ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Former Knights and current staff members swarmedRio Pinar Country Club for the annual UCF Football Lettermen's Golf TournamentFriday. More than 20 groups were signed up to compete for several UCF prizes,along with a little bragging rights.

Theformat was an 18-hole, four-person scramble, and afterward there was a lunchreception where the winners were announced, along with who had the longestdrives of the day. The winning group of Tyson Hinshaw, Stuart Stipe, Jason Thorpeand Mary Vander Heider carded a 58.

Thisyear's event took place a day before the UCF Spring Football Game which isscheduled for Saturday at 2 p.m. at Bright House Networks Stadium.

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Planyour game days with the Knights, and experience one of the best schedules inprogram history in the best available seat locations at Bright House NetworksStadium. 2013 season tickets start at $99. To secure your UCF football seasontickets, visit UCFAthletics.com or call 407-UCF-1000. 

Although signing day is just around the corner, three members of the Knights' 2013 recruiting class have already been on campus since January. Quarterbacks Pete DiNovo and Justin Holman as well as defensive back D.J. Killings have gotten a head start on the process by enrolling early for the spring. 

UCFAthletics.com caught up with fellow early enrollees Breshad Perriman, Joey Grant, JustinTukes as well as director of player personnel Drew Hughes as they spoke about the advantages as well as the challenges of enrolling early.

A reminder the UCF Signing Day Show is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb 6, in the Bright House Networks Stadium recruiting lounge from 5:45-6:45 p.m. More information on the day's events can be found at here.

One comment former Rhode Island center Matt Greenhalgh isstill trying to get used to hearing is "you saved my life." That's whatUCF graduate and longtime Knights season ticket holder Kenneth Nuckols tellsGreenhalgh every time he sees him.

Back in December 2010, Nuckols was diagnosed with leukemiaand his best chance of survival was to find a bone marrow donor. Nuckols andhis doctor looked at a list of bone marrow donors and Greenhalgh's name came upas a match. Nuckols had no clue at the time that Greenhalgh was an athlete inhis favorite sport, nor did Greenhalgh know how big a college football fanNuckols was.

"I had no idea. They told me it was an anonymous donation,"Greenhalgh said. "All they could do was give me his age and his illness and Isaid 'alright sign me up.'"

The former URI football player recently graduated and wasone of the many Rhode Island football players who were registered as a bonemarrow donor. The entire team decided that was something they wanted to doafter head coach Joe Trainer presented the idea to the team. Every year since2009, the team and Trainer have run a bone marrow drive, in association with "Be the Match", to try and get students to become donors.

By rules of the donor list, both Nuckols and Greenhalgh hadto wait one year after the donation was made to meet each other. Both met thispast summer over the phone and hit it off right away talking about collegefootball.

"That was probably the coolest part of the whole thing isfinding out that the guy who saved my life by giving me his bone marrow was acollege football player himself," Nuckols said. "That gives us more of aconnection with the sport."

"Once Ken called me it was unreal," Greenhalgh said. "I sawa number I don't usually see on my cell phone and I picked it up and it was Kenand we talked for about a half hour and just kept our relationship from there."

When Nuckols found out UCF was going to stay in Florida forits bowl game, he decided he would spend the money he set aside for travelexpenses on a plane ticket for Matt to fly down to Orlando for the game.

"The thought occurred to me that since Matt was graduatingmaybe he would be able to come down," Nuckols said. "Instead of me spending themoney to travel, I chose to bring him down for the game. It's just my way ofsaying 'thank you.'"

The two spent hours talking about college football duringtheir couple days at the bowl game and Greenahlgh said he enjoyed learningeverything Nuckols taught him about the Knights. Greenhalgh said he wants tocontinue to stay involved with the National Bone Marrow Foundation and wants touse his position as a former college football player to get people to donate.

In early December, Greenhalgh's brother donated his bone marrowand a total of four people from the drives he helped run have already donated.

To find out more, see the video above.

On a night when 20 seniors set a schoolrecord for the most victories by a senior class in school history, it was anunderclassman who shined for the Knights. Sophomore quarterback and Oviedonative Blake Bortles recorded 350 total yards and four total touchdowns in UCF's38-17 win over Ball State in the Beef O'Brady's Bowl.

The 6-foot-4 gunslinger tied a Beef O'Brady'sbowl record with three passing touchdowns and had 271 passing yards. Bortlesalso ran for a career high 80 yards and one score on the ground. Many of theseniors said they were impressed by his performance.

"Superman," senior linebacker RayShipman said. "He made a lot of plays. Being the humble guys he is he'salways preaching about the offensive line, but he was huge in the game."

"Blake played like the quarterback weknow he is," senior full back Billy Giovanetti said. "Blake wastaking over and he was putting the ball in our receivers' [hands], but heplayed great. You can't ask for anything more from our quarterback."

Bortles finished the season with 3,059passing yards, 25 passing touchdowns, 285 rushing yards and eight rushingtouchdowns.

With only a few hours till kickoff, UCF Knights are ready for the Knights to hit the field and take on Ball State in the 2012 Beef O'Brady's Bowl. Remember to check back at UCFAthletics.com after the game for complete post game coverage of the game.

Finish. It has been the motto of UCF Athletics all year, and it's exactly how the Knights want to wrap up their 2012 season. The Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl is very familiar to UCF after its previous visit in 2009. To get you ready for the showdown with Ball State at the Trop, get all your facts with the bowl edition of 10 Tweetable Tidbits.

@BSUCardsFB (9-3) vs. @UCF_Football (9-4)
Tropicana Field (28,000 for Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl) - St. Petersburg, Fla. - 7:30 p.m. EST
Watch it live on ESPN or on any mobile device or tablet with WatchESPN. You can listen on WYGM @740thegame (flagship), WFLF 540-AM (Maitland), WDCF 1350-AM (Clearwater), WROD 1340-AM (Daytona Beach), WWCN 770-AM (Fort Myers)
Follow the action all game long with updates from @UCF_Football and @UCF_Athletics on Twitter. Don't forget to "Like" the Knights on Facebook as well. For the stat buffs out there, follow on .

With a win, #UCF would reach 10 victories for the fourth time in program history (1990, 2007, 2010) #ItsAllAboutTheHamiltonsAccording to the Mayan calendar, #BSUvsUCF will likely be the last college football in the world #Finish20 Knights have appeared in 3 bowls & have a chance for sole possession of most wins by a senior class with 34 #GoOutWithABang#UCF has topped 40 points 5 times in 2012 and has a shot to reach 500 on the year with the record being 502 in '07 #HalfAGrand Speaking of points, #UCF has tied the 2007 squad for most offensive TDs (56) and total TDs (62) in school history #HouseCall Lethal with the ball in his hands, Quincy McDuffie is averaging 11.4 yards per touch on offense this year #AllAmericanBlake Bortles has thrown 2 touchdowns or more 9 times this year, joining Ryan Schneider as the only other Knight to do it #HitMeForSix Led by C-USA Defensive POY Kemal Ishmael, #UCF has recovered 15 fumbles in 2012, one off the school record in '09 #ScoopItUp #UCF ranks 7th in the nation in KO return average (26.11), led by McDuffie who leads the country with 34.24 per return #KickIfYouDareDid you know #UCF has given up just 51 points in the 1st quarter, including five teams being held scoreless? #Quicksand

The Golden Knights Club helps the donors get ready for the Beef O'Brady's Bowl and there are plenty of pregame festivities for the fans to take part in before UCF's game against Ball State. Continue to follow UCFAthletics.com for complete coverage on the Knights.

The Knights took part in their final event before the Beef O'Brady's Bowl and received a visit from a former Heisman Trophy winner. The Marching Knights took part in the "Battle of the Bands" against Ball State and UCF fans got to experience George O'Leary's radio show from Ferg's Sports Bar and Grill during the Bowl Block Party. Continue to check UCFAthletics.com for more information on the Knights.

The team captains make a visit to the All-Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg to put a smile on some faces. The Marching Knights load up and head to the bowl game. This afternoon the band will take part in Battle of the Bands at the Sirata Beach Resort. Continue to check UCFAthletics.com for more coverage of the Knights and more episodes of "Bowlin' On The Bay".

For this edition of Bowlin' On The Bay, UCFAthletics.com speaks with Special Assistant to the Head Coach Manny Messeguer, and looks ahead to Thursday's events. It will be another big day for the Knights, including their second practice at Tropicana Field.

The Knights spent some time on the beach at the beach bash, which was held at the Sirata Beach Resort. UCF also held its football banquet where five players received multiple awards. Watch this episode of "Bowlin' On The Bay" to find out more and continue to check UCFAthletics.com the rest of the week for more updates on the Knights.

The Knights complete their first practice on Tropicana Field as they continue their preparation for the Beef O'Brady's Bowl against Ball State. Also, find out what goes into hosting a football game at a baseball stadium. Continue to check the Knights all week at UCFAthletics.com and for more updates on the football team as well as more episodes of "Bowlin' On The Bay".

After a fun night on the player VIP cruise, the Knights get ready for the first practice inside Troicana Field. Beef O'Brady's Bowl Executive Director Brett Dulaney says he is very happy to have the Knights in St. Petersburg. Continue to check UCFAthletics.com all week long for more updates on the Knights during their week at the Beef O'Brady's Bowl.

The Knights arrived at their home for the next four nights at the Vinoy Resort and Golf Club. The Knights also take part in their first event at this year's bowl week in the players VIP cruise. Continue to check UCFAthletics.com for more information and updates on the Knights throughout the entire week.

The Knights have arrived in St. Petersburg and The Vinoy Resort and Golf Club near The Pier, and are looking forward to the many of the bowl events taking place.

Continue to check UCFAthletics.com for continuous coverage from St. Petersburg and the Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl. 

It's the day the Knights head to St. Petersburg in this edition of "Bowlin' On The Bay". On Tuesday morning, UCF will have its final practice before hopping on the bus and heading to the Beef O'Brady's Bowl to take part in all of the bowl's activities by the bay. For many of the underclassmen and newer Knights it's their first bowl with UCF, and all of them have enjoyed the bowl experience so far. Continue to check UCFAthletics.com all week for more updates on the Knights and "Bowlin' On The Bay" daily updates.

The Knights finish up their final afternoon practice in Orlando on a warm Monday evening. After a team dinner, the players received their bowl gifts for the Beef O'Brady's Bowl and continue to get excited to head to St. Petersburg. Continue to follow UCFAthletics.com for complete coverage of the Knights' bowl trip and for daily updates on "Bowlin' On The Bay".

In this edition of "Bowlin' By The Bay", many members of the UCF football staff including the athletic trainers and equipment managers talk about what they have to do to prepare for the bowl. On Tuesday, the Knights will leave Orlando and head to St. Petersburg for the Beef O'Brady's Bowl against the Ball State Cardinals. Continue to follow UCFAthletics.com for complete coverage of UCF's bowl trip and daily "Bowlin' By The Bay" Reports.

It'sa huge week for UCF athletics. The action begins on Tuesday when the MiamiHurricanes basketball team brings a 6-1 record to the UCF arena to take on the6-2 Knights. It's the first meeting between the two since UCF knocked off theCanes' 84-78 in 2010 in a game in Sunrise, Florida. The victory gave UCF a 10-0start to the season.  Donnie Jones' teamwill hit the hardwood again on Thursday when rival Stetson visits. UCF has won12 straight over the Hatters.

Thebasketball win at Old Dominion gave UCF a glimpse of how good junior guardCalvin Newell can be. After struggling in his first game of the season againstBethune Cookman, Newell hit his first shot at ODU and scored 17 in the big roadwin. The Knights are among the national leaders in field goal percentage andsophomore Kasey Wilson has quickly become one of the better shooting forwardsin the nation.

Thebig week of sports is highlighted by Friday's Beef O'Brady's Bowl in St.Petersburg. UCF faces off against Ball State, who is seeking the school's firstever bowl win. The Knights are focused on a 10^th win and theschool's second bowl win.

Followme on twitter @UCF_MarcDaniels for notes, news and more and get all your UCFsports news at www.ucfathletics.com

When it was finalized that the football team would be making the trip to St. Petersburg for the Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl, the thoughts of sunny weather and white sandy beaches were engrained in my mind. When the staff made the two-hour drive to scope out all of the destinations for bowl festivities this past Thursday, it became apparent that St. Pete is the perfect bowl destination.

Location, Location, Location

It's mid to late December. Everywhere on television are shots of snow here and windy/cold temperatures there. In St. Pete this past week? It was 82 degrees with barely a cloud in the sky.

The first stop on the site visit brought us to the Sirata Beach Resort smack dab on the Gulf of Mexico. This bustling hotel will be home to the beach bash and battle of the bands that are set to take place on Dec. 19 from 3-6 p.m. and 2-5 p.m. on Dec. 20, respectively.

With acres upon acres of white sand on the No. 1 beach in the U.S. according to TripAdvisor, it will be quite the setup for both UCF and Ball State players, coaches, support staff and fans to thoroughly enjoy themselves. I heard the 2009 belly flop contest was quite the competition, and I can only imagine what this year's showdown will have in store.

Party Headquarters

Many Tampa Bay Rays fans are probably familiar with one of the best places to go 81+ times a year pre and postgame during the months of April-October. Ferg's Sports Bar & Grill will be home to the bowl block party on Dec. 20 beginning at 5 p.m. the night before the big game.

I've experienced this place first-hand gameday, and I must say the atmosphere is phenomenal. If you are looking to sit down inside, enjoy a drink out on the massive covered patio or head upstairs and enjoy a view of Tropicana Field while you enjoy a meal, then Ferg's has you covered. Speaking of covers, there is also a tunnel under the highway directly to the Trop to ensure everyone in your party arrives safely.

Unique Experience

Anyone can play a bowl game in a football stadium, but what Tropicana Field brings to the mix is a unique venue combining America's pastime with the most popular sport of my generation. It is just one of three bowl games to be played in baseball-only stadiums (Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl in San Francisco and the Pinstripe Bowl in Yankee Stadium).

The setup works well with the field arranged along the first-base line all the way from home plate to the right-field bleachers. This allows fans to be as close to the action as possible, especially in the end zones.

Taking the baseball/football combination to a whole new level, I'm petitioning the bowl's administrators for a rousing rendition of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" to be sung in between the third and fourth quarter. I'm pretty sure that timeframe matches well with what would be the seventh-inning stretch.

One For The Road

The best part of the site visit? I'm going to have to go with the Sirata game room. Some of the all-time greats were assembled in this building. You had the Rush 2049 driving simulator, Golden Tee, Bags (corn hole) and last, but certainly not least, a combo of Ms. Pac Man and Galaga.

There are many can't misses on this bowl trip, and this certainly is one you can't pass up. For a trip down memory lane with Ms. Pac Man, check out the video below.

UCF Athletics Social Media Directory

By Marc Daniels
UCFAthletics.com

UCFwill begin preparation for their game with Ball State in the Beef O'Brady'sBowl in St. Petersburg on December 21^st. The Knights will try andpost their 10^th win of the season, something a UCF team has doneonly three previous times. The Cardinals bring a six game win streak into thecontest and seek the school's first bowl win. Ball State is 0-5 in bowl games,their last game against Tulsa in the 2009 GMAC Bowl.

