UCF almost perfect in win over Cougars

UCF Knights 2009 ... Head Coach: George O'Leary

2009 Schedule
CFN Prediction: 6-6
2009 Results: 6-4

9/5 Samford W 28-24
9/12 at So Miss L 26-19
9/19 Buffalo W 23-17
9/26 at East Carolina L 19-14
10/3 Memphis W 32-14
10/10 OPEN DATE
10/17 Miami L 27-7
10/24 at Rice W 49-7
11/1 Marshall W 21-20
11/7 at Texas L 35-3
11/14 Houston W 37-32
11/21 Tulane
11/28 at UAB

2008 Schedule
CFN Prediction: 7-5
2008 Results: 4-8

Aug. 30 S Carolina St W 17-0
Sept. 5 South Florida L 31-24 OT
Sept. 13 OPEN DATE
Sept. 20 at Boston Coll L 34-7
Sept. 27 at UTEP L 58-13
Oct. 4 SMU W 31-17
Oct. 11 at Miami L 20-14
Oct. 18 OPEN DATE
Oct. 26 at Tulsa L 49-19
Nov. 2 East Carolina L 13-10 OT
Nov. 8 Southern Miss L 17-6
Nov. 15 at Marshall W 30-14
Nov. 22 at Memphis W 28-21
Nov. 29 UAB L 15-0
Liberty Bowl
Dec. 29 Miss State L 10-3

UCF Knights

Nov. 14
at UCF 37 … Houston 32
UCF overcame a 17-3 deficit with Brynn Harvey touchdown runs from one, 41, and seven yards out, and got a 21-of-25 passing day from Brett Hodges including a 24-yard scoring play to Quincy McDuffie. Houston got up early on a 51-yard touchdown catch from Tyron Carrier and a 100-yard kickoff return from Devin Mays, the UCF outscored the Cougars 34 to 3 until a 31-yard Carrier touchdown catch in the final minutes.
Player of the Game: UCF RB Brynn Harvey ran 35 times for 139 yards and three scores.
Houston: Passing: Case Keenum, 33-56, 377 yds, 3 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Charles Sims, 6-33, Receiving: Tyron Carrier, 9-149, 2 TD
UCF: Passing: Brett Hodges, 21-25, 241 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Brynn Harvey, 35-139, 3 TD, Receiving: Quincy McDuffie, 4-77, 1 TD 
What It All Means: UCF beat up Houston. Everyone’s getting fat on the Cougar defense, and the Knight offense was nearly perfect after a shaky start, but it was the defense that dominated the Cougars with great play up front and limiting Case Keenum from connecting on big plays after a long early touchdown pass. Now the Knights are bowl eligible with Tulane and UAB to go. It would take a lot of work to win the East, but UCF can at the very least position itself well for a solid 13th game and a potential nine-win season.

Oct. 7
at Texas 35 … UCF 3
Jordan Shipley set the Texas single-game receiving record with 273 yards highlighted by an 88-yard touchdown pass early in the fourth. Cody Johnson ran for second quarter touchdowns from 20 and 13 yards out and Fozzy Whitaker rumbled into the end zone from six yards out as part of a run of 35 unanswered Longhorn points. UCF started out with a 39-yard field goal in the first two minutes, but managed just 151 yards of total offense without starting RB Brynn Harvey and QB Brett Hodges.
Player of the Game: Texas WRB Jordan Shipley caught 11 passes for 273 yards and a score.
UCF: Passing: Rob Calabrese, 10-19, 76 yds
Rushing: Jonathan Davis, 22-71, Receiving: A.J. Guyton, 5-35
Texas: Passing: Colt McCoy, 33-42, 470 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Cody Johnson, 10-44, 2 TD, Receiving: Jordan Shipley, 11-273, 1 TD 
What It All Means: UCF didn’t have much of a shot anyway, and it was truly dead in the water without QB Brett Hodges and RB Brynn Harvey. Jonathan Davis wasn’t bad running the ball in place of Harvey, but the offense wasn’t able to move the ball at all on the impenetrable Texas D. The secondary was torched, but that was by Colt McCoy and Jordan Shipley. However, this might have been a sign of things to come. McCoy rolled for 470 yards through the air, and next up is Case Keenum and Houston.

