yards, gashing UCF for passing gains of 16, 18, 16 and 32 yards. But UCF got three consecutive stops with tight coverage from cornerbacks Brandon Alexander and Robinson and safety Clayton Geathers. Tulsa had to settle for a third field goal and a slim 16-14 lead.
UCF was the benefactor of a controversial play near the end of the third quarter. Facing a fourth-and-two, Willie Carter appeared to haul in a 4-yard game, but he bobbled the ball following a jarring hit by UCF's Alexander, a walk-on true freshman making just his second career start. Following a replay review, officials deemed the play and incomplete pass and awarded the ball to UCF.
The Knights took a 17-16 lead with 11:55 to play on the biggest field goal of Shawn Moffitt's young UCF career. The true freshman, an Orlando native, booted a 29-yarder to put the Knights back into the lead for a third time on the night.
But what will haunt UCF's offense most is the inability to score from the 5-yard line when trailing by seven points late in the game. On the fourth down play, Godfrey wishes he would have had another split second and he likely would have gotten the ball to Nissley for the tying score.
``I've got to get stronger and make that throw for the touchdown to tie it up," said Godfrey.
UCF led 14-13 at the half by accomplishing one of its missions of controlling the football and playing keep away from Tulsa's fastbreak offense. The Knights had the football for 19 minutes, 36 seconds of the first two quarters and ran six more plays than Tulsa. UCF had a whopping 237 yards in the first half, moving the ball at will on its six drives early in the game.
Godfrey played near flawless football in the first half, hitting on 10 of 13 throws for 147 yards and running for another 39 yards. His play in the clutch helped UCF convert five of eight third downs in the opening two quarters.
O'Leary had been saying for weeks that a big play was coming from freshman receiver Rannell Hall, and the player nicknamed ``Speedy'' delivered on that promise to start the game. Hall returned the opening kickoff 97 yards - from the 1-yard line to the 2 - but a holding penalty on Geathers negated the dazzling run. Officially, Hall was credited with a 48-yard return after the penalty.
But as so often has been the case this season, UCF went on to score after the Hall return. UCF marched 61 yards in just seven plays and stormed to a 7-0 lead when Godfrey found Worton for a 28-yard touchdown. It was the second career TD catch for Worton, a Homestead native. It was also the seventh time this season in eight returns that UCF has scored following a Hall runback.
Said O'Leary: ``I tell you what, (Worton) is getting better and better each week and made some really nice catches. He has great concentration on the ball and he's making plays. That's what a receiver is supposed to do.''
UCF's attempts to slow down Tulsa's hurry-up offense worked to perfection on the first drive of the game with a three-and-out. But the Golden Hurricane quickly rebounded from that and needed just five plays and 102 seconds to go 80 yards to tie the game at 7-all. Willie Carter's 19-yard sprint around right end was the first time all season that UCF's defense allowed a touchdown at Bright House Networks Stadium.
UCF's defense got stops at the 19 and 7-yard line in the second quarter, holding Tulsa to two Kevin Fitzpatrick field goals. And the UCF offense took advantage of those breaks by driving for a go-ahead touchdown. Godfrey had a key 36-yard completion to Quincy McDuffie on a third-and-nine play - UCF's fifth third-down conversion of the first half - to keep the drive alive. And seconds later, senior tailback Ronnie Weaver followed the blocks of guard Cliff McCray and center Jordan Rae for a 6-yard touchdown run that ultimately put UCF up 14-13.
``We knew Tulsa was a team with a good quarterback and could put up points in a hurry, so our gameplan was to maintain time of possession, which we did,'' McCray said. ``But it's about putting the points in and capitalizing on opportunities. We had the big plays, but when it came down to (scoring in the red zone) we just weren't able to do that.''
John Denton's Knights Insider appears on UCFAthletics.com several times a week. E-mail John at jdenton@athletics.ucf.edu.