Here are some non-football facts about UCF's bowl opponentyou may not know. Ball State is located in Muncie, Indiana and has anenrollment of just over 22,000. The school was originally known as IndianaNormal Institute before it was bought by a group of five brothers, the BallBrothers. Glass manufacturers, the Ball Brothers were philanthropists who areresponsible for much of the early industry and social programs around Muncie,Indiana.

The football team's first conference title came in 1942when Ball State won the Indiana Intercollegiate Conference title. It has wonfive MAC titles with the most recent being in 1996. The team was ranked as highas 12^th in AP Poll in 2008 when current Michigan Coach Brady Hokeled the team.

Among the famous alums who went to Ball State includeDavid Letterman, Joyce DeWitt who starred in the sitcom Three's  Company, Stedman Graham who is most know asOprah Winfrey's longtime boyfriend, Jim Davis who created "Garfield" the catand his cartoon character and sports columnist Jason Whitlock.

Basketball returns this week as Donnie Jones' team facesBethune-Cookman on Wednesday night before the team's first road game out ofstate at Old Dominion on Friday.

Major props to all parties involved on moving thebasketball game against Stetson to December 20^th so fans can attendthat game before heading to St. Petersburg for the bowl game the next day.

Followme on twitter @UCF_MarcDaniels for notes, news and more and get all your UCFsports news at www.ucfathletics.com

Whenever student- athletes accomplish something on the fieldfans, coaches and teammates celebrate the achievement. The same can be said forthe Knights' accomplishments in the classroom.

For the first time in the fall semester, the UCF AcademicServices for Student-Athletes held "A Knights Celebration". The eventrecognized all of the senior student-athletes who graduated this past semester.13 Knights were recognized at the event in front of athletic administrators,academic advisors, coaches and other members of the UCF family.

"To actually see it all together at an event like this, Ithink the students really appreciate this," Associate Athletics Director forAcademic Services Kimya Massey said. "Also it's really exciting for us becausewe hope to inspire them, but they really inspire us to do our jobs on a day today basis."

"It's amazing when you think about the people that arededicated to their success," continued Massey. "Between the trainers, strengthand conditioning coaches, academic advisors, sport administrators and campusfolks. We're really all there for them and we're very passionate about theirsuccess."

This past spring semester, the Knights held this same typeof celebration for all of its graduating student-athletes. Massey said therewere between 70 and 80 student-athletes that were recognized and this is a newtradition the ASSA is going to continue.

St. Petersburg native and women's soccer player AndreaRodrigues was recognized at the celebration and was a member of this year'sConference USA Tournament Champion women's soccer team. She and her teammatesgot a lot of recognition for winning that championship, but she's enjoyed therecognition she received at the celebration for her accomplishments in theclassroom.

"A lot of people think that athletics is just about what youperform on the field and your championship and everything, but it's aboutgetting an education and being able to balance a lot of your life," Rodrigues said.

Massey says this is a celebration he's seen at many otheruniversities and hopes it will help the student-athletes stay connected to theuniversity after they graduate.

"I think it's really critical in those first couple ofyears," Massey said. "I think that's when some universities lose some studentswho sort of go their own way, but we really want to keep in touch with them andmake them feel connected."

UCF Athletics Social Media Directory

By Marc Daniels
UCFAthletics.com

UCF will play in its fifth bowl game in school history whenit faces the Ball State Cardinals in the Beef O'Brady's Bowl in St. Petersburgon December 21st. The Knights accepted the bowl bid after the tough overtimeloss in Tulsa in the Conference USA title game.

The overtime championship game was the first in leaguehistory. Much has been made about the fourth quarter punt return by Tulsa'sTrey Watts and what did or did not take place on the field. If you missed themany replay angles on Coach O'Leary's weekly television show, the show isavailable online. Despite the bizarre play, Coach O'Leary points out both teamshad chances to win and Tulsa made a few more plays. So congrats to the GoldenHurricane and the same to UCF who won a conference division and has a shot at a10th win with a bowl victory.

It will go down as one of my favorite plays of the footballseason. Despite the loss, Rob Calabrese's play to track down a Tulsa playerafter a blocked extra point is a play I won't soon forget. For someone to gothrough everything Calabrese did and show the effort and speed to track down aplayer that looked like he had two easy points should be used by UCF to futureteams in regards to never give up on a play. Calabrese's effort was special andshould be remembered for a long time.

Don't forget, Donnie Jones' team returns to the court for aDecember 12th game against Bethune Cookman. Jones may finally have a fullroster of players and should be excited about his team. UCF fans saw a glimpseof the future with the debut of freshman Matt Williams who scored 21 points in13 minutes with seven three-pointers in the win over Florida Tech. CalvinNewell is set to make his debut after the semester ends and the Knights shouldbe a fun team to watch.

Follow me on twitter @UCF_MarcDaniels for notes, news andmore and get all your UCF sports news at www.ucfathletics.com

The Knights touched down in Tulsa around 2:30 p.m. centralstandard time for the final time this season and for the final time as membersof Conference USA.

Saturday will be the third time the Knights will meet theGolden Hurricane in the Conference USA Championship game, but it will be thefirst at H.A. Chapman Stadium. Just two weeks ago, UCF lost to Tulsa in theregular season 23-21 and missed out on earning home field advantage for thischampionship contest.

Sophomore quarterback Blake Bortles will look to improvefrom his last contest at Tulsa when he completed 13-of-31 pass attempts for 169yards and one touchdown. The Oviedo native has had a solid season compiling2,593 passing yards and 20 touchdowns. Bortles continues to be one of the mostefficient signal callers in the conference with a 145.2 rating, which is rankedsecond in C-USA.

Senior running back Latavius Murray finished the regularseason ranked first in C-USA with 107.1 rushing yards per game and tied forfirst in scoring averaging 10 points per game. Murray is coming off a 95rushing yard and one touchdown performance against the UAB Blazers.

The UCF defense looks to improve from its last performanceagainst Tulsa, where the Knights gave up 461 total yards. Senior linebackerJonathan Davis had a career performance with 17 tackles in that game. Defensiveback A.J. Bouye also had a game changing 76-yard interception return for atouchdown as well.

The Knights are 2-4 all-time against the Golden Hurricane.This will be the first C-USA Championship away from home for the Knights. Sincethe start of the conference championship game, road teams are 3-4 overall.

Weather Report

Saturday's forecast calls for it to be mostly cloudy with a20 percent chance of rain. The projected high is 72 degrees and a projected lowis 55 degrees.

Game Notes

Want to go in-depth to learn more about UCF and Tulsa andtheir matchup tomorrow? Click on the links below for the media notes,distributed by the communications staff of both squads.

UCF Game Notes

Tulsa Game Notes

Links/Media Coverage

UCFAthletics.com - BLOG: Knights Ready For Rematch In Tulsa

UCFAthletics.com - BLOG: O'Leary - "Those are the games youremember"

UCFAthletics.com - BLOG: On The Verge Of History, Focused OnThe Present

UCF Athletics.com - Looking Back on UCF's C-USA ChampionshipGames

Orlando Sentinel - Friday morning round-up: UCF, Tulsa readyfor C-USA championship showdown

Orlando Sentinel - Current, former UCF players saychampionship week is unique

Orlando Sentinel - UCF Breakdown: Key matchups and statistical comparison for the C-USAchampionship at Tulsa

Tulsa World - TU Football Notebook: UCF Rivalry

Radio/TV/Video

Kickoff is set for noon eastern standard time and 11 a.m.central standard time. The game will be broadcast on Fox Sports Network and theUCF-IMG College Radio Network. At the top of this blog is a quick preview ofSaturday's game with "The Voice of the Knights" Marc Daniels and UCF coloranalyst Mike Gruttadauria.

It is a pretty fitting ending for UCF's run in Conference USA to be facing Tulsa in the title game Saturday at noon. The two teams have met twice for the right to represent the league in the Liberty Bowl, and the rubber match promises to be another dandy. UCFAthletics.com has you covered once again with 10 Tweetable tidbits to tweet out to all of your followers for the championship game.

Since '05, no other conference has had 2 teams play each other more in its title game than the matchup of UCF & Tulsa #ItTakesTwoToTango
The C-USA winner in '05 & '07 had the edge in halftime score, rushing yds, TOs, penalties, red-zone conversions & sacks #KeysToVictory
A win Saturday would give #UCF double-digit victories for the fourth time in school history #DoubleYourPleasureDoubleYourFun
UCF continues to be a disciplined squad, ranking fifth in the nation in fewest penalties (3.67) per game in 2012 #LockedIn
RB Latavius Murray owns 40-career overall TDs. That ranks second all-time behind Kevin Smith who hit pay dirt 46 times #Tay_24K
Speedster Quincy McDuffie became the first UCF WR to rush for 3 TDs in a game last week against UAB #WhatCanQdoForYou
On just 3 INTs, DB A.J. Bouye has racked up 111 return yards on his picks, currently the fifth-best mark in a season at UCF #BooYa!
Did you know #UCF has five players (Ishmael, Geathers, Plummer, Shipman & Jonathan Davis) with at least 80 tackles? #GrassStains
On This Day: UCF is 2-0 all-time on Dec. 1, including its first @ConferenceUSA1 title over Tulsa in 2007, 44-25 #GoodKarma
Record Watch: With 15 more pass completions, QB Blake Bortles (444) could break into the top five for career pass completions #EarlyRiser

The Knights have had a football program for 33 years and onSaturday UCF will play its final game in Conference USA before it begins a newchapter in the Big East Conference next season.

One of the reasons the Knights are able to make that move tothe Big East is because of all of the success they've had during their shorthistory as a football program. Saturday's Conference Championship game againstTulsa will give the Knights a chance to write more history against the GoldenHurricane.

A win would give the Knights a Conference USA record thirdchampionship and the squad will go down as one of the greatest teams in schoolhistory.

"It means a lot," senior fullback Billy Giovanetti said. "Ifeel like we're not so much focused on the history that it's creating, but morethe task at hand right now and how much another championship would mean. We'reout there, we're working hard and you can't ask for anything more than what theteam is giving. We're ready to play."

Just two weeks ago the Knights were in Tulsa and came upshort against the Golden Hurricane 23-21. That result has been plenty ofmotivation for the squad.

"It's all business right now," senior defensive back KemalIshmael said. "We owe these guys and that's how we're taking our action."

"All of us came here and signed a letter of intent to win,"junior offensive lineman Justin McCray said. "That's what we're trying to comeout and do."

All season long UCF head coach George O'Leary talked aboutthe goals the Knights set for themselves and what they want to accomplish intheir final season in Conference USA. On Saturday, UCF will have a chance toaccomplish one of their major goals, which is to win its third conferencechampionship.

"They have a chance to reach that and that's all that reallyneeds to be said because their goal meant something when they made it," O'Learysaid during his weekly press conference. "It's important because you only getto play for a certain amount of championships, especially if you're a collegeplayer."

For the third time in the conference championship game theKnights will take face the Tulsa Golden Hurricane, but it will be the firsttime UCF will play the game at H.A. Chapman Stadium. Just two weeks ago, thesquad traveled to Tulsa, Oklahoma for a regular season match up and came upshort 23-21.

A win in the game will not only give the Knights aconference record third championship, but also a trip to the Liberty Bowl inMemphis, Tennessee. Last time UCF went to that bowl the squad came away with a historic10-6 win over current SEC power house Georgia.

"The only thing we talk about as a football team is gettingto Memphis," O'Leary said. "We never really discussed anything else."

Last contest against the Golden Hurricane, the Knights gaveup 461 yards of total offense to the run heavy Tulsa offense. The defense hasbeen working hard to improve their performance from that contest and seniorslike Kemal Ishmael and Troy Davis are two of the many players O'Leary wants tosee above average performances from.

"The good ones play big in big games. The average guys whoare role players need to play good. That's the difference between winning theconference championship and losing it," O'Leary said. "You expect your playersto play well, plus the average guys have a role on the team. That's whatseparates winning and losing conference games."

Coach O'Leary has always stressed to his players peopleremember the championship games and Saturday's match up will give this year'sKnights a chance to be remembered forever in the program's final game inConference USA.

"It's another game. It's another championship," O'Learysaid. "That's the goal and I think since we're leaving the conference it wouldbe a good way to say goodbye. I like Conference USA. They've treated us verywell and I appreciate what they've done for our program and to get us started."

"Those are the games you remember," O'Leary continued. "Youdon't remember some of the other games, but you do remember the championshipgames."

It's rare that a football team faces the same team twice inone season. Not only will the Knights do that this upcoming weekend in theConference USA Championship game, but they will play the same team in the spanof three weeks.

Two weeks ago, UCF fell to the Tulsa Golden Hurricane 23-21in a battle for home field advantage in the C-USA Championship game. Now theKnights return to Tulsa, Oklahoma to try and win its third and final ConferenceUSA Championship before moving to the Big East Conference next season.

"It is in the back of your mind. That's why we had to winthat last game because we wanted to get back out there and have another shot atTulsa," Senior captain and offensive lineman Jordan Rae said. "Our goal isstill in front of us and that's to win the conference championship and that'swhat we're working for this week."

The squad is coming off a dominating 49-24 victory overdivision rival UAB. That was a game that clinched the fourth Conference USAEast Division for the Knights. UCF is hoping to carry some of that offensivemomentum into their final game in C-USA.

"Last time we played them they did play faster than us andharder than us," Rae said. "We're able to look at this film and find out wherethey attacked us and where our weakest points were."

"When it all comes down to it we have to block people andthat's all that really matters," Rae continued

The defense made some key plays in the last contest againstTulsa, which included two blocked field goals and a 76-yard interception returnby senior cornerback A.J. Bouye. Fellow senior captain Kemal Ishmael made a fewkey interceptions during the regular season and would like to make one in hisfinal game against Tulsa. The Miami native says making plays will make thedifference in this championship contest.

"It's just going out there and competing," Ishmael said. "Bothteams know what to expect from each other and it's just going to be who isgoing to be more successful and more physical on the field."

"They know our personnel and we know their personnel,"Ishmael continued. "We know what to expect from them and what they're trying todo. We just have to go out there and compete right now. It's all about who is goingto be more successful on the field."

UCF Athletics Social Media Directory

By Marc Daniels
UCFAthletics.com

UCFwill play in its fourth CUSA Championship game in its eighth season in theleague. The Knights 49-24 win over UAB earned the return trip to Tulsa, whereUCF fell 23-21 two weeks ago.

Amongthe UAB win highlights were the fact that the 20 seniors closed out their homecareers at Bright House Network stadium with a win. That group posted a 21-5record playing at home and earned their 33^rd overall win and becomesthe all-time leader in wins with one more victory in their final two games.

QuincyMcDuffie dazzled those at the game with three rushing touchdowns includingUCF's final score on a beautiful 43-yard run to the end zone. It was alsofitting for Lyle Dankenbring, as the former walk-on picked off a UAB pass andwent 78-yards for the touchdown.