Oct. 31
at UCF 21 … Marshall 20
UCF overcame a 20-7 deficit with a 14 point fourth quarter with Brynn Harvey running for a two-yard score and Rocky Ross catching a one-yard touchdown pass with 23 seconds remaining for the win. Marshall scored 17 points in the second quarter helped by a four-yard Cody Slate touchdown catch and a Darius Marshall three-yard run, but the offense fizzled in the second half coming up with just a 21-yard Craig Ratanamorn field goal.
Player of the Game: UCF QB Brett Hodges completed 23-of-45 passes for 342 yards and two touchdowns.
UCF: Passing: Brett Hodges, 23-45, 342 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Brynn Harvey, 21-47, 1 TD, Receiving: Rocky Ross, 6-76, 1 TD
Marshall: Passing: Brian Anderson, 13-28, 237 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Darius Marshall 28-80, 1 TD, Receiving: Cody Slate, 5-80 
What It All Means: Where did the passing game come from? The offense was all about Brynn Harvey running the ball, but when Marshall stepped up and shut him down, Brett Hodges came up with his biggest performance of the year to get UCF in the bowl hunt. Now comes the beatdown from Texas before the key game against Houston, but with Tulane and UAB to close, the chance for six wins is strong. However, with the league’s best defense, UCF could give Texas and Houston some battles.

Oct. 24
UCF 49 … at Rice 7
UCF never had a problem scoring the first 42 points of the game starting with an A.J. Guyton 76-yard touchdown catch 20 seconds of the game. Guyton also threw a touchdown pass, hitting Kamar Aiken for a 36-yard score in the second quarter, and the big plays kept coming in the third quarter with a 24-yard Josh Robinson interception return for a score and a 52-yard Jamar Newsome touchdown play. Rice finally got on the board in the fourth on a one-yard Charles Ross run.
Player of the Game: UCF WR A.J. Guyton caught four passes for 113 yards and a score, and he threw a 36-yard touchdown pass.
Rice: Passing>: Nick Fanuzzi, 17-26, 116 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Charles Ross, 7-63, 1 TD, Receiving: Toren Dixon, 6-54
UTEP: Passing: Brett Hodges, 8-13, 145 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Brynn Harvey, 12-71, Receiving: A.J. Guyton, 4-113, 1 TD 
What It All Means: Finally, Brynn Harvey got the day off. The overworked back only had to carry the ball 12 times in the blowout win, while the passing game picked up the slack with 252 and four touchdowns from three passers, including WR A.J. Guyton who threw a 36-yard scoring pass and caught three passes for 103 yards and a score. Three of the next four games are home, with the road game an out-of-conference date at Texas, so there’s still time to win the East. But the Knights need some help with East Carolina and Southern Miss needing to start losing.

Oct. 17
Miami 27 … at UCF 7
Jacory Harris was sacked six times, but he was nearly flawless when he got time to throw with a 23-yard touchdown pass to Leonard Hankerson on a 20-of-26 day. Javarris James ran for a five-yard score and Damien Berry scored from three yards out in the Hurricane breather, while the defense allowed just 229 yards and gave up an eight-yard Rocky Ross touchdown catch in the third. Miami held on to the ball for over 37 minutes.
Player of the Game: Miami QB Jacory Harris completed 20-of-26 passes for 293 yards and a touchdown
UCF: Passing: Brett Hodges, 12-27, 163 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Brynn Harvey, 12-25, Receiving: Jamar Newsome, 3-56
Miami: Passing: Jacory Harris, 20-26, 293 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Javarris James, 17-65, 1 TD, Receiving: LaRon Byrd, 5-85 
What It All Means: UCF failed to get the offense going and sputtered too much with the passing game to have a shot at pulling off the upset. While the defense did a nice job of getting into the backfield, it didn’t come up with enough stops and it didn’t come up with any turnovers to help the O out. Brynn Harvey was held in check and Brett Hodges didn’t pick up the slack with the passing game as UCF completed just 13-of-31 passes. This might have been a disappointment, but the Knights have to focus on getting to a bowl game. To get that, a win over a bad Rice team next week is a must.

