Despite Coach George O’Leary’s controversial decision to allow QB Rob Calabrese to start against Southern Miss, the sophomore failed to prove he has what it takes to lead the Knights.
Calabrese fumbled on the first drive and UCF fans began scratching their heads, asking themselves why Brett Hodges was sitting on the sidelines. Calabrese fumbled again with 9:42 and Southern Miss. returned that fumble for a touchdown and the Knights trailed 7-0.
“That was hard because you are playing away and you give up momentum right away,” O’Leary said after the game.
Brett Hodges entered the game down 14-0 with 5:04 left in the first quarter, but it was too little too late. Hodges completed 15 of 26 passes for 158 yards and two touchdowns.
The Knights entered halftime down 20-10 and Hodges looked poised to lead the Knights to a comeback victory, but as the second half began, so did the rain.
Once the rain started to pour, each team found it hard to hold on to the ball.
After a strong performance last week against Samford, Brynn Harvey carried the ball 14 times for only 37 yards. The Knights only called for 7 run plays in the second half. It’s hard to win a game when you only gain 15 yards total rushing the football.
The Knights defense was on the field for almost 20 minutes out of the 30 minutes in the second half due to the Knights ignoring their run game.
Saturday’s offensive output resembled the same struggling offense that ranked 119 out of 119 in the NCAA last year. Southern Miss out gained the Knights 418-194 on offense.
Following the loss, Coach George O’Leary named Brett Hodges the Knights’ starting quarterback. Coach O’Leary said Hodges earned it on the field and this is now his team, according to the Orando Sentinel.
Unfortunately, many Knight Fans believe he came to that realization one week too late because Hodges earned the starting job with his performance last week.
Looking ahead, the Knights look to rebound at home versus the Buffalo Bulls, who lost earlier today 54-27 against Pittsburgh.
The team’s new starting quarterback isn’t letting the fact the Knights lost their first conference game get him down.
“This is only one conference game,” Hodges said. “We have a lot more coming up and we just need to look at the film come Sunday and Monday and understand what we did wrong and go ahead and fix those mistakes and prepare for Buffalo.”