Nowon to Tulsa again, where UCF can say it did not play its best game of theseason yet still had a chance to win. Tulsa enters the game off a 35-27 loss toSMU in Dallas. The Golden Hurricane ran 103 plays and had 32 first downs to theMustangs 12.

Thiswill mark the second time Tulsa has hosted the CUSA title game.  In 2008, East Carolina beat Tulsa 27-24. Thevisiting team has won three of the previous seven conference championshipgames.  Houston and Southern Miss havefaced each other twice in the title game, while UCF and Tulsa will face off forthe third time in the game.

Followme on twitter @UCF_MarcDaniels for notes, news and more.

Radiocoverage, on the UCF/IMG Radio Network, for UCF and Tulsa begins at 10 a.m. onSaturday. Kickoff from is set for noon.  

Since the beginning of the season, UCF head coach GeorgeO'Leary said he wanted his team to play for a championship and the Knightswill get a chance to do that after a 49-24 victory over the UAB Blazers. Manyof the seniors played a huge role in the Senior Day win that clinched theConference USA East Division for the UCF and a trip back to Tulsa, Oklahoma toface the Golden Hurricane in the C-USA Championship game.

"It's mainly for the seniors, but our main goal all year hasbeen to get to the conference championship and to win it," sophomore receiverJ.J. Worton said. "To get a second chance at Tulsa is definitely somethingwe're looking forward to."

"It's like a sense of urgency now," senior receiver andOrlando native Quincy McDuffie said. "We now clinched the division and now wegot a chance to go back to Tulsa and get out revenge in the conferencechampionship, which is our main goal."

Last week, UCF went to Tulsa and lost 23-21. That game hasbeen on the squads' mind all week as motivation to bring UCF its thirdConference USA Championship.

"This is definitely a big win," Worton said. "It carries[us] right into it (C-USA Championship game), but we also know what happenedlast time we were there and we're not going to forget about that."

Senior Latavius Murray had another solid performance in hisfinal game at Bright House Networks Stadium rushing for 94 yards and onetouchdown. Quincy McDuffie came into this contest with only one career rushingtouchdown and ran for three scores and had 140 total yards.

The defense had some seniors who shined on the field aswell. Palm City native Lyle Dankenbring returned an interception 78 yards for ascore to help the Knights pull away from the Blazers. 

"It's coming down towards the end of the season and most guyswon't play at the next level," senior defensive back Kemal Ishmael said. "Thisis going to be their last game at home, so we just had a lot to lose this gameand everybody just took it seriously and knew we had to get back to Tulsa andhandle business."

On what looks to be "Chamber of Commerce Weather" at Bright House Networks Stadium, the Knights will look to send off the senior class with a victory over UAB in what will be the Conference USA home finale for UCF. The Knights will also be looking to improve their all-time record against the Blazers to 8-2 and UCFAthletics.com has you covered once again with 10 Tweetable tidbits to tweet out to all of your followers.

Prior to the game, 20 seniors will be honored in what will be their final game at Bright House Networks Stadium #Thanks4TheMemories
The 2012 seniors could end their careers as the winningest class in UCF history. They need 1 more to tie all-time mark (33) #AllIDoIsWin
#UCF has played more teams from the state of Alabama (41) than any other state including Florida (31) #YellowHammerState
UCF's offense is poised to break the all-time mark for least TOs in a season. It currently has 14 with 19 ('10) as the record #BallSecurity
So far in 2012, 16 Knights have caught a pass, the most since 2001. The all-time mark is 18 in 1995 #DemocraticPasser
#UCF has 27 scoring drives of at least 70 yards (25 TDs, 2 FGs), that includes two of at least 98 yards #TheKnightsGoMarching1by1
#UCF is one of 12 programs in the FBS which has not allowed at least 300 passing yards in a game #YouAreGrounded
Did you know #UCF has given up just 44 points in the 1st quarter, including five teams being held scoreless? #1stQuarterBlues
On This Day 1990: On the foot of Franco Grilla, UCF beat Youngstown State in the 1st Round of the 1-AA Playoffs, 20-17 #PlunderingPenguins
Record Watch: FS Kemal Ishmael (336) is just five tackles shy of fifth on the all-time list at UCF #KemalAmerican

"Finish" has been the theme for the Knights (8-3, 6-1) allseason long and the players and coaches have been reminding each other of thatquite a bit this week. UCF head coach George O'Leary certainly reiterated thatto the media during his Tuesday press conference.

"We have to finish," O'Leary said. "That's the marketingterm that we've used and I think it's a good term and that's what we need to dois Finish."

The UAB Blazers (3-8, 2-5) travel to Orlando this weekendfor the Knights' regular season finale. A UCF win or an ECU loss will clinchthe Conference USA East Division for the Knights and a trip back to Tulsa,Oklahoma to face the Golden Hurricane in the conference championship game.

 "Very few teams stillhave a chance to play for two championships," O'Leary said. "This game comingup gives [us] the division championship, where we can go out there and win thatone, and that gives you another chance to go back for the conference[championship]."

This will be UCF's final season in conference USA and theKnights have already won three division titles and two conference championshipsin C-USA. This contest against the Blazers gives the Knights a chance to getmore than just another win.

"We have the opportunity and we have to take advantage ofit," O'Leary said. "The opportunity is there and now we need to grasp it."

Saturday is also senior day and 20 seniors will be honoredbefore the contest at Bright House Networks Stadium. A win that day will alsotie this senior class for the most victories over a four-year stretch with 32.As pleased as Coach O'Leary is with what his seniors have accomplished duringtheir tenure at UCF, he wants them to concentrate on the task at hand.

"In my opinion they wouldn't have accomplished anythingunless we win Saturday," O'Leary said. "That's the feeling I've let them knowas far as all of the good you've done. People remember what you do in November,not in September. That's how I look at those things and you're remembered foryour last game, your last at bat, your last shot, whatever it is and that'swhat I told them."

On Saturday the Knights (8-3, 6-1) will have a chance toearn a trip back to Tulsa for the Conference USA Championship game with a winagainst the UAB Blazers (3-8, 2-5). Last week's loss against the GoldenHurricane was a tough one for the Knights, by the squad knows it needs to moveon and it can still accomplish its goal of winning a division and conferencechampionship in the Knights' final season in Conference USA.

One area the Knights are hoping to improve on from last weekis the running game. Senior back Latavius Murray ran for just 60 yards in thegame, which ended a streak of four consecutive 100+ rushing yard games for theNew York native.

"We need to establish this run game again and get it going,"senior offensive lineman Jordan Rae said. "Looking back from the last two weekswe made a lot of mistakes up front, stupid little mistakes that we shouldn'thave."

"Everything is not as crisp as it should have been so thecoaches have been making it an issue to get back to the fundamentals of baseblocking and getting up to the backers and stuff like that," continued Rae.

The Blazers will arrive at Bright House Networks Stadiumwith an offense led by freshman quarterback Austin Brown. UCF head coach GeorgeO'Leary said during his weekly press conference that the young signal callerhas improved in every game he's played. Brown has thrown for 2,470 yards and 15touchdowns this season. Senior defensive back Kemal Ishmael says this isn'tyour typical 3-8 squad.

"They have good skill position kids," Ishmael said. "Theyjust have a lot of speed on their team. Give credit to their offensivecoordinator and their coach for putting together their schemes well and makingplays in space."

Making plays is something the Knights hope to do against theBlazers. Last year, making plays was what helped UAB defeat UCF. The Blazermade a 40-yard field goal with only 21 seconds remaining in the contest toknock the Knights out 26-24.

"We keep it in the back of our head, what happened lastyear," Murray said. "We know what's most important and we know what we have toget done."

UCF Athletics Social Media Directory

By Marc Daniels
UCFAthletics.com

UCFcan clinch the east division of Conference USA before taking the fieldSaturday.  If Marshall wins at EastCarolina, UCF wins the division. The Thundering Herd has much to play for as awin would make Marshall bowl eligible. If East Carolina wins, UCF can stilladvance to its fourth conference title game with a win over UAB.

A.J.Bouye might want his dad to keep coming to road games. After witnessing his sonreturn a fumble for a touchdown at Marshall, his son returned an interception76-yards at Tulsa.

UCFis 6-1 in its last seven regular season finales. Saturday's game also marks thefourth time UCF will play UAB in final game of the regular season since bothjoined Conference USA.

Atotal of 20 seniors will be honored before Saturday's kickoff.  The group has a chance to be the mostsuccessful class in UCF history. The Knights are 32-18 the last four seasons.The 32 wins ties the mark for most wins over a four-year period.

UABGarrick McGee is in his first season as head coach of the Blazers. He was anassistant at Arkansas prior to taking the job.

Thisweek's interesting fact about UCF's opponent is golfer Graeme McDowell, winnerof the 2010 US Open, played on the UAB golf team from 1998-2002.

Followme on twitter @UCF_MarcDaniels for notes, news and more.

Radiocoverage, on the UCF/IMG Radio Network, for UCF and UAB begins at 10 a.m. onSaturday. Kickoff from is set for noon.  

Saturday's historic conference matchup against Tulsa (9-2,7-0) presented a chance for the Knights (8-3, 6-1) to accomplish some of thegoals they set out for this season. After a 23-21 loss against the GoldenHurricane, UCF will have to wait one more week until it has a chance to checksome of those goals off its list.

Tulsa's win against the Knights clinched the Conference USAWest Division for the Golden Hurricane as well as home field advantage in theC-USA Championship game. Hosting the conference championship game was somethingthe Knights worked hard for all season long. Even though the players are upsetabout the result, they are going to use this as motivation for the rest of theseason.

"No doubt about it that it was a big loss, but we have totake care of the next game which is UAB and if we beat UAB we still have achance to achieve our goals," sophomore quarterback Blake Bortles said. "Wejust have to get ready for Saturday."

On Saturday the Knights will play their regular seasonfinale against the UAB Blazers. UCF will secure the C-USA East Division with awin or an ECU loss. If that happens, the following week UCF will travel back toTulsa to face the Golden Hurricane in the conference championship game.

Sophomore wide receiver J.J. Worton had two receptions for12 yards against Tulsa. He says experiencing that environment will make theKnights even more prepared to face their conference foe again.

"We're going to use it to our advantage," Worton said. "Weplayed here and now we know what it's like. It's nothing we can't win and thisis definitely a team we can beat, but right now our focus is on UAB."

Even though the chances of the Knights playing the GoldenHurricane again is all but imminent, the seniors will make sure no one forgetsabout this week's game against UAB.

"We just have to come ready to work on Monday," senior runningback Latavius Murray said. "We'll find out what corrections we need to make andput the game behind us and just look forward to the games we have left."

The Knights (8-2, 6-0) have arrived in Tulsa, Oklahoma fortheir final road game of the regular season after a two and a half hour flightfrom Orlando, Florida. Saturday's match up against the Tulsa Golden Hurricane(8-2, 6-0) will be the latest the leaders of both divisions have squad offsince Conference USA began divisional play in 2005.

A win for UCF will clinch the C-USA East Division and willalso secure home field advantage for the Knights in the conference championshipgame. The Knights have won three C-USA division titles and two conferencechampionships since joining conference USA.

UCF sophomore quarterback Blake Bortles and senior runningback Latavius Murray have paced the Knights on offense all season and look tohave another strong performance against the Golden Hurricane. Last week againstUTEP, Bortles ran for two touchdowns and threw for 213 yards and a score. Onthe season, the Oviedo native has thrown for 2,199 yards and 17 touchdowns.Borltes has also ran for six scores. Murray has ran for over 100 yards in fourconsecutive weeks. Last contest against the Miners, the fifth year back ran for117 yards and the game winning touchdown. The New York native leads UCF inrushing with 810 yards and 11 touchdowns.

On defense, the Knights remain ranked first in theconference in scoring defense (21.2 points per game), passing defense (191.6yards per game) and total defense (343.9 yards per game). UCF will face the toprushing offense in the conference on Saturday. Tulsa has ran for 2,446 yards onthe season. The majority of those yards have been split between the GoldenHurricane's Ja'Terian Douglas (808 yards), Trey Watts (645 yards) and AlexSingleton (572 yards).

Weather Report

Saturday's forecast calls for zero percent chance of rainwith a projected high at 64 degrees and a projected low at 36 degrees.

Game Notes

Want to go in-depth to learn more about UCF and Tulsa andtheir matchup tomorrow? Click on the links below for the media notes,distributed by the communications staff of both squads.

UCF Game Notes

Tulsa Game Notes

Links/Media Coverage

UCFAthletics.com - Blog: Knights Know What's On The Line

UCFAthletics.com - Blog: George O'Leary - "I love games likethis"

UCF Athletics.com - Blog: Making Sure Hard Work Pays OffAgainst Tulsa

Orlando Sentinel - UCF defensive line faces must-winchallenge up front against Tulsa

Orlando Sentinel - Tulsa QB Cody Green talks about UCFdefense, development of first-year starting QB

Tulsa World - TU will face complete team in UCF 

Tulsa World - TU football notebook: No holding back

Radio/TV/Video

Kickoff is set for noon eastern standard time and 11 a.m.central standard time. The game will be broadcast on Fox Sports Network and theUCF-IMG College Radio Network. At the top of this blog is a quick preview ofSaturday's game with "The Voice of the Knights" Marc Daniels and UCF coloranalyst Mike Gruttadauria.

You couldn't ask for a more meaningful late-season matchup in Conference USA. Actually, the league has never seen two 6-0 teams in conference play go head-to-head, but when UCF meets Tulsa, a lot is on the line in the high-noon showdown. UCFAthletics.com has you covered once again with 10 Tweetable tidbits to tweet out to all of your followers.

A #UCF win will clinch the East while a #Tulsa victory gives them the West. Winner is in the driver's seat to host title game #WhoaNelly
Tulsa owns the 3-2 all-time advantage in the series with each team beating the other for a C-USA title in the past #WinningPrograms
If #UCF pulls out the victory, it will tie for the longest win-streak (7) in school history #2007wasAgoodYearToo
The 2009-12 Senior Class could go down as the top one is school history with a current winning % of .653 and a 32-17 record #LeadByExample
After just 4 yards and a TD last year, B. Bortles has turned on the wheels with 132 yards and 6 TDs on the ground in 2012 #DualThreat
Latavius Murray continues to batter defenses as he has racked up 620 yards in his last 4 games, and a TD in his last 5 #AnimalStyle
LB Ray Shipman's progression on defense is paying dividends as he has 73 tackles so far, including a career-high 14 at UTEP #ShipShape
Did you know Quincy McDuffie ranks second in the nation averaging over 36 yards per KO return on just 13 in 2012? #Q4AllAmerican
On This Day 2007: UCF clinched a share of C-USA East with a 49-20 win at SMU while 24K scored his league-record 25 rushing TD #SolidGold
Record Watch: FS Kemal Ishmael became UCF's all-time leader in tackles by a defensive back (327) with 10 at UTEP #KemalAmerican

Every team in the nation sets goals for itself each season.Some squads achieve those goals and others fall short.

On Saturday, the Knights (8-2, 6-0) have a chance toaccomplish some of their goals when they take on the Tulsa Golden Hurricane(8-2, 6-0).