Oct. 3
UCF 32 … at Memphis 14
Brynn Harvey ran for a career-high 219 yards with a score on a 25-yard run to finally put the game away in the final minute, and Nick Cattoi nailed four field goals for the Knights. Memphis was dominated, but it stayed alive on a 61-yard Duke Calhoun touchdown catch and a 12-yard scoring grab from DajLeon Farr, but the offense failed to get back on the board as UCF scored 23 unanswered points. Brett Hodges threw two touchdown passes for UCF including a 22-yarder to Jamar Newsome midway through the fourth.
Player of the Game: UCF RB Brynn Harvey ran 42 times for 219 yards and a touchdown
Memphis: Passing: Will Hudgens, 6-15, 143 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Lane Smith, 8-35, Receiving: Duke Calhoun, 4-162, 1 TD
UCF: Passing: Brett Hodges, 16-28, 214 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Brynn Harvey, 42-219, 1 TD, Receiving: Jamar Newsome, 5-58, 1 TD 
What It All Means: Is UCF actually good? It’s close to playing like it. The offense had one of its best games of the year, but it couldn’t close with too many trips on the Memphis side of the field either fizzling out or turning into field goals. UCF should’ve hung 50 on the board against the awful Tiger defense, and against Miami next week, the O has to capitalize on every opportunity. The secondary might give up too many big plays, but the run defense has been fantastic with excellent speed across the front making play after play into the backfield.

Sept. 26
at East Carolina 19 … UCF 14
Dwayne Harris ran for a 25-yard touchdown and caught a three-yard scoring pass as East Carolina took a 19-7 lead late into the fourth quarter. The UCF offense that has been sputtering all year started off the scoring with a 19-yard Brynn Harvey run, and scored with just over a minute to play when Kamar Aiken caught a ten-yard scoring pass, but ECU held on. The Knights turned it over five times with four interceptions thrown by Brett Hodges.
Player of the Game: East Carolina WR Dwayne Harris caught ten passes for 121 yards and a touchdown, and he ran three times for 27 yards and a score.
East Carolina: Passing: Patrick Pinkney, 27-40, 293 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Brandon Jackson, 20-88, Receiving: Dwayne Harris, 10-121, 1 TD
UCF: Passing: Brett Hodges, 21-34, 266 yds, 1 TD, 4 INT
Rushing: Brynn Harvey, 16-71, 1 TD, Receiving: A.J. Guyton, 9-119
What It All Means: The East Carolina offense has been having problems all season long, and it has to do a better job of closing out drives. The O moved the ball well on UCF, but it came up empty on too many good, deep ventures into opposing territory. Dwayne Harris has been a nice all-around playmaker and Patrick Pinkney threw well, but ECU will go as far as the defense can carry it. With a line as good as the Pirates have, there should be more pressure into the backfield.
What It All Means: Give UCF credit for battling. It was an ugly performance against ECU with five turnovers with four interceptions thrown by Brett Hodges, but there were chances late to pull out the win. The mistakes have to stop and the offense has to get even more out of Hodges and the passing attack. A.J. Guyton had a nice day opening things up a little bit with nine yards, but at the moment, UCF is all about its swarming defense that’s doing a nice job of getting into the backfield. The next month is critical with three home games in the next four, with the road trip to Rice. Forget the home game against Miami, but this is where the run has to come for any hope of a bowl game.

