Fast starts. Turnover battle. Red-zone offense.
All those items and more made the working list of things for UCF coach Josh Heupel and his Knights to discuss, dissect and shore up during their open date. The results of that attention went on display Saturday night at Spectrum Stadium.
Here are some final thoughts on those areas from UCF's victory over East Carolina:
- On the turnover front. In UCF's first four wins the Knights were plus-four in turnovers. In their two road losses they are minus-five. So that comparison drew the attention of Josh Heupel and his staff as they looked for points of emphasis last week and this. The Knights came back from their week off to win the turnover competition two to one against East Carolina--though that did not count a blocked punt by the visiting Pirates. And there's room for improvement. Overall, UCF currently stands 54th nationally in turnover margin (plus .14 per game)—and fourth among American Athletic Conference members.
- On the red-zone topic. The Knights struggled in this area in the loss at Cincinnati, with six chances turning into only a single touchdown and three field goals. In the first half alone, the Knights reached the Cincinnati seven, nine, five and 14—but three of those chances produced field goals and the fourth became an interception when receiver Gabe Davis slipped near the goal line with the Knights on the verge of taking a 10-0 lead. UCF led 16-10 at halftime but it wasn't enough. Against East Carolina Saturday night, the Knights went three for four in that category (all TDs), missing only with three minutes to go in the game when UCF reached the Pirate 18 but turned the ball over on downs. UCF currently is 104th nationally (10th in the AAC) with a .758 conversion rate. Meanwhile, this week's opponent, Temple leads the league and rates second nationally in red-zone defense.
- On the fast starts. That's been no issue at home, with the Knights averaging more than 40 points in the first half of those four outings and averaging a 37.5-point halftime edge. But the Knights had to fight back from a 21-0 deficit at Pitt (and did so, scoring the next 31 points), and then at Cincinnati the Bearcats scored the first 17 points of the second half. Expect all three of these topics to be potential game-changers when the Knights attempt to end their two-game road losing streak Saturday night at a Temple team (5-2, 2-1 AAC) that is 4-0 at home to date in 2019.
- And the Knights continue to hang with . . . . National statistical rankings again list UCF among names in the conversation at the upper echelon of this week's NCAA numbers. Overall, the Knights rank in the national top 10 in eight different NCAA categories—and lead the AAC in 10. Here's where UCF stands in various top 10s:
--1st in first downs with 196 (Texas is next with 192)
--2nd in total offense at 553.9 yards per game (Oklahoma is atop that list at 612.9)
--2nd in tackles for loss (9.3 per game—Ohio State is #1 at 9.4)
--5th in scoring offense at 44.3 (Oklahoma tops that chart at 50.4)
--5th in passing offense at 341.6 (Washington State leads that category at 440.7)
--6th in team passing efficiency defense
- What Gabe Davis and Dillon Gabriel are doing is hard to miss. UCF junior wide receiver Gabe Davis now has hauled in 37 combined receptions in his last four games, good for 604 yards and seven touchdowns. He now has 10 TD catches and leads the country in that category (with three other players). Only three players nationally have more receiving yards than he does. Meanwhile, Gabriel is one of a dozen quarterbacks to throw for 2,000 yards so far in 2019—and the only freshman to do that. His yards per-completion number is second nationally (16.53), behind only Jalen Hurts of Oklahoma (18.19). He's 10th in passing efficiency (Hurts leads that chart, too).