A win will clinch the Knights' fourth Conference USA EastDivision title and also home field advantage in the C-USA Championship game. Anopportunity like this is what the players and coaches have been working towardsever since last season ended.

All of the hard work UCF has done is what makes this week'sgame against Tulsa more than just another game. It represents what the Knightswant to accomplish this season.

"In all of the hard work we put in the offseason we know howmuch this game means and we don't want any of that to go to waste," seniorrunning back Latavius Murray said. "We know how important this game is and thisgame sets us up closer to our goal and being able to have home field advantage[in the conference championship game] here at home."

 "Our slogan this yearis 'finish' and wanting to write our own destiny," senior linebacker RayShipman said. "Basically this game is another stepping stone for us to writingour own destiny. If we don't win this game it doesn't mean anything because wedidn't finish. Now is the time to finish."

Since George O'Leary became the head coach at UCF (8-2, 6-0)he's taken the Knights to three C-USA Championship games and won two. Thelongtime head coach would like to take the Knights to another Conference USAChampionship game in the squad's final season in C-USA. The Knights have achance to do that this week against the Tulsa Golden Hurricane (8-2, 6-0).

A win will not only clinch the Conference USA East Divisionfor the Knights, but it will also clinch home field advantage in the conferencechampionship game.

"I think it's a big game because it's the next game and theplayers probably understand that," O'Leary said during his weekly newsconference. "This group of kids probably understands it more than some othergroups of kids that I've had."

"Basically it's another conference game, but it's what goeswith it," O'Leary continued. "We both still have to win games to win thedivision. No one has secured that yet."

For the second week in a row, the Knights will travel out tothe Midwest for a conference contest and will have the challenge of dealingwith a time zone change and a change of environment. Last week, UCF came awaywith a 31-24 victory in El Paso against UTEP.

"I think anytime teams have to travel from west to east or eastto west, about 30 percent of all of the teams win when you look at all offootball," O'Leary said. "That's because of time change. That's because ofdistance. It's because of focus. A lot of things come into play."

O'Leary says he loves coaching in these types of games becausethese are the kind of matchups you train all season for. The ninth year UCFhead coach says his team will have to bring its "A" game if the squad wants toaccomplish its goals and continue its road to a conference championship.

"This game is basically going out and getting your job donein all three phases," O'Leary said. "I think practice so far this week has beenone of the better weeks we've had as far as contact, speed and doing the thingsyou need to do to prepare to win."

This weekend's contest against the Tulsa Golden Hurricane(8-2, 6-0) will be one of the most significant regular season games the UCFKnights (8-2, 6-0) will play this season and in program history. For the secondweek in a row, the Knights will travel west to a different time zone, will playfor the C-USA East Division title and will play for home field advantage in theconference championship game.

On top of all of that, the Knights are facing the C-USA WestDivision leader and a team with the exact same record as them. This will alsobe the latest the two leaders in each division have faced each other sinceConference USA went to divisional play in 2005.

"It's a big game for us," senior safety Kemal Ishmael said."Just having home field advantage for the conference championship [game] isgoing to be huge. We'll be playing our part."

"We have a lot of seniors who all want to achieve the samegoal, great coaches, the offense is playing well, the defense is playing well,"Ishmael continued. "It's everybody doing their part and just getting the jobdone."

No team in the conference has been able to take down theKnights this season. UCF head coach George O'Leary said since C-USA play beganthe Knights have been a completely different team and have matured into adominant squad since the beginning of October.

The Knights will have to use that maturity and experienceagainst the Golden Hurricane this weekend in Tulsa. Both UCF and Tulsa areranked in the top three in Conference USA in scoring offense, rushing offense,scoring defense, rushing defense and total defense.

"I love the challenge and the whole offense loves thechallenge," senior running back Latavius Murray said. "We know how hard we haveto work during the week to go out there and make the yards we need to make."

"We have our work cut out for us and we're working hard toimprove," senior center Jordan Rae said.

One player UCF is going to rely on in this historic conferencematchup is Murray. The New York native has played very well in the past fourgames, running for 620 yards and 10 total touchdowns. Murray's contribution -- aswell as stopping Tulsa's trio of running backs -- will play a key role in thegame, according to the seniors.

"We have to be able to run the ball, but that's every weekand we definitely have to make sure we do it this week to open up the rest ofthe offense," Murray said.

More than 1,700 miles separates Orlando, Florida from ElPaso, Texas, which is where UCF conference foe UTEP is located. That was thefurthest distance the Knights football team had to travel for a road contestthis season.

Because the game was so far away the UCF ticket office hadsome leftover tickets in the Knights' seating section. It didn't take thedepartment too long to put those tickets to use.

UCF Director of Ticket Sales, Torey Brewer, has a brotherstationed in the Army at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, who was planned to goingto the UCF game since the beginning of the season. What Brewer didn't plan onwas bringing a good portion of his army friends with him.

Major Breck Brewer decided to email his army colleagues thatUCF was donating tickets for them to come out to the Sun Bowl to cheer on theKnights. Brewer got about 150 replies in two days.

"We really appreciate the University of Central Floridahelping us with this and giving these guys a good weekend in celebration of thetroops that are doing their part to preserve the countries freedom," MajorBrewer said.

"I was really happy to be a part of that and help deliversome tickets to these guys just so they can come out here and have fun tonightand cheer for the Knights," Brewer continued.

Captain Joseph Breig is a West Palm Beach native and isstationed with Brewer in El Paso. He said cheering for the Knights on Saturdaymade him feel like he was back in college again.

"I loved it," Captain Breig said. "I haven't been to acollege game since I was in college."

Other members of the army said it was great to spend timewith their friends outside of work and cheering on the Knights.

"It's great seeing people from work here," First ClassSergeant Annette Cisneros said. "It's nice they did this for the soldiers."

UCF Athletics Social Media Directory

By Marc Daniels
UCFAthletics.com

UCF has its first six game win streak since the 2007Conference USA title run. That season, UCF won seven in a row with that seventhwin coming against Tulsa in the conference championship.

Most impressive pass at UTEP? The most likely answer was the56-yard pass from Bortles to Ranell Hall late in the 3rd quarter which set up aBortles touchdown run to put the Knights up 24-10. But considering the wind hewas throwing into, the best pass of the night was Blake's roll out on theopening drive of the game and throwing across his body on a 3rd down and eight.Bortles hit Jeff Godfrey for a 46-yard score into a 20 mile-an-hour wind.

A huge play that should not be overlooked in UCF's win atUTEP was Jamie Boyle's recovery of the ball after his punt was blocked. Boyledove on the ball at the one-yard line. With the score tied at 7, the UCFdefense stopped the Miners on three straight plays and forced a field goal.Boyle could have easily lost the ball and UTEP may have scored a touchdown.

Saturday's game at Tulsa marks the latest in a season whereConference USA will have two teams unbeaten in league play square off. Inaddition, Saturday there are two games possible in college football where teamsunbeaten in conference play can play and will play. While UCF and Tulsa areboth 6-0 in the league, Louisiana Tech and Utah State are perfect in WAC playthis season and will play Saturday.

In the last three seasons, UCF and Tulsa have won 22 leaguegames, the best among all Conference USA teams. Both the Knights and GoldenHurricane are 22-8 in regular season league games since 2010.

In four of the five games UCF and Tulsa have played, thewinning team has scored 44 points or more in the game.

This week's interesting tidbit about UCF's opponent is Tulsahas just over 4,000 students while UCF has over 60,000.

Follow me on twitter @UCF_MarcDaniels for notes, news andmore.

Radio coverage, on the UCF/IMG Radio Network, for UCF andTulsa begins at 10 a.m. on Saturday. Kickoff from Tulsa is set for noon.  

All season long, the Knights' (8-2, 6-0) defense has been rankedas one of the top units in Conference USA. Saturday's performance against UTEP(2-8, 1-5) proved to be another reason why UCF's defense is one of the best inthe league.

Multiple times during UCF's contest against the UTEP Miners,the Knights were put in difficult situations defensively and the team came awaywith minimal damage. When UTEP began a drive on the UCF 1-yard line in thesecond quarter, the Knights held the Miners to only a field goal. In the thirdquarter, the Miners' offense had the ball at midfield and drove down to theKnights 29-yard line only to miss one of its two field goal attempts on thenight.

The Knights also held the Miners to only 346 totals yards ofoffense in the contest.

"You can't praise the defense enough," senior fullbackBilly Giovanetti said. "They played great and that's a testament to the leaderson the defense."

Once of those leaders is Miramar native and linebacker RayShipman. He led all defenders with 14 tackles. This fifth year senior says he'sbeen pleased with the attitude and effort all of the defensive players haveshown this season.

"We preach bend, but don't break," Shipman said. "Playsare going to happen and some people are going to make mistakes. We want to playperfect, but no one has ever seen a perfect game. That's what we're strivingfor every game."

The 31-24 final score in El Paso was a bit closer than theKnights hoped to record. UCF has won its last three contests by an averagemargin of 27 points. The Knights will work hard to continue their dominateperformances in the final two games of the regular season.

Next week, UCF will travel back out to the Midwest for a showdownagainst the C-USA West Division leading Tulsa Golden Hurricane (8-2, 6-0).

"We're a better team than what we played today, but wegot the win and we did it in a different environment," Shipman said. "Everygame is important, no matter what their record is, our goal is to get a win.That's what we did. Survive and move on."

"We didn't come out and do what we normally do," senioroffensive lineman Jordan Rae said. "But a win is a win and we have some stuffto improve on for next week, but we're going to get ready for Tulsa."

After a nearly four hour flight from Orlando to El Paso,Texas, the UCF Knights (7-2, 5-0) are getting ready to play the UTEP Miners(2-7 1-4) at the Sun Bowl for the second time in program history.

UCF is 2-1 all-time against the Miners. The two wins for theKnights came in Orlando, including a 31-14 victory last season at Bright HouseNetworks Stadium. In the contest, running back Latavius Murray ran for a careerhigh 233 yards and two touchdowns.

Murray has been on fire the past few games and UTEP headcoach Mike Price said in his weekly press conference that Murray should be afirst round pick in the NFL Draft. On the season, Murray has ran for 693 yardsand 10 touchdowns. In the last three games, the New York native has ran for 513yards and nine total touchdowns.

On defense, the Knights have given up no more than 17 pointsin each of the last three contests and UCF remains in first place in ConferenceUSA in scoring defense, giving up an average of only 20.9 points per game.Senior defensive end Troy Davis continues to have a standout season. Last week,he was named the C-USA Defensive Player of the Week for his two sacks and fivetackles against SMU. The Georgia native leads the Knights in sacks with 6.5.

The Knights currently remain in first place in theConference USA East Division by one game ahead of East Carolina. The only otherundefeated team in C-USA is Tulsa at 5-0 and next week UCF will travel to H.A.Chapman Stadium to face the Golden Hurricane.

Weather Report

Saturday's forecast calls for a 10 percent chance of rainwith the projected high at 76 degrees and the projected low at 44 degrees.

Game Notes

Want to go in-depth to learn more about UCF and UTEP andtheir matchup tomorrow? Click on the links below for the media notes,distributed by the communications staff of both squads.

UCF Games Notes

UTEP Game Notes

Links/Media Coverage

UCF Athletics.com - BLOG: Learning From The Last Trip To ElPaso

UCF Athletics.com - BLOG: Knights Ready For Tenth One-GameSeason

Orlando Sentinel - Few UCF players were part of last loss atUTEP

Orlando Sentinel - UTEP head coach Mike Price won't say whowill start at quarterback against UCF

El Paso Times- UTEP Football: Sullivan prepares for more action

Radio/TV/Video

Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m. The game will be broadcast onFox College Sports and the UCF-IMG College Radio Network. At the top of thisblog is a quick preview of Saturday's game with "The Voice of the Knights" MarcDaniels and UCF color analyst Mike Gruttadauria.

Saturday's contest at UTEP marks the first of back-to-back road trips to the farthest teams in Conference USA for the Knights. Owning a 2-1 overall lead in the series, UCF will look to keep its perfect record in C-USA play intact against the Miners. UCFAthletics.com has you covered for this weekend's showdown in the Lone Star State with 10 Tweetable tidbits to tweet out to all of your followers.

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A win against #UTEP would make it six in a row for the Knights, the longest streak since a 7-game stretch in 2007 #KevinRanWildDid you know #UCF is 14-9 all-time vs. teams from the Lone Star State? #TheWinsForTheKnightsAreBigAndBrightLast year against #UTEP, RB Latavius Murray ran wild to a career-high 233 yards in the 31-14 triumph #GetOutOfTheWay#UCF is outscoring opponents 177-78 in the first half this year, including 113 second-quarter points #BurstingOutOfTheGates The Knights are averaging 36.7 points per game in 2012, the highest in the FBS era and most since 1992 (37.3) #CrookedNumbersRuleThe O-line has only allowed 12 sacks all year, including just 2 in the last 3 games while the D-line has 20 sacks in 2012 #ItStartsUpFront #UCF 's defense has not allowed a team to throw for over 300 yards all season. The last time that happened was 2001 #GroundedAt No. 12 with an average of 26.75 yards per kickoff return, #UCF has ranked in the top-13 in the country every year since 2008 #SpeedKills On This Day in 1979: DC Jim Fleming couldn't help his alma mater, Univ. of the South, get on the scoreboard in a 24-0 loss to UCF #Blanked Record Watch: FS Kemal Ishmael needs just 6 tackles to move into sole possession of No. 6 on the all-time list at UCF (323) #TheJeffersons

Ever since the beginning of the season, UCF head coachGeorge O'Leary has been telling his team it's going to play 14 one-game seasonsthis year, 12 in the regular season and two in the post season.

This week, the Knights (7-2, 5-0) will play their tenth one-gameseason against the UTEP Miners (2-7, 1-4) at the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas.This is a city few members of the team have ever visited. As much as O'Learywants to players to enjoy seeing a new area of the country, he wants to makesure they're focused and ready to take care of business come kickoff.

"Anytime you're in a strange environment and everything isnew it's more of a sightseeing tour for some of these kids," O'Leary said. "Ithink the big thing is that you have to get their minds right, especially whenyou have three games left and each and every one of them is equally important."

Last season in Orlando, the Knights defeated UTEP 31-14 andrunning back Latavius Murray had a career day running for 233 yards and twotouchdowns. The New York native has been on fire the past three games runningfor 503 yards and seven touchdowns.

"Anytime you run the ball the offensive line is getting thejob done," O'Leary said during his weekly press conference. "I think they'vegotten a lot more aggressive as in staying on blocks and getting the line ofscrimmage moved. When you can do that, a good running back will make the linelook good too."

The Knights have the third ranked rushing offense inConference USA and the running game has played a big role in UCF's success allseason.

Just like O'Leary, UTEP head coach Mike Price is in hisninth season as the Miners' head coach. The long time UCF head coach had highpraise for Price's coaching style when he talked about UTEP's play on thefield.

"I have a great respect for Mike Price and his coachingstaff," O'Leary said.  "I know theirrecord is 2-7, but to keep his team playing with the great effort they've beenplaying with and to keep them upbeat with a lot of enthusiasm, it's a heck of ajob that he's done. If you look at the schedule he's had them play, he's had atough schedule."

