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]."