After finishing 11-3 and notching the program’s first ever bowl victory last season, expectations were extremely high for the UCF Football team this year. Before the season even began, fans and players emitted the “undefeated or bust” attitude for the 2011 campaign.
Maybe the bar was set too high.
With a humbling 17-10 loss at the hands of defending Sun Belt Conference champion Florida International, the Knights failed to stay undefeated and missed a chance to move in to the national polls.
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But with conference play set to start next weekend, UCF is looking to prove they are still worthy of everyone’s initial expectations.
They will have the perfect opportunity to do that Friday night as they travel to Provo, Utah to take on Brigham Young University in a spotlight game on ESPN. The Knights (2-1) will be looking for redemption against an equally desperate BYU team in front of a national audience, where they can show that last week’s defeat was just a mere fluke.
The Cougars (1-2) are also coming off a disappointing loss, a 54-10 blunder to rival Utah in the team’s home opener. BYU’s fans also had high expectations for the team, and they will be seeking to amend last week’s loss in front of a hungry LaVell Edwards Stadium.
Both squads will be playing on short rest, but Coach O’Leary said that wouldn’t derail the Knights performance.
“We have practiced hard. We just move a day back, and it’s hard on Sunday because you try to get one game done and another game plan in and all that, but I think as the week goes on everything settles down as far as what we want to get done,” O’Leary said.
The stakes are high for both teams with the Cougars looking to avoid a 1-3 start, and the Knights playing their non-conference schedule finale and last big-name school of the season. This is the two school’s first ever meeting.
Scouting Report: BYU
The Cougars are coming off an embarrassing 54-10 slaughter at the hands of rival Utah. BYU went up 10-7 late in the second quarter after quarterback Jake Heaps connected with Ross Apo for his lone touchdown pass of the game. Then, the Utes rattled off 47 unanswered points for the lopsided victory.
BYU had seven turnovers, including two fumbles and an interception from Heaps. The Cougar run game was shut down, producing only 11 rushing yards. In addition, the BYU defense was pummeled by Utah, who posted 40 points in the second half.
The BYU defense allowed 242 rushing yards, 239 passing yards and 20 first downs, including a 30-yard and 59-yard touchdown pass and 62 and 35-yard rushing scores by runningback John White.
Overall, it was a forgettable game for the Cougars.
But the loss to Utah might not be the worst of the team’s problems. Both the offense and defense are struggling early on this season.
The Cougar defense is just one of four FBS teams that hasn’t produced a sack yet this season. The team’s highly regarded front seven are having trouble getting to quarterbacks, and are also allowing 157 yards per game on the ground. That could spell trouble for the Cougars with speedy QB Jeff Godfrey always a threat with his legs. Not to mention, the Knights have three highly capable, first string material runningbacks to attack with as well.
While the defense has its problems, it’s the Brigham Young offense that can be attributed for the team’s poor start. The Cougars have generated a mere three offensive touchdowns this year and have failed to score 20 points yet. The offense has only been able to amass 40 points through the first three games, which is only the second time in 35 years that they failed to post a cumulative of 50 points in the first three games.
Additionally, the Cougars have only produced 118 rushing yards, which ranks them at 118 in the nation in that category.
With the Knights having one of the top defenses in the nation, they will make it very tough for the Cougars to improve their stagnant offense.
Scouting Report: UCF
After outscoring their first two opponents 92-3, the Knights allowed an uncharacteristic 17 points in the loss to FIU.
However, it was two costly turnovers that really doomed UCF in the game. Godfrey fumbled the ball deep in Panthers territory right before the first half expired that FIU returned for a touchdown.
That led to a 7-7 tie at halftime.
Then, early in the third quarter, Josh Robinson fumbled a punt return that led to a four-yard touchdown run by Darriet Perry to give FIU its first lead of the game.
In addition to Godfrey’s fumble, the sophomore star was sacked six times in the game after the Knights did not allow him to be sacked at all through the first two games.
Ultimately, the Knights shot themselves in the foot with mistakes, which the Panthers were able to capitalize on.
But the Knights will need to forget about that mishap quickly tonight when they face BYU in front of a national audience.
Despite the 17 points allowed against FIU, UCF is still one of the top defensive units in the nation. They are third in the nation in points allowed (6.7/game), second in yards allowed (166/game) and first in the nation passing defense, only allowing 93.7 yards per game through the air.
With the BYU offense struggling, the Knights will need to capitalize on that and continue to shut them down. The UCF defensive ends will have their hands full with 6’6”, 305-pound offensive tackle Matt Reynolds, who is one of the top OT’s in the nation and projected to be drafted in the first round next year.
Also, a big concern will be the Knights offensive line, who will need to recover after allowing Godfrey to be hassled throughout the loss to FIU. The renlentless blitzing by the Panthers threw off the UCF offense and prevented them from getting into a flow. Senior OT Nick Pieschel will need to set the tone and make sure that Godfrey is protected, or we could see a repeat of the FIU game.
Keys to Victory
The Knights will need to forget about last week’s disappointment and come into this game with a mindset of redemption. If UCF wins this game, they will garner national attention and poll consideration.
For UCF to win this game, they will need to utilize their rushing attack, which they shied away from against FIU. Instead of Jeff Godfrey trying to make every play by himself, he will need to share the load with the three-headed rushing monster of Latavius Murray, Ronnie Weaver and Brynn Harvey.
“Jeff needs to stop trying to do everything himself, and make sure he understands the play and then deliver the ball where they [the defense] are not. Sometimes he tries to do things that he shouldn’t be doing out there. That was some of the problem last week. He needs to understand that everything is built around making decisions and you’ve got to make good decisions,” Coach O’Leary said.
If the Knights pound the ball on the ground, they will have a great shot of winning. Also, as stated before, the Knights offensive line will need to protect Godfrey from blitzes. If he is blitzed, look for receivers Quincy McDuffie or A.J. Guyton to come up big.
The Knights will have a great shot at winning if they can limit their turnovers, rush the ball constantly and capitalize on the weak BYU offense.
Final Thoughts
UCF is 10-0 in its past 10 games coming off of a defeat, so history is on the team’s side.
The Knights are looking to go above .500 in their non-conference schedule for the first time in school history.
BYU is favored by two points.
J.J. Worton and A.J. Guyton are replacing Josh Robinson as punt returner after early struggles from the standout cornerback.
Prediction- The Knights recover from last week’s loss and come up with a big win, led by a stingy UCF defense. Knights win 24-13.