The last time the Knights (7-2, 5-0) traveled to El Paso,Texas the squad experienced one of its worst losses in the last five yearslosing to the UTEP Miners (2-7, 1-4) 58-13.

Even though a good majority of the current Knights weren'ton that trip or even on the team at that time, the seniors played in the gamewill be doing what they can to come away with a big victory in the Lone StarState.

"That was my first start and it was embarrassing," seniorand wide receiver Rob Calabrese said. "There were a couple guys here on thattrip. Again we want to go back there and get a win this time and make it a lotbetter trip."

Fellow seniors Latavius Murray and Brynn Harvey also playedin that game. Calabrese said he and Harvey have talked about the disappointingloss a few times this week and are using that as motivation for this year'strip to El Paso.

"It's something we don't want to look back at, but we haveto and we're ready to play this week," Calabrese said. "You always want toforget a game like that, but you have to learn from it."

One area the Knights are hoping to have success in is theoffense. UCF has averaged 43.7 points per game in the last three contests. Thesquad will face the Miners' fifth ranked scoring defense in Conference USA.

In the non-conference portion of their schedule, UTEP hasfaced teams from the SEC, Big 12 and Big Ten conferences. Despite its 2-7record, the Knights know they have their work cut out for them.

"They're a lot better than their record says they are,"Calabrese said. "Defensively, they play with great effort and they do a lot ofdifferent things. It's something we need to work on this week in practice andmore importantly in the film room."

"It's hard not to look at the other scores, but you can'treally tell how good a team is by how they played someone else," Garvy said."We may match up to a team differently than an East Carolina or a SouthernMiss. We always have to focus on ourselves first."

Before the season began, the UCF Knights (7-2, 5-0) werepicked as one of the favorites to win Conference USA. Saturday's 42-17 victoryagainst SMU (4-5, 3-2) continues to prove that this year's Knights squad is achampionship caliber team.

UCF remains in first place in the Conference USA EastDivision and if the squad wins out, they will host the Conference Championshipgame at Bright House Networks Stadium. If the Knights continue to play the waythey have the past few weeks they should earn their fourth trip to the C-USAChampionship game.

In the last three weeks, UCF has outscored Memphis, Marshalland SMU 131-51. Senior running back Latavius Murray has been on fire as well. TheNew York native has accounted for 503 rushing yards, 96 receiving yards and 9total touchdowns in those three contests.

Even though the scoreboard has shown a great bit ofdominance by the Knights during that stretch, the players feel their dominancehas shown on the field since the beginning of the season.

"I feel like we do that every week," seniordefensive end Troy Davis said. "As the season has gone on we've gottenbetter and better. That's what you're seeing with the result of hardwork."

"That's what we're capable of if we go out there andexecute the game plan," senior center Jordan Rae said. "We have tocontinue to get better and we're looking forward to next week."

That week the Knights will face the UTEP Miners for thefinal time as a Conference USA opponent. Senior defensive back Kemal Ishmaelfeels things won't slow up for the Knights in their final three games of theregular season.

"Chemistry has been picking up real well," Ishmaelsaid. "We've been running the ball well, throwing the ball well, playing gooddefense and just getting the ball in the end zone."

Movie Knight, Comedy Knight, Skit Knight, Spirit Splash and the parade -- all of the great Homecoming traditions at UCF lead up to the battle on the gridiron. This year, UCF looks to keep its Conference USA record unblemished while pacing the East Division when it takes on SMU at 7 p.m. UCFAthletics.com has you covered for this weekend's Homecoming contest with 10 Tweetable tidbits to tweet out to all of your followers.

During George O'Leary's weekly press conferences this seasonhe's had a lot of positive things to say about this year's squad. He's pleasedwith the effort his team has shown, he's pleased with the way the Knights haveprepared for each game and of course he's pleased with the squad's undefeatedrecord in conference play.

UCF (6-2, 4-0) became bowl eligible after last week's convincingwin against Marshall and continues to control its own destiny in ConferenceUSA. Confidence is one of the many reasons the Knights have accomplishedeverything they have this season and O'Leary sees confidence and energy flowingthrough all of his players during practice.

"I think when they practice well they know they're going toplay well," O'Leary said. "They've been practicing better than I thought. We'rebanged up a little bit, but I think they're going after each other in practiceand they're competing, which I think is the key... Sometimes you start notcompeting and you get relaxed in some things."

The Knights have been confident all season with the successthey've had, but O'Leary feels the team's confidence has gone to another levelafter UCF's 54-17 blowout win against the Thundering Herd in Huntington, WestVirginia last weekend.

"I think the big thing is when you get a game like that Ithink it's great for the locker room and great for morale," O'Leary said."Again, they treat every game like it's a one game season and that's what Ilike about this squad. They're not talking about anything, but SMU right now."

The Mustangs will be the first team from the Conference USAWest Division the Knights will face this season. UCF is still just one gameahead of the Pirates in the East Division for first place. In order for theKnights to continue to control their own destiny and earn a berth in theConference USA Championship game they will need a win against SMU this weekend.

"It's a very big conference game because of the implicationswith losses," O'Leary said. "East Carolina is still sitting there with one andwe have to control our own destiny each week. Again, it will be a big game asfar as we're concerned."

Playing a complete 60 minute game of football has been whatUCF head coach George O'Leary has been preaching to the team since thebeginning of the season. Last week, during the Knights' 54-17 blowout victoryover Marshall, UCF (6-2, 4-0) played its most complete game of football allseason.

The squad accumulated 568 yards of total offense and heldone of the nation's top offenses to 364 total yards and only two touchdowns.The Knights also accounted for 213 yards and two touchdowns on special teams byOrlando native Quincy McDuffie.

For as much success as UCF had against Marshall, the Knightsdon't expect that performance to be the peak of their season.

"There's always room for improvement," senior h-backDontravius Floyd said. "Coach always preaches about staying consistent. We werepretty consistent last game and we want to keep it up."

"We want to play a complete game, offense, defense andspecial teams," senior h-back Brendan Kelly said. "That's what we're going tostrive for each week."

UCF has four games left this season. This weekend theKnights will take on the SMU Mustangs (4-4, 3-1), who have scored 116 points inthe last two games. The Mustangs will have to take on the Knights' top rankeddefense in Conference USA. UCF continues to lead the conference in totaldefense (354.2 yards per game) and scoring defense (21.4 points per game).

SMU's run defense is first in the conference giving up 119.1 yards per game, but this weekend the Mustangs will face one of the hottestplayers in the conference in senior running back Latavius Murray. In the pasttwo weeks, the New York native ran for 348 yards and scored six totaltouchdowns.

"Latavius is a triple threat," Floyd said. "He brings a newelement to the offense. I love playing with him."

"Tay has always been the guy. He's matured a lot, especiallyafter being injured and on the sideline," Kelly said about Murray returningfrom the shoulder injury he sustained in the season opener. "There have beentimes he's been in the yellow jersey because he can't do much, but then hetakes it off and showed that he's a leader out there and he's willing to stickit out for the team."

UCF has four games left in the regular season and theKnights know consistency and playing 60 minutes of football every week willhelp them accomplish their goals in the squad's final season in Conference USA.

"Every game from here on out is important, not just SMU,"Floyd said. "From here to the end of the season it's important if we want toreach our goal of getting to the championship game."

Over the past few days, parts of the northeast United States have experienced damage like never before from Hurricane Sandy. Much of New York City is under water and cities along the coast are looking at weeks or months before things will be back to normal.

The UCF football team has a handful of players on its roster from the Empire State. Head coach George O'Leary is also a New York native. Throughout the past couple days, their thoughts and prayers have been with their family members and friends up north.

"My mom lost power and she was flooded quite a bit," senior H-back and Shoreham, N.Y. native Brendan Kelly said. "I'm on the north shore of Long Island, which got hit hard. But for the most part the storm has cleared out and now it's a lot of cleaning up.

"I stayed in touch with her as much as I could," Kelly continued. "It's scary. We're not used to hurricanes. I know Florida people are used to it, but we don't get that too often. It's scary stuff, especially being surrounded by water, too."

Fellow Knights Rob Calabrese, Troy Green, Latavius Murray, Jamie Boyle and Kevin Miller are from either New York or New Jersey. Hurricane Sandy has been the main topic of conversation among those Knights for the past couple of days.

"We were looking at photos and we're all very fortunate we're down here now and not around that," Kelly said.

Coach O'Leary has brothers and a sister in New York. UCF's head coach was able to talk to his sister about the storm. According to Coach O'Leary, the reports he received were not good.

"I think it's the worst they've had as far as level of water, but they'll work through it," O'Leary said. "They're resilient people up there and they'll get through it."

For the second time this season, the Knights (6-2, 4-0)scored more than 50 points per game and remain undefeated in Conference USAafter beating the Marshall Thundering Herd (3-5, 2-2) 54-17.

Saturday's game may have been UCF's best overall performanceof the season accumulating 568 yards of total offense and 213 yards on specialteams. The Knights said the squad played well in all three phases of the game.

"I think we really put it all together tonight,"senior running back Latavius Murray said. "We came together as a team. Weknew we had to play well tonight and we did that."

"We don't know what our full potential is, but the teamdid a really good job today on offense, defense and special teams," senioroffensive lineman Thoe Goins said. "All of them scored a lot of points andmade things happen."

One of the players who sent a jolt of excitement to thesideline a few times was senior wide receiver Quincy McDuffie. The Orlandonative returned two kickoffs for touchdowns, including one during the openingkickoff of the second half.

"He's unbelievable, but he doesn't do it by himself,"sophomore quarterback Blake Bortles said. "That unit has been great all yearand a kid with speed and vision like Quincy is hard to stop."

From special teams to the offense, Latavius Murray hadanother big game for the Knights accumulating 195 total yards and fourtouchdowns. This was also the second week in a row that the New York native hada touchdown of 75 or more yards.

Following the contest, the humble senior had a lot of highpraise for the offensive line.

"I have to give credit to the line," Murray said. "Itstarts there and the yards that needed to get them I made sure I got."

The Marshall offense came into this game as the top rankedoffense in Conference USA, but the Knights defense was able to hold them incheck Saturday. Before MU played UCF it averaged 568.4 yards per game. Againstthe Knights the Thundering Herd had only 364 yards.

Saturday's contest is considered one of the best games, ifnot the best game, UCF has played all season. But many of the seniors feel thesquad can still get better.

"We don't know what our full potential is," Goins said."We will judge that at the end of the season, but the team did a really goodjob today on offense, defense and special teams. All of them scored a lot ofpoints and made things happen."

The Knights (5-2, 3-0) are on the road for the second consecutive week and look to stay undefeated when they take on the Marshall Thundering Herd (3-4, 2-1) Saturday night at Joan C. Edwards Stadium.

The contest will be a matchup of the top offense and the top defense in Conference USA. UCF is first in total defense (352.9 yards per game) and scoring defense (22 points per game). On the flip side, Marshall owns C-USA's top spot for total offense (568.4 yards per game) and scoring offense (43.1 points per game).

UCF sophomore quarterback Blake Bortles continues to prove he's one of the most efficient quarterbacks in the conference. On the season, he's completed 66 percent of his passes for 1,598 yards and 12 touchdowns. The Oviedo native hasn't thrown an interception in the last four games and is ranked third in the conference with a passing efficiency rating of 141.9.

In the running game, senior Latavius Murray ran for a season high 192 yards and two touchdowns against Memphis. On the season, the New York native is averaging 95.5 rushing yards per game with five touchdowns. Sophomore Storm Johnson continues to lead the team in rushing with 469 yards and four touchdowns.

On defense, senior Kemal Ishmael and sophomore Terrence Plummer are two of the top tacklers in the conference. Ishmael is ranked ninth in the conference with 59 tackles and Plummer is tied for tenth with 58 tackles. Last week against Memphis, Ishmael recorded double-digit tackles for the second time on the season with ten. The first time he recorded double-digit tackles was against Ohio State.

All-time in Huntington the Knights are 3-2. The last time UCF played Marshall in Huntington was in 2010. The Knights won the lightning-delayed contest 35-14.

Weather Report

Saturday's forecast calls for a 50 percent chance of rain with the projected high at 54 degrees and the projected low at 42 degrees.

Game Notes

Want to go in-depth to learn more about UCF and Marshall and their matchup tomorrow? Click on the links below for the media notes, distributed by the communications staff of both squads.

UCF Game Notes

Marshall Game Notes

Links/Media Coverage

UCFAthletics.com - BLOG: Taking it One Game at a Time 

UCFAthletics.com - BLOG: Another Step Towards the C-USA Championship

Orlando Sentinel - UCF, Marshall set for what could be final chapter of football rivalry

Herald-Dispatch - C-USA's best to collide

Herald-Dispatch - Strength vs. strength

Radio/TV/Video

Kickoff is set for 8:00 p.m. The game will be broadcast on the CBS Sports Network and the UCF-IMG College Radio Network. At the top of this blog is a quick preview of Saturday's game with "The Voice of the Knights" Marc Daniels and UCF color analyst Mike Gruttadauria.

Over the eight years in Conference USA, the annual meeting between UCF and Marshall has become quite the rivalry game. Prior to the Knights joining C-USA in 2005, they had never defeated the Thundering Herd. Now, UCF is looking to finish the series a perfect 8-0 in C-USA and UCFAthletics.com has you covered for this weekend's contest up in Huntington, W.Va., with 10 Tweetable tidbits to tweet out to all of your followers.

(5-2, 3-0) vs. @Herd_Zone (3-4, 2-1)
Joan C. Edwards Stadium (38,019) - Huntington, W.Va. - 8 p.m. EDT
Watch it live on @CBSSportsNet. You can listen on WYGM @740thegame (flagship), WFLF 540-AM (Maitland), WDCF 1350-AM (Clearwater), WROD 1340-AM (Daytona Beach), WWCN 770-AM (Fort Myers)
Follow the action all game long with updates from @UCF_Football and @UCF_Athletics on Twitter. Don't forget to "Like" the Knights on Facebook as well. For the stat buffs out there, follow on .

A win on over #Marshall would make the Knights bowl eligible for the fifth time in the last eight seasons #FreeFootball#UCF will look to push its record to a combined 16-0 against Memphis and Marshall with a victory in Huntington #Sweet162010 & 2012 similarities are scary for #UCF. Almost all stats are identical, but 2012 Knights averaging 50+ more passing yards PG #DejaVu#UCF ranks 1st in C-USA in total, scoring, passing and pass effic. D. MU is 1st in C-USA in all the same offense stats #SomethingsGottaGive Blake Bortles needs 16 pass attempts without an INT to pass Vic Penn for the longest pick-free streak (162) at UCF #Unblemished DB A.J. Bouye's 79-yard fumble recovery for a TD was the longest fumble return for six points in #UCF history #ScoopAndScore Latavius Murray is currently averaging 6.7 yards per carry in 2012 and owns a 5.45 career average, 3rd all-time at UCF #MoreOvaltinePleaseAgainst Memphis, P Jamie Boyle averaged 48 yards per punt, ninth-best in single-game history #LegPress On this day: #UCF walloped So. Ill, 49-14, in 1990 and current WR coach Sean Beckton hauled in TD passes of 76 & 31 yards #SoftHands Record Watch: RB Latavius Murray needs 1 rushing TD to claim sole possession of 3rd place (28) all-time at UCF #HeIsGood

Throughout Conference USA play, the Knights (5-2, 3-0) havebeen the opponent every team has wanted to beat. UCF started the season as thefavorite to win Conference USA and so far the Knights have been living up to expectations. UCF is undefeated in conference play and control their own destiny as they lookearn a berth in the Conference USA Championship game.

