Knights expect a strong 2011-2012 season
It’s comeback time for the UCF Knights after a horrifying two-game nightmare sent them careening into October with a 2-2 record after botched plays cost them what could have been a perfect season.
The Knights only lost by a touchdown in each of their losses in the past two weeks, first to FIU 17-10, then to BYU 27-20. But in those close losses, there are lessons to be learned by the numbers.
Though UCF took the ball downfield for more yardage than either of their opponents in those losses, they also managed to drop the ball far more often. The results were devastating.
“We turned the ball and you just can't do that,” UCF coach George O'Leary told UCF News after the BYU game. “We had receivers dropping the ball. We had our opportunities, but we didn't take advantage.”
Against BYU on Sept. 23, the Knights had their biggest passing game of the season, with quarterbacks Jeff Godfrey and Blake Bortles combining for 318 yards in the air, hitting 21 of 31 attempts.
But then there was the goal line interception that ended the would-be tying UCF drive 70 yards after it started.
The Knights had led most of the way through the third quarter on the strength of two Godfrey rushing touchdowns.
But then there was the fourth quarter fumble that turned into BYU’s winning touchdown.
The Knights gained 399 total yards to BYU’s 260, easily picking up enough yards for a win.
But then there was the stalled third quarter drive that would have given the Knights the lead. It ended in a field goal attempt that sailed five feet wide.
Special teams and offense failed the Knights in both games, O’Leary said, with costly mistakes giving opposing teams excellent field position that the defense couldn’t have hoped to hold.
When BYU got the ball, it was usually after a catastrophic Knights error. Brigham Young’s offense, on average, started their touchdown drives just past UCF’s 31-yard line.
When the Knights got the ball, it tended to be after the Cougars scored. They needed to go nearly 51 yards on average to make it to the end zone.
Never was the disparity between UCF and BYU in such stark contrast as special teams. At one point in the fourth quarter, the Cougars scored twice in 80 seconds, starting with a kickoff return TD that the Knights’ special teams failed to stop, followed immediately by a Knights kickoff return that was dropped in front of their own end zone by J.J. Wharton and picked up by the Cougars. The Cougars only had 23 yards to the goal line at that point, easily muscling their way through to complete a 14-point swing in a game that had previously been dominated by the Knights.
Lucky for the Knights, their chance for a comeback is two weeks removed from their last loss. But it’ll be against one of their biggest rivals: Marshall. More good news for the Knights: the Thundering Herd is 1-3 after two big losses in a row in the past two weeks. But those were also big games for the Herd.
Sept. 17 the Herd lost to Ohio, in Ohio’s home stadium, 44-7. The Herd managed to pick up 331 yards in that game, despite only one of them ending in the end zone. But in the process they allowed 559 yards. Ohio only punted twice in the game.
Against Virginia Tech on Sept. 24, the Herd collected only 251 total yards while giving up 444 in a 30-10 blowout. In that game, the Herd showed a massive weakness on the ground, gaining only three yards rushing on 19 attempts.
Those types of weaknesses could be good things for the Knights, who have one of the top-ranked defenses in the country. If the numbers are an indication, the Knights need to hold the line to win. The Knights have lost both games in which they’ve allowed 17 points or more this season.
They kick off against the Herd at 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 8, in Orlando before hitting the road for two weeks.