The UCF defense may be ranked nationally in many different categories, but they still believe that they can be better and are looking to improve. This all starts with the defensive line.
This could be a scary thought for Marshall as they will visit Orlando on Saturday night in UCF’s Conference-USA opener.
According to USA Today, the UCF defense has given up the least amount of touchdowns (5) and total yards (758) out of all the teams in Division I FBS. The Knights are ranked second in yards per game allowed (189.5) and fifth in points against per game (11) among all Division I teams in the nation. UCF is the only team in the nation that hasn’t allowed a passing touchdown this season. The list goes on.
Two veteran starters on the defensive line, Troy Davis and Victor Gray, will be looking to put more pressure on opposing quarterbacks this season, starting with Marshall quarterback Rakeem Cato.
When asked about what the defense is looking to improve on this week, Victor Gray thought sacks and takeaways could use a boost.
“Sacks and takeaways. Those are two areas that I feel that we can improve on drastically, myself included. I feel like I have been underachieving this year, so I need to pick up my production, as well as our team.”
Members of the defensive line for UCF have recorded a total of 11 tackles for loss, three of which have been sacks. The starters accounted for 6.5 tackles for loss and two sacks.
Starting lineman Troy Davis is aware of sub-par statistics, and urged his teammates to work hard on improving in practice this week in preparation for the Thundering Herd.
“We’ve been doing a lot on pass rush this week,” Davis said. “We started off real slow in the pass rush this year. As you know, we only have about three stats from the D-line, so we are looking forward to picking that up this game.”
Davis also noted that it has been tough for the line to register sacks this season particularly because opposing quarterbacks are getting rid of the ball much quicker than previous seasons.
“Sometimes it can get frustrating, but you still got to keep pass rushing and maybe get your hands up and bat some balls down,” Davis said. “And at the same time, they are getting the ball out fast means that they are scared of the rush.”
After the loss against BYU, head coach George O’Leary addressed the team with some ideas for improvement from the defense, and said that they will have to work on them in practice.
“Are we causing enough turnovers? And again, we’re not,” O’Leary said on this week’s edition of the George O’Leary show. “What is our sack ratio as far as big plays and tackles for losses… And again, we’ve got to cause more turnovers as far as defense is concerned; whether it’s sacks or fumbles.”
O’Leary knows that if the defense keeps improving each week, and the offense does their job, then the team will be fine during conference play.
“We’re averaging about 30 points a game – 38 or something like that – and we’re giving up about 11 a game now,” O’Leary said on the George O’Leary show. “Again, that trend continues, that’s what we need to do.”
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Brighthouse Networks Stadium. The Knights will be looking for their first win in C-USA play and seventh straight win against Marshall.