This Saturday, the Knights will take on the MarshallThundering Herd (3-4, 2-1), which boasts the top-ranked offense in C-USA. TheKnights know this is an important game as it pertains to the division race. ButUCF is going to treat this contest in Huntington like business as usual.

"It's a big game for us, but every game is a big game," UCFhead coach George O'Leary said. "I think this will be a major game up inHuntington as far as Marshall's attitude and our attitude."

The Knights have won seven consecutive games againstMarshall. UCF would like to keep that streak alive, but O'Leary knows headinginto Joan C. Edwards Stadium can be a challenge for many teams.

"I enjoy going up there and competing," O'Leary said. "It'sa conference game and it's a big game as far as they only have one loss inconference [play]. So we have to stay one game ahead. I think we're at thestage where we have to control our own destiny as far as what's taking place."

This is the second to last C-USA East Division game theKnights will play, the next divisional opponent will be on the final day of theregular season against UAB at Bright House Networks Stadium.

As far as the notion of this contest being a rivalry game, O'Learyfeels every game is a rivalry game. O'Leary also says UCF has become the teamevery opponent in Conference USA has targeted because of the Knights' success.

"Our players understand what's ahead of them and what wehave to do to get it done," O'Leary said. "We're on everybody's high list rightnow."

The Knights (5-2, 3-0) will play their second Conference USAroad game of the season when UCF travels to Huntington, West Virginia to takeon the Marshall Thundering Herd (3-4, 2-1) Saturday night at Joan C. EdwardsStadium.

UCF continues to lead the Conference USA East Division by onegame over the ECU Pirates and Marshall sits in third place the division.

The Knights are 7-3 all-time against the Thundering Herd andare 3-2 when the game is played in Huntington. Last time the Knights traveledto the Mountain State UCF defeated Marshall in a lighting-delayed contest35-14.

"Every time we go to Marshall it's a tough environment toplay in, but we have to go there as a team and a family and stick together,"senior defensive back Lyle Dankenbring said. "That's how you get through thingslike that."

A win would put the Knights at 4-0 in the conference andwould keep them in a position to control their own destiny and a potentialberth in the Conference USA Championship game.

"We know that our goal is to win the conference championshipand we need to win this game to do that," Dankenbring said. "It's a big gamefor us. We try and treat every game as a big game, but this is a big game."

"Any conference game is a big game, but especiallyconference games in the east division," senior offensive lineman Phil Smithsaid. "You have to win those games in order to go to the conferencechampionship."

The Thundering Herd comes into this contest with the top rankedoffense in the conference scoring 43.1 points per game and averaging 568.4yards per game.

"We need to be able to play with their tempo," Dankenbringsaid. "They're a fast tempo team. Probably the fastest we've played against allyear. We just need 11 guys running to the football. Play smart and play fast.That's how we do it."

Thundering Herd sophomore quarterback Rakeem Cato is in hissecond season as a start for Marshall. The UCF defense will have the challengeof defending his 379.7 passing yards per game and Knights will do all they canto put pressure on the young gunslinger from Miami.

"We need to get our hands on guys at the line of scrimmage,"Dankenbring said. "If we do that we give the pass rush time to get to thequarterback. Pass rush and coverage go hand in hand. People say the bestcoverage is a good pass rush so we need to get our hands on people and slowthem down."

NFL Player Engagement recently caught up with UCF Director of Player Development Kristy Belden for a Q&A session. The very informative piece discusses how the Knights grow off the football field and what type of challenges they face.

All season long, the Knights have ranked towards the top ofConference USA in every major defensive category. Saturday's first conferenceroad game against the Memphis Tigers continued to show how dominate UCF'sdefense is.

UCF head coach George O'Leary said after the game the defensemade the difference the Knights' 35-17 victory over Memphis in the LibertyBowl.

UCF forced three turnovers in the contest. Two fumblerecoveries and one interception by senior defensive back A.J. Bouye.

Senior safety Kemal Ishmael made many key tackles in thegame and said after the contest focusing in on UM quarterback Jacob Karam madea big difference for UCF.

"Just getting the pass rush and containing thatquarterback," Ishmael said. "They were getting us with the run game and we justhave to stop that early in the game."

The Knights held the Texas native to only 121 passing yardsin the game. UCF also held its opponent to 4-of-16 on third downs.

UCF didn't allow a touchdown on defense for the first 59minutes of the match up, before the Tigers scored on a quarterback keeper byKaram with 39 seconds left.

Many of the seniors on the squad were upset they let Memphisscore that late in the contest, even though that play didn't have any effect onthe outcome. The Knights plan to use that as motivation to improve an alreadystellar defense.

"We're Coach O'Leary players," senior linebackerRay Shipman said. "We have to play perfect for the full 60 minutes. Wefeel we're a team that is capable of playing 60 minutes of football. That'swhat makes us mad. There is still a lot of room for improvement."

"We're a good defense, but we can be much better,"Ishmael said.

The Knights are currently ranked first in Conference USA in total defense giving up an average of only 352.9 yards per game.

On Saturday, the UCF Knights (4-2, 2-0) will try and remainundefeated as they take on the Memphis Tigers (1-5, 1-1) at the Liberty Bowl inMemphis, Tennessee. This will be the Knights' third trip to the Liberty Bowlin the last three seasons for the Knights. The last time the squad traveled toMemphis it defeated Georgia in the 2010 Liberty Bowl 10-6.

The Knights are 7-1 all-time against the Tigers and UCF is 7-0against Memphis since O'Leary became the head coach. That only loss cameduring UCF's first season as a FCS program. This will also be the first futureBig East member the Knights will face this season. UCF and Memphis are in theirfinal season in Conference USA. Both will head to the Big East in 2013.

Sophomore quarterback Blake Bortles will lead the UCF offense intothe River City. In the last five games, Bortles has thrown for a career high inpassing yards. Last week against Southern Miss, the Oviedo native threw for 272yards. On the season, the 6-foot-4 gunslinger has completed 67.5 percent of hispasses for 1,476 yards and 10 touchdowns.

On the ground, sophomore running back Storm Johnson is coming offa career-high 94 yard and one touchdown performance against the defendingConference USA Champion Southern Miss Golden Eagles. Johnson leads the Knightsin rushing this season with 464 yards and four touchdowns.

This is the first of two consecutive road trips for the Knightsand four of the next five games will be away from Bright House NetworksStadium.

Weather:

Saturday's forecast includes a zero percent chance of rain andit's expected to be sunny all day. The forecast high is 70 degrees and the lowis 50 degrees.

Game Notes:

Want to go in-depth to learn more about the matchup between UCFand Memphis? Click on the links below for media notes, distributed by thecommunications staff of both squads.

UCF

Memphis

Articles:

-UCFAthletics: BLOG: Knights Working Hard and Improving at Halfway Point

-UCFAthletics: BLOG: The Knight In Shining Armor

-Orlando Sentinel: UCF is Huge Challenge for Rebuilding Memphis

-Orlando Sentinel: UCF Stresses Lessons Learned from Overtime Game as it Prepares for Memphis

-Memphis Commercial Appeal: University of Memphis football team bracing for tough home testvs. UCF

Radio/TV/Video:
Kickoff is set for 8:00 p.m. eastern standard time. The game will bebroadcast on CSS/Bright House Sports Network and the UCF-IMG College RadioNetwork. At the top of this blog is a quick preview of Saturday's game with"The Voice of the Knights" Marc Daniels and UCF color analyst MikeGruttadauria.

"It's everywhere you want to be." Remember that Visa credit card slogan from back in the day? If not, check out the vintage VISA commercial circa 1987:

These days, Visa commercials have taken things to a whole new level. Mixing sports and comedic relief in their latest ad is a win-win formula. But having Morgan Freeman voiceover a commercial that features current San Francisco 49ers fullback and former UCF defensive end Bruce Miller? To borrow a line from another credit card company, that's "Priceless." 

In the video above, Miller is in the spotlight a ton next to quarterback Alex Smith and linebacker Patrick Willis, all while showing off his impressive beard and receiving encouraging words from one lucky fan. There is even a glimpse of the back of his No. 49 jersey in a shot that shows the entire huddle. 

The final scene in the commercial has to be one that Miller's friends and family, and all UCF fans, can appreciate as he walks side-by-side with head coach Jim Harbaugh in slow motion. By his prominent role in the Visa ad, it appears that Miller's infectious personality that won over his teammates and an entire fan base at UCF has spread to the Bay Area. 

Now in his second year, Miller continues to spearhead of the NFL's leading rushing attacks that features Pro Bowler Frank Gore and Kendall Hunter. Tonight offers a chance to see Miller in the national spotlight once again when the 49ers host Seattle at 8:20 p.m. on the NFL Network.

Kemal Ishmael's game-ending interception against SouthernMiss has gone down as one of the top moments of the 2012 season so far. Theclutch play didn't just prove how valuable the Miami native is to the Knights,but UCF head coach George O'Leary spoke highly of how important the talenteddefensive back is to UCF during his weekly press conference Tuesday.

"I think he's a great competitor," O'Leary said. "When you lookat a guy and you talk about winners, everybody wants to win but there aren'tmany that work to win. He works to win every day in practice."

Ishmael is currently second on the team in tackles with 49halfway through the regular season. His talent and leadership is one of themany reasons the Knights are ranked toward the top of every major defensivecategory in Conference USA.

"He's contagious out there and he's well respected, notbecause he talks a lot, because of what he does," O'Leary said. "He's alwayswhere he belongs. He understands his responsibilities. You never see himshrugging off any duties as far as special teams, defense or whatever it maybe."

O'Leary says Ishmael's effort stays constant throughout theentire week and that's why he's had a successful football career at UCF.

"You can take practice and make it game-day for him,"O'Leary continued. "Others it's not the case, but he plays in practices thesame way. I think that's what separates him from a lot of players. They'regoing to play alright on Saturday, but they'd play a lot better if theypracticed like him during the week."

The Miami native is ranked in the top 10 in school historywith 293 tackles. By the end of the season, he has the potential to be rankedin the Top 5, if he continues to put up the type of numbers he has this season.

O'Leary says Ishmael's work ethic and dedication is what hasmade him one of the best defensive players in UCF history.

"That's something you hope the young players can carry overin a contagious type of way," O'Leary said. "He's what you want your footballteam to look like on the defensive side of the ball. He can do a lot of thingsfor you and he's a quick study."

For as much success as the 5-foot-11 safety has had on thefield, he has been just as good a role model off the field.

"I have nothing but great praise for the way he handleshimself off the field, on the field and pretty much within the whole program,"O'Leary said. "He's been a pleasure to be around and I know he is one of themost respected kids on the team."

With half the regular season complete, the UCF Knights (4-2,2-0) are pleased with what they've accomplished so far. But they know there ismore work to be done. The Knights have won both of their conference games tothis point and are preparing to play their first road contest in Conference USAplay this weekend against the Memphis Tigers.

UCF head coach George O'Leary is hoping by the end of theseason the Knights will have another C-USA Championship trophy to display. TheKnights have put themselves in a position to accomplish that. UCF currently hasa one-game lead in the C-USA East Division and they control their own destiny,with the hope that the destination will be hosting a game on championshipweekend in December.

This past weekend, UCF defeated the defending Conference USAChampion Southern Miss Golden Eagles in an intense, double-overtime contest.Senior safety Kemal Ishmael ended the game with his fifth career interception.The Miami native feels the Knights learned a lot about their team on Saturday.

"We found out who our character guys are and who's going tokeep pushing," Ishmael said. "We're just grateful for everything. You have tolook towards the negatives and fix the negatives because the positives willalways be there. We just have to get the little things right so we can be acomplete team."

Making those adjustments is what the Knights are hoping willtake them to another level. One area where they feel they have made steady progress is on the offensive side of the ball. Sophomore quarterback Blake Bortleshas thrown for a career-high in passing yards in five consecutive games.

The Oviedo native has already surpassed many of hisoffensive numbers from last season. He has completed 68 percent of his passesfor 1,476 yards and 10 touchdowns.

"I feel Blake has matured a lot," senior wide receiverQuincy McDuffie said.

Bortles has gotten the ball to many of the Knights'playmakers this season and that's one of the many reasons why UCF is undefeatedin Conference USA. Five wideouts have at least 99 yards receiving on theseason.

"They can't key in on one person, because we have so manyweapons," McDuffie said. "All of us bring something different to the table. Wetry to put ourselves in positions to make plays and just execute the game planand go from there."

In the running game, Storm Johnson has improved during eachgame of his first season of eligibility for the Knights. He's the team'sleading rusher with 464 yards and four touchdowns. Last week, he ran for acareer-high 94 yards and a score.

"I'm impressed because he's quick and he's shifty," McDuffiesaid. "I like what he brings to the field. He can make guys miss and he's avery powerful running back. I like the way he plays."

McDuffie speaks to the team's mindset as they prepare fortheir first road trip since early September.

"Obviously there are things we have to work on, but thetalent and everything is there," McDuffie said. "We just have to continue topush and move forward."

It was a game of firsts for the UCF Knights against theSouthern Miss Golden Eagles. It was the team's first overtime victory. It wasthe first time since 2007 UCF defeated Southern Miss and it was the first timethe Knights defeated the Golden Eagles at Bright House Networks Stadium.

For close to a decade, the Knights' foe from Mississippi hascaused many problems for UCF. Heading into Saturday night's contest, theKnights were 1-6 all-time against the Golden Eagles. UCF capped off its four-gamehome stand with its most thrilling game of the season, defeating Southern Miss indouble overtime 38-31.

All of the players and some of the coaches on the squad hadnever defeated the Golden Eagles.

"It feels good," senior running back Latavius Murray said."Being a senior, it was definitely something I wanted to get accomplished andtonight is satisfying."

"For some reason we always have trouble with Southern Miss,but they're a pretty good team," senior defensive back Kemal Ishmael said. "I'mjust happy for the win."

The win not only accomplished one of the senior class'sgoals, but it also makes the Knights 2-0 in Conference USA play. UCF defeatedboth ECU and Southern Miss in the past two weeks. That is also another firstfor the Knights, since no team in program history has ever beaten both thePirates and the Golden Eagles in the same season.

"It's a huge accomplishment to take the two of them out,"sophomore quarterback Blake Bortles said. "ECU was 2-0 in the conference whenwe beat them and then to come back and play Southern Miss, who is a rival, wasa great W."

Even though the defending Conference USA Champions arrivedin Orlando with an 0-5 record, the Knights expected a difficult challengeagainst the only winless team in the conference.

