UCF-FIU Preview: Knights Looking at a 3-0 Start In First Road Game of Season

Football, Sports — By Allen Levin on September 17, 2011 at 2:53 pm

With 27 players on the UCF roster from the Miami area, the Knights matchup against Florida International is more of a home away from home than an actual road game.

Chat with other UCF fans during the game:

The undefeated UCF Knights (2-0) will travel to Miami to take on FIU (2-0) in the team’s first road game of the season, where Jeff Godfrey will be playing on his high school field in his first homecoming since committing to the Knights.

UCF is coming off one of its biggest victories in school history in a 30-3 throttling of Boston College. The Knights scored three fourth quarter touchdowns, including two rushing scores by Godfrey to pull away from the Eagles. Once again, the UCF defense came up big, limiting BC to 141 yards and a mere seven first downs in the game.

UCF will be looking to stay perfect as they continue their bid to climb back into the national rankings. This is the first matchup between the two in-state schools, and the Knights will be using this game to prepare for a big road test against BYU next weekend.

Scouting Report- Florida International

The Golden Panthers are riding a wave of confidence after upsetting Louisville 24-17 last week in Kentucky. Wide receiver T.Y. Hilton had 201 yards and two touchdowns to lead FIU to the upset.

Hilton is quickly making a name for himself as he continues to be one of the best playmakers in the nation. Hilton posted a 74-yard and 83-yard touchdown on his first two catches, and now has 333 yards on the season, already almost half of his last year total. The sophomore now leads the nation in receiving yards.

FIU has a solid defense, only allowing 16.5 points through its first two games. But, the Golden Panthers biggest threat is their offense and its big play making ability. Hilton is an all-purpose player with the skill to both run and catch the ball for big-yard gains.

The Golden Panthers won the Sun Belt Conference last year, as well as a bowl game, and are looking to build on that success.

This means the Knights will face a hungry FIU team that is looking for their second straight upset as they continue to try to make a name for themselves in the state of Florida.

Scouting Report- UCF

The Knights defense continues to be impressive after allowing only three points against BC last weekend. The Eagles couldn’t figure out the UCF defense, as they only converted one third down in 12 attempts. The Knights haven’t allowed a touchdown in 12 straight quarters, dating back to last season.

The Knights will need to continue that defensive effort in order to prevent Hilton from having another big game. An interesting matchup will be UCF’s pass coverage against Hilton. Josh Robinson and Kemal Ishmael are very effective in the secondary and will need to shutdown Hilton’s playmaking skills.

UCF’s offense got in a flow late in the game against BC after scoring three rushing touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Godfrey got his fourth and fifth rushing touchdowns of the season as he continues to develop into a star player. Godfrey, the rushing attack and the stout defense have helped the team outscore their first two opponents 92-3.

The three-headed rushing attack of Latavius Murray, Ronnie Weaver and Brynn Harvey will also need to continue to be effective for the Knights to win against FIU.

The Knights offensive guards will also need to come up big against middle linebacker Winston Fraser, who is very quick and athletic.

Final Thoughts

- The Knights potentially have a national ranking on the line in this game. If UCF can start out the season 3-0, there is a good shot they will be in the top 25 after this weekend.

- The Knights secondary will be an x-factor in this game. If they can prevent T.Y. Hilton from having another big game, UCF will be in good shape.

- Look out for Quincy McDuffie this week, who is due for a big kickoff return. FIU has already allowed two kickoff returns of over 30+ yards this year.

Prediction: Hilton will get his yards and the Knights allow their first touchdowns of the season, but the offense will overpower a young FIU team- the Knights win by a nice margin of 27-14.