"They came out and played the way we thought they would andthey played hard," Murray said. "We knew it was going to be a dog fight. Wewere prepared for that, just had to stick it out at the end."

The four-game homestand for the Knights comes to an end on Saturday as they welcome one of their peskiest opponents in Southern Miss. The Golden Eagles have been a thorn in the side of UCF, owning a 6-1 edge in the all-time series. As the Knights look to extend their lead in the C-USA East Division, UCFAthletics.com has you covered with how to follow all of Saturday's action, including 10 Twitter tidbits to tweet out to all of your followers.

It may be a bit of a surprise that the defending ConferenceUSA Champions started the season 0-5, but that doesn't give UCF head coachGeorge O'Leary any reason to take the Southern Miss Golden Eagles lightly inthis weekend's contest.

The Knights' head coach said he is focusing the same amountof energy on this game as he does any other because every game is important.

"I have a great respect for Southern Miss and how they playthe game," O'Leary said. "I think they're a contact football team and I thinkwe've always had a great rivalry and respect for each other from that standpoint. I anticipate a whale of a ball game Saturday night."

The Knights have had many close and exciting contestsagainst the Golden Eagles and O'Leary expects to see much of the same when thelights come on in Bright House Networks Stadium on Saturday night. Last year'scontest came down to the wire. The Knights went for the win on a 2-pointconversion down by one, 30-29, and unfortunately came up short.

That memory is still etched in the Knights' minds. UCF wouldlike nothing more than to earn its second Conference USA victory to close out afour game home stand.

"It's a team that you throw records out the window," O'Learysaid. "What I see on film is they do a lot of things that can cause defensiveproblems or can cause your offense problems. I think they're well coached."

O'Leary is familiar with the new look Golden Eagles Coachingstaff led by first year head coach Ellis Johnson. The two coached against eachother more than 15 years ago when O'Leary was the head coach at Georgia Techand Johnson was the defensive coordinator at Clemson.

"I think Ellis Johnson has done a good job with the squad hehas," O'Leary said. "He has some young quarterbacks and he's trying to find theright mix. A lot of the names I see and the players I see on the field are alot of the same ones from last year."

This will be the Knights' final battle with the GoldenEagles as a member of Conference USA. The last time UCF defeated Southern Misswas back in 2007, which was the first time the Knights won a Conference USAChampionship. It was a 34-17 victory in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Then seniorrunning back Kevin Smith ran for 175 yards and two touchdowns in the historic victory.

"I think they have the same respect for us as far ascontact, speed and a tough line of scrimmage game," O'Leary said. "It's a teamwe've played good football [against]."

The Knights are preparing for their second Conference USAcontest of the season this Saturday against Southern Miss. A victory againstthe Golden Eagles would mark the second time in school history UCF has beatenits division rival.

UCF and Southern Miss have had many close contests in thepast, including last year's game when the Knights scored with no time remainingto pull within one point, 30-29. UCF went for the win on a 2-point conversion attempt,but didn't complete the pass attempt.

None of the of the Knights on the current roster have takenpart in a victory against Southern Miss. UCF would like to change that thisweekend.

"For me, it's definitely something I want to getaccomplished while I'm here," senior running back Latavius Murray said. "Idefinitely remember back in 2010 when we were ranked and they knocked us out ofthe polls. We're not going to take them lightly. We've been practicing veryhard this week, just like we do every week."

"Last year, we had the chance to beat them and came close,but I'd like to leave here with a win over Southern Miss," senior defensivelineman Cam Henderson said. "They're a great team. We have to take care ofbusiness on Saturday."

Southern Miss is 0-5 and is coming off a 40-14 loss againstfuture Big East member Boise State. But the Knights know that record isimmaterial when 8 p.m. Saturday rolls around.

"0-5 doesn't really mean anything. We have to come out andplay like any other game," Henderson said.

The Knights have face the Golden Eagles every year duringtheir tenure in C-USA and are very familiar with the Golden Eagles' style offootball. That knowledge of the program will keep them engaged in theirpreparations this week.

"We're very motivated," Murray said. "Just for me andoverall as a team, we just know we have to go out there and get this win."

"They have a lot of athletes and almost their entiresecondary coming back," Murray continued. "We just can't take them lightly andhave to go out there and play hard every week just like we have been doing."

When East Carolina went up 14-0 early in the Knights'Conference USA opener Thursday night, the energy in the stadium was in dangerof disappearing.

Bright House Networks Stadium received a jolt ofelectricity, however. On the ensuing kickoff, senior receiver Quincy McDuffietook it at the 1-yard line, made a couple Pirates miss and was off to theraces. His 99-yard return for a touchdown sparked the offense and defense.

"It definitely got the morale of the team up, having a quickscore like that and putting an actual touchdown on the board," sophomorequarterback Blake Bortles said. "It definitely did help out."

"It gives you momentum, especially in rivalry games," seniordefensive lineman Troy Davis said. "It swings momentum and it gets the sidelinegoing."

The kickoff return wasn't the only big play McDuffie, anOrlando native, made. In the third quarter he caught a pass from Bortles for a64-yard touchdown. It was a short screen pass that McDuffie took down thesideline.

"He's unbelievable," Bortles said. "He's one of the fastestkids I've ever seen and that was a great block out there on the perimeter andit was a great play call too. They brought the house on a blitz and played mancoverage and Quincy got in the hole and took off. Once he gets into the openfield there aren't too many people who can catch him."

McDuffie finished the game with 195 total yards and he onlytouched the ball four times, including that long touchdown catch-and-run in thesecond half. 

"I saw nothing but daylight," McDuffie said. "I put my footin the ground and just tried to get to the endzone. I knew how bad we needed itand I was very determined to get into the endzone."

For years Kimmy Trivett has supported the UCF Knights. Duringthis past year, the Knights have returned the favor, supporting Kimmy duringher fight with breast cancer.

It's a guarantee that Kimmy and her husband Lynn will do allthey can to attend every single UCF athletic event possible. Last year was nodifferent. They traveled to every away football game. This Thursday's game againstECU is Knights for Pink, which supports the fight against breast cancer. Shortlyafter the season ended, Kimmy was diagnosed with breast cancer.

"I went to see the surgeon and he told me 'We have foundsomething. We just want to do a biopsy," Kimmy said. "Of course, I've beenthere before and had problems, but everything was fine... In the end of Januarywhen we went back to the surgeon we walked back into his office and he said 'WellI hate to tell you this, but you have breast cancer.' It was something I neverwould have expected."

Kimmy had to go through 30 radiation treatments to fight offthe cancer. Just this week, she completed her final treatment. It was obviouslya difficult time for both Kimmy and Lynn. One of the things they were mostdisappointed about was the disease kept them from attending many of theKnights' away basketball and baseball games.

While the Trivetts weren't in attendance at some games, theywere never forgotten. During her fight with cancer, many of the UCF teams did everythingthey could to show the Trivetts they were in their prayers. Kimmy recalls onemoment with former UCF basketball player A.J. Rompza.

"We came over for the football signing party and he just said'I have a card for you and I hear you're going to be on campus,'" Kimmy said."We were in the big part of the arena and A.J. came in with this beautiful cardand then in his other hand he had 18 long-stem roses. Needless to say, I gotvery emotional."

Another unexpected surprise from the UCF staff came duringlast year's ECU basketball game. Lynn won courtside seats for the game at asilent auction for Kimmy's Valentine's Day gift. Neither of them knew that gamewas breast cancer support night.

This show of support included a signed jersey by everyplayer and coach.

"It was just a wonderful evening and after the game everyplayer came across the court and gave me a hug," Kimmy said. "That was soencouraging and loving. That was one of the best nights of my life."

"We had a lot of support and a lot of that support came fromUCF," Lynn Trivett said. "We didn't realize it at the moment, but it didn'ttake long to find out about it. Not only from friends and acquaintances, butfrom a lot of the athletes. We received cards, text messages and words ofencouragement from every aspect of the athletic department."

UCF head coach George O'Leary had made it clear the Knights arewilling to play anyone in the nation when it comes to the non-conferenceschedule. That's why he scheduled the likes of Ohio State and Missouri thisseason. Unfortunately, the Knights came up just short in both of those games.

"The team is disappointed because close doesn't count exceptin horse shoes," O'Leary said during his Monday press conference. "You have towin these games... But you can't give up the big plays and that's what we did andthat's what made the difference in the game Saturday."

While non-conference games are important, the next eightgames carry even more weight. Thursday night marks the beginning of conferenceplay for UCF when the East Carolina Pirates come to town and every game countsif the Knights want to win a Conference USA Championship.

"Everything right now is for a conference championship andwe're playing a team that's 2-0 in conference that's in our division," O'Learysaid. "Every game is critical ... as far as our goal is concerned for ConferenceUSA."

O'Leary says the Knights' goal is to win Conference USA.

"They understand that we expect to play 14 games this year.I told them that Sunday night," O'Leary said. "That's what our goal is ... toplay 14 games and our goal is to win every game we play. Ultimately, we wantthe conference championship, so East Carolina is in the way."

The long-time UCF head coach has led the Knights to twoConference USA Championships. He understands the hard work and dedication it takesfrom everyone in the program to win a conference championship. 

"You're in this for competition. You're in it to win andwhen you don't the old saying 'you die a little' ... it's true," O'Leary said."You put so much effort into trying to get things done right. I think the kidsaren't like that. They're resilient. The senior class had goals they set forthemselves and close doesn't count. We have to win."

This year's Knights squad has talked a lot about the 2010 UCFteam. That unit went down as one of the greatest in school history. UCF finishedthe season ranked 21^st in the AP poll, won its second Conference USAChampionship and its first bowl game in the Liberty Bowl.

One thing that year's team has in common with this year'ssquad is both started the season 2-2 entering conference play. What helped the2010 team do well during that portion of the schedule was its seniorleadership. This year's seniors know that will play an important role in theoutcome of the rest of the season.

"One thing when you look at the 2010 team is the seniors theyhad in Bruce Miller and how good of a job they did by leading by example,"senior quarterback/receiver Rob Calabrese said. "We learned from them and we'rereally trying to emulate what they did."

With non-conference play over for UCF, the team is focusedon Conference USA play and has already moved on from its loss to MissouriSaturday.

"Coach has been saying all week basically every game fromhere on out is the conference championship and each game is a must-win,especially conference games," senior punter Jamie Boyle said. "That's our goalevery year to win the conference championship, so anytime we have anin-conference team coming to our place we definitely want to get a win."

Thursday night, the Knights will face conference foe EastCarolina at home. The Pirates come to town undefeated in conference play at2-0. The Knights are hoping this quick turnaround can help them get back in thewin column.

"It's tough to shake things off from Saturday, but obviouslywe took the coaching and watched some film," Calabrese said. "Being on a shortweek we need to prepare for a Thursday game. We went through a Tuesday typepractice today (Monday). Our guys have moved on and are ready to play Thursdaynight."

The Knights will play eight conference games in the regularseason and will play two in a row at home.

"You have to be mentally tough to be a football player andyou have to take coaching and understand what needs to be done," Calabresesaid. "Obviously, this is conference play, so this is the most important thingfor us. We're treating every game from now on like the conference championship."

UCF head coach George O'Leary met with the media Monday afternoon at Bright House Networks Stadium for his weekly press conference. He discussed last Saturday's contest against Missouri and looked ahead to the C-USA opener vs. East Carolina in Orlando Thursday.

On his team's performance:

"Just to review the Missouri game, whatI said after the game was pretty much accurate. I thought offensively weweren't as physical as we were in the first half, especially on the backsideblocking. I thought the quarterback had some throws that he needs to make but Ithink it's just him being young. Defensively, I thought we played well enoughto win except that last series where we missed tackles and gave up a longtouchdown run. Every phase of the game had a piece of it. I always say thatthere are six plays that make a difference in a game, and I think there wasthree this game. Obviously, the 80-yard touchdown catch where we had a tackleand didn't wrap up and it goes for 80 yards. That sort of gave them life. Next,was the punt return, which we had the whole right side not where they belongedfrom a contain element. And the fumble, because I really believe driving down21-16, we have a chance with time on the clock because I thought we have themon their heels a little bit and then we fumbled the ball. ... That was the game,and we covered it on Sunday with them, I didn't spend a lot of time on it,except correcting mistakes so it wasn't one person or one group, every phase asfar as special teams, offense and defense had a piece of it. I tell themeverything right now is for the conference championship and we're playing ateam that's 2-0 in conference play that's in our division, so every game iscritical as far as our goal is concerned for Conference USA. Again, it was a disappointinggame on Saturday. It's a game within reach and we have to make some plays tocome out with a win."

On the tough loss for the players andputting it behind them...

"They understand. It's coaches too. Ikick myself right before the half because I've had that happen in my historywhere I sent the field goal team out and guys upstairs were like 'coach, we canget one more play in.' And I should've stuck to my guns and kicked the fieldgoal and score your points because the inevitable what you don't want tohappen, happened. That had nothing to do with the locker room, I just think wewent out in the second half and Missouri played like their defense could play.And we weren't as physical or executing offensively like we did in the firsthalf. I think the players understand, I think they took the loss very difficultjust like we do any losses. But they (players) understand that we have to getback and get ready for our Conference USA first game, first opponent vs. EastCarolina."

On the letdown in the second half...

"Nothing was different, they didn't makeany adjustments. Someone said, 'they came out in solid.' They were in solid thesecond play of the game, so that wasn't the answer. I think basically, it'swhen you have a chance to make plays, you have to make them. I look at thesenior class on offense and they're the ones that have to get going. I talkedto them about it, 'hey fellas, not everything is pretty. It's the end resultand you have to keep working and working and good things will happen to you.' Afterhalftime, there's nothing that I can say we're doing different, coaches makethe adjustments that have to be made based on any changes to their offense anddefense and we continue to the field. We got a turnover on the first seriesthere, a pick by Kemal Ishmael and I thought we were on our way again. That wasjust disappointing."

On the defensive line's performance...

"When you go back to (Troy Davis')sophomore year, (inside is) where he executed the best because he's a veryquick individual. I thought the defensive line was the most active they've beenall season. They came up with five sacks and could've had two more if thequarterback didn't make them miss on the two. I thought they were more activeand if they can continue that pressure, then we'll be fine on defense. Ithought we tackled better except for a couple of plays where we tried to throwknockout punches instead of wrapping up and trying to secure the tackle."

What stands out for East Carolina...

"They went to a new defense, more of a3-4 package now. They ran some of that last year, but now they are a 3-4 team.They have seven new starters out there; they look like they're faster than theywere a year ago. Offensively, they seem to have found a running back they'rereal happy with, a junior college transfer (Cooper No. 21). A lot of theirreceivers are back from last year. The quarterback is thorough, he manages thegame well. It's going to be typical of what we've seen this year, no huddle anda lot of different variations as far as formations. With the short week, todayis like a Tuesday and tomorrow is like a Wednesday-Thursday type practice. Iunderstand we had a tough game Saturday, not just contact but the heat. We'rein fairly good shape; I thought our guys hung in there pretty well as far aswhat's taking place. You have to watch wearing them down in practice with ashort week."

On running the ball more as the seasonprogresses...

"No I think people are crowding the boxwith eight guys so were taking what's available. If you look at the conferenceand the amount of points given up and the amount of points scored, we're rightabout where we normally are, which I think is the number one thing you look at,as far as what you do when you have the ball in your hands and what they do whenthey have the ball in their hands. I think the big thing we still have tocontinue to get better on is ball security on offense and takeaways ondefense."

On how Jeff Godfrey has progressed in hisdifferent roles on offense...

"Jeff's done a great job, he really has.We still need to find ways to get him the ball more in different situations. Ithink we try to utilize him as much we can in certain situations, and I've beenvery pleased with him as far as all that stuff that happened last year and ithas been behind him. He's very happy of what he's doing right now and I'mputting him more on special teams. You may see him punt return this week."

On Blake Bortles...

"He's fine. People don't understand. Alot of things that happened to him are the first time it's ever happened. He'shasn't been out there for three years; he's been out there for one year (as astarter), four games, 25 percent of the season. If you get hit a couple oftimes, all of a sudden you start looking around and start getting a littleantsy. Everybody's like that, until they have enough experience to get overthat. I have put more pressure on practice this week to get some things donethere but I have the up-most faith in him controlling the offense and gettingthings done right. I think there were times we probably were a little bit outof sync on Saturday. He'll be fine. A lot of the situations he'll be better thenext time he sees that situation occur."

After playing the Missouri Tigers on Saturday, the Knightsare now focused on starting a new chapter of the season - conference play.

UCF ended the non-conference portion of its schedule with a2-2 record and will face the East Carolina Pirates in its first Conference USAgame of the season on Thursday night at Bright House Networks Stadium.

"We can always take positives [from] plays and positivethings out of each game," sophomore running back Storm Johnson said in hispost-game interview. "Our main focus is getting better as a team and movingforward."

Senior linebacker Ray Shipman said the team will watch film on ECU Saturday nightand the coaches will grade the team's performance against Missouri. The wholeteam is now focused on getting a win against the Pirates.

"We have to move forward now because we have a short week,"senior defensive back Kemal Ishmael said. "After this day, the game is over.We're just getting ready for ECU now."

The Pirates have already played two Conference USA opponentsthis season and faced the likes for North Carolina and South Carolina innon-conference play. Both ECU  and UCF have played challenging non-conferenceschedules and both hope they helped prepare them for C-USA play.

UCF doesn't plan to loss its focus on ECU after its loss toMissouri.

"We're going to get in, watch film and at the end of theday, forget about it," Johnson said.

Sergeant Matt Garland is one of many U.S. military personnelwho are currently stationed overseas. Garland is in the United States Army andis serving his country in Afghanistan. Garland went to his first Knights gamein 2005 and has been a loyal UCF fan ever since.

Following the Knights football team is one thing he enjoysduring his free time. Unfortunately, he was unable to attend the season-openerin person due to his deployment. But  he was able to take part in thegame. He was able to watch the game with his wife live through Skype. Garland'swife Stephanie was sitting with her family in Section 130.

"It added him into the game," UCF graduate Stephanie Garland said. "Hewas away, but it made it more like he was there and we can joke with him andhave fun with him."

Stephanie and Matt were able to Skype for the majority ofthe fourth quarter.

"He loved it," Stephanie said. "He loved being able toactually see it happening because on the computer it was just the Game Tracker."

Stephanie had never tried to Skype at a game before the FIUcontest. She is a middle school teacher in Orlando and told many of her friendsand colleagues about what she was able to do.

"Many of them were at the game and I said to them 'Yeah, weSkyped him,'" Stephanie said. "For some reason, we were able to get cell phonereception. They said that's amazing he was able to see the game."

Even though Matt won't be back to watch any of the Knights'games in person this season, he still has his season ticket. Stephanie says sheis looking forward to Matt being back in the United States to watch the Knightslive next season.

"It's his ticket. That's his spot," Stephanie said. "If Igive it up I'm going to have to get it back next year. So I may as well hangonto it and invite friends and family of his to take joy in what he's not ableto."

Following the Knights has helped the couple's relationshipgrow and has helped Matt and Stephanie get through not seeing each other formonths.

"We get through it," Stephanie said. "If we're down andwe're said it doesn't get him home any quicker. We try to keep it on thepositive side. We do talk about football and things we enjoy together. It keepsme busy and puts me in a positive atmosphere, because I can come out and cheer forthe Knights."

When the MissouriTigers come to Orlando Saturday, it will mark the first time UCF will host aSoutheastern Conference opponent at Bright House Networks Stadium. A winagainst the Tigers would go down in UCF history.

"You've got to win those games if you want to get anynotoriety," UCF head coach George O'Leary said during his weekly pressconference Tuesday. "It's an important game. I think any time you can bring theSEC into your house it should be a big deal with your fan base and everybodyelse concerned with the game."

The Tigers (2-2, 0-2)are coming off a 31-10 loss against the South Carolina Gamecocks.

"Looking at them, they looked a little bit out of syncagainst South Carolina," O'Leary said. "But they're a very, very good defense.They got a bunch of guys back that play a lot of ball for them. I think they'vegot some outstanding players on defense."

The Knights have had success against SEC schools in the past.Back in 2000 UCF defeated Alabama 40-38 in Tuscaloosa and in 2010 the Knightsdefeated Georgia 10-6 in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl.

O'Leary knows how physical SEC teams can be and he expectsthe Tigers to to be just that.

"They are a talented football team," O'Leary said. "They haveeverything that's supposed to happen - athleticism, size and speed. So we aregoing to have our work cut out for us."

Saturday's contestwill also be UCF's final non-conference game of the season. A victory againstMissouri would give the Knights a lot of momentum heading into Conference USAplay.

"It is important because we start our conference right afterin four days with East Carolina on Thursday," O'Leary said. "So it's always abetter Sunday when you get a win on Saturday, especially with a shortweek."

After getting some time off to rest after last week's byeweek, the UCF Knights feel prepared to take on their first ever SEC opponent atBright House Networks Stadium. After defeating FIU in week three, the Knightsgot a couple of days off to rest and then it was back to work.

UCF will take on the Missouri Tigers for the first time inschool history and the Knights liked where last week's bye fell on theschedule.

"It just gives us extra time to prepare and mostly get ourbodies rested," senior running back Brynn Harvey said. "We work on trying tokeep it consistent. The blockers concentrate on blocking. The running backsfocus on finishing and [for] the receivers catching the ball. Simple things."

"The extra days have helped us," senior linebacker RayShipman said. "Being able to go up against the UCF offense more gives us abetter look and being more physical."

In the team's game against FIU, all of the Knights werepleased with the way the first half went. UCF scored 23 points in the halfincluding two touchdown passes from Blake Bortles and one touchdown on theground from Harvey.

"We want to carry over the way we played in the first halfin the FIU game and bring that over into this game," Shipman said.

Bortles has already thrown for seven touchdowns this season,which is one more than he had all of last season. Both coach O'Leary and therest of the Knights have been impressed with the Oviedo native this season.Despite, the six interceptions Bortles has thrown this season, the team feelsthe sophomore quarterback is more focused than ever.

"He doesn't let anything [get to him]," Harvey said. "Heknows that he makes mistakes and he's going to come back and help us pick upwhere he left off against FIU. The interceptions don't get to Blake. You cantell he's a poised guy and he keeps us poised."

This past bye week also gave the team a chance to dosomething it doesn't get to do very often. Watch a live football game.

Over the weekend, Missouri lost to South Carolina 31-10. TheKnights admitted it was a different perspective than they were used to.

"The linebackers came to my house and watched the game,"Shipman said. "The score [of the game] was kind of misleading, but they have areally good team...We're definitely going to play to the best of our ability."

During Tuesday's State of the University Address, senioroffensive lineman Jordan Rae was honored for the successes he's had on and offthe football field. Rae was one of a handful of students recognized by UCFPresident John C. Hitt. 

"To hear all of those compliments were definitely awesome,"Rae said. "I've done so much and the work is finally paying off."

The senior offensive lineman graduated with his degree infinance last school year and is a three-year starter on the football team. Heis also a candidate for the Rimington Trophy, which is awarded each year to thebest center in the nation.

As an undergraduate, Rae made the honor roll in six of his eight semesters andhe is currently working on his master's degree in business.

"All of the qualities that we taught him came out and that'sreally important to us," Jordan's mother Dayle Rae said. "This is really theproof of all we taught him."

During the offseason, UCF worked hard to improve its play onspecial teams. During Saturday's game against the FIU Panthers, the Knightsshowed all of that hard work during the summer is paying off.

Punter Jamie Boyle dropped all five of his punts inside the FIU 20-yard line. That punting coverage combined with good kicking coverage, allowed UCF to put pressureon the FIU offense and dominate field of position for much of the contest.

"That creates good momentum for us," senior defensive backKemal Ishmael said of the special teams creating good field position.

It wasn't just the special team, either .The talented sophomore duo of J.J. Worton and RannellHall also helped put the Knights in great field position. Worton returned four punts for 48 yards and Hall returned threekickoffs for 96 yards. Hall had a 44-yardreturn in the second half.

"That's something they've done for a while now," sophomorequarterback Blake Bortles said of the special teams."When they do stuff like that it helps us out tremendously."

Junior wide receiver Jeff Godfrey helped reward Worton forhis hard work by tossing him a touchdown pass after a handoff from senior RobCalabrese.

"It was great out there," Godfrey said. "The defense did agreat job of stopping those guys and making them punt. J.J. Worton had somenice punt returns and the field position wasgreat."

After the Knights spent the first two game days of 2012 in thestate of Ohio, Knights fans will get to experience UCF's first home game of the football season today.

Fans began setting up their tailgates as early as 5 a.m. andcontinued to fill areas outside Bright House Networks Stadium, Memory Mall andall over campus.

"It's an exciting atmosphere here at UCF," 1973graduate Steve Purifoy said. "I'm a Black and Gold guy through andthrough. When I watched the game we played up in Akron I was like 'man, we cando some good things.'"

This is the first of a four-game home stretch for theKnights and it's the third non-conference game UCF has played this season.

"We've looked forward to it since spring time,"long-time UCF fan Paul Chinaris said about the first home game. "You soakup the atmosphere and the energy that happens here. It's a wonderful campus anda wonderful stadium and the fans are great."

Long-time Knights' fan Cory Hibbs purchased season ticketsfor his entire family. One thing he enjoys about home-opener is spending timewith his wife, children and friends.

"We've been coming for the last five years," CoryHibbs said. "It's our last year in Conference USA and next year we'regoing to the Big East. I think there's a lot of excitement heading into a newconference and playing some new teams in the future."

Hundreds of Knights fans came out for the Friday KnightLights pep rally at Bright House Networks Stadium Friday to prepare for UCF'sfirst home football game of the season. Fans, students and cheerleaders filedinto the student section and got their game day faces ready for Saturday.

"It is wonderful," junior cheerleader Leah Moensaid. "I'm so excited for the game...They're all (fans) as excited for thegame as we are."

There was a steady downfall of rain throughout the peprally, but that didn't scare away the Knights fans. There was also a DJ set upat the very front of the student section to get the UCF faithful ready to takeon their in-state rival.

"It's going to take way more than that to keep theKnights down," UCF junior Gabriela Iglesias-Mendoza said about the weather."Stuff like this (pep rally), we love it."

Iglesias-Mendoza said she has been attending Knights gamessince her freshman year. Her friend Max Benton transferred to UCF from anotherFlorida school and will experience his first game on Saturday. Benton says he'sexcited to experience "Zombie Nation" in the student section.

"I'm stoked," said Benton. "There were abunch of students. It was awesome. It was a good turnout, a bunch of good musicand it was a fun time." 

Kickoff for Saturday's game against FIU is set for 4 p.m.Complete coverage of the game can be found right here at UCFAthletics.com.

Knights fans can get an inside perspective of UCF footballeach Sunday at 12 p.m. on Bright House Sports Network. Inside UCF Football andUCF Sports Today with George O'Leary will deliver feature stories on players,coaches and events covering the Knights all season long.

This Sunday, running back Brynn Harvey and H-back DontraviusFloyd will join Inside UCF Football's host, Erik Kohler, on the show. Also, returningfor his second year at UCF, running backs coach Danny Barrett will be joiningthe show's line up to talk about his role with the team. This week the showwill also be featuring a behind-the-scenes look at what it's like to travelwith the Knights.  

UCF Sports Today with George O'Leary will follow at 12:30p.m., hosted by the "Voice of the Knights," Marc Daniels. Together, these twowill sit down and recap the game vs. FIU.

On Tuesday, both shows will air statewide on Sun Sports,starting at 4:30 p.m.

As always, if UCF fans aren't close to a television set,both shows will be available for free each Monday at 1 p.m. in the All-Access playeron UCFAthletics.com. 

UCF will open its 2012 home schedule with familiar in-state opponent in FIU this Saturday. It will be the second matchup between the two schools that are separated by 237 miles and UCFAthletics.com has you covered with how to follow all of Saturday's action, including 10 Twitter tidbits to tweet out to all of your followers.

     ? @UCF_Football (1-1) vs. @FIUFootball (1-1)

     ? Bright House Networks Stadium (45,323) - @CityBeautiful - 4 p.m.

     ? Watch it live on @CSSsports and also on @BHSN, channel 1147 . You can listen on WYGM @740thegame (flagship), WFLF 540-AM (Maitland), WDCF 1350-AM (Clearwater), WROD 1340-AM (Daytona Beach), WWCN 770-AM (Fort Myers)

     ? Follow the action all game long with updates from @UCF_Football and @UCF_Athletics on Twitter. Don't forget to "Like" the Knights on Facebook as well to see pictures from the season opener. For the stat buffs out there, follow on .

10 Tweetable Tidbits

     ? On Sept. 15, 2007: #UCF opened its first on-campus stadium against No. 6 Texas in front of a packed house of 45,622 fans #ZombieNation

     ?  This is the first home opener to be played in front of a national TV audience since Bright House opened in 2007 #HeyMomSendMoney

     ? #UCF is kicking off a four-game homestand, the longest since the Knights hosted four-straight back in 1999 #LetTheGamesBegin

     ? The last time #UCF sported a 1-1 record it won the @ConferenceUSA1 title and the @AZOLibertyBowl #ThePowerOf1

     ? #UCF is 24-9 all-time in Bright House Networks Stadium and 7-4 against non-conference opponents #HomeCookin

     ?  Did you know that since 2009, #UCF has received the opening kickoff in 35 of the last 41 games? #GimmieTheBall

     ? Of the 209 players on #UCF & #FIU's rosters, 155 hail from the Sunshine State. 9 sets of HS teammates reunite #ShareALittleSunshine

     ?  As a team, #UCF has attempted 40 passes or more in a contest 10 times since 2004 - a span of 103 games #BallControl

     ? Since joining the FBS ranks in 1996, the Knights recorded seven turnovers in the first 2 games of the season #IwillTakeThat

     ? Record Watch: Rannell Hall cracked the top 10 in kick-return yardage and is 41 yards shy of Shawn Jefferson for No. 8 #RunSpeedyRun