Sept. 19
at UCF 23 … Buffalo 17
Nick Cattoi hit three field goals as part of a 16-point UCF run to close out the game as Buffalo was held off the scoreboard in the second half. The Bulls took a 17-7 lead into halftime with two Jesse Rack touchdown catches, including one from 34 yards out from WR Naaman Roosevelt, but four turnovers and ineffectiveness at keeping the chains moving in the second half proved costly. Brynn Harvey ran for short scores from two and four yards out for the Knights.
Player of the Game: UCF RB Brynn Harvey ran 25 times for 98 yards and two touchdowns.
UCF: Passing: Brett Hodges, 15-20, 141 yds
Rushing: Brynn Harvey, 25-98, 2 TD, Receiving: Jamar Newsome, 6-37
Buffalo: Passing: Zach Maynard, 22-35, 184 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
What It All Means: UCF might not be able to score and the offense is going to sputter and cough all season long, but if the defense can force turnovers, like it did against Buffalo, and if the passing game can do what’s needed on third downs to keep the chains moving, there will be several chances at wins over the mediocre Conference USA teams. Against East Carolina, the offensive line will have to come up with its best game yet, and the team has to win the turnover battle in what should be another close battle.

Sept. 12
Southern Miss 26 ... at UCF 19
Southern Miss got a 22-yard Martez Smith fumble return for a score and a 18-yard Leroy Banks touchdown catch in the first quarter, while the second half was controlled by Damion Fletcher. Held in check early on, Fletcher ran well in the second half and broke open the game with a five-yard scoring run with 1:43 to play. UCF rallied with a five-yard Rocky Ross touchdown grab less than 20 seconds later to pull within seven, but that was as close as the Knights would get.
Player of the Game: Southern Miss RB Damion Fletcher ran 21 times for 103 yards and a score, and he caught six passes for 51 yards.
UCF: Passing: Brett Hodges, 15-26, 158 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Brynn Harvey, 14-37, Receiving: Rocky Ross, 5-56, 1 TD
Southern Miss: Passing: Austin Davis, 23-31, 253 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Damion Fletcher, 21-103, 1 TD, Receiving: DeAndre Brown, 7-75
What It All Means: It wasn't an even performance, but UCF stayed alive throughout the game and had a chance late needing a big stop, but not getting it, and a minor-miracle offensively, and didn't get it. Brett Hodges and the passing game will never be explosive, but it was effective to provide a little production when the running game wasn't working. Brynn Harvey needs to get more room to run; USM was all over stopping the run first and forcing the passing game to produce. Soon, UCF has to find something that defenses have to worry about.

Sept. 5
at UCF 28 ... Samford 24
UCF got a big push and a big scare needing a nine-yard Jamar Newsome touchdown catch in the fourth and a few defensive stops to hold off Samford. Brynn Harvey carried the workload of the offense and ran for two one-yard scores, but Samford kept up the pressure with a 67-yard Riley Hawkins scoring play, his second touchdown catch of the game, and a 41-yard interception return for a touchdown from Ryan Anderson. But the Knights put the clamps down in the fourth quarter to come away with the tough win.
Player of the Game: UCF RB Brynn Harvey ran 31 times for 111 yards and two touchdowns.
Samford: Passing: D. Taliaferro, 20-34, 141 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Chris Evans, 23-76, Receiving: Jonathan Lowery, 5-41
UCF: Passing: Brett Hodges, 10-17, 129 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Brynn Harvey, 31-111, 2 TD, Receiving: Rocky Ross, 5-85
What It All Means: Uh oh. Could the offense show some signs of life in the passing game after last year's disaster? Brett Hodges was fine, but he wasn't asked to do anything difficult meaning it was all up to Brynn Harvey to carry the offense. The bigger concern is a rebuilt secondary that gave up 208 yards and several big plays. Southern Miss QB Austin Davis started out the season hot and could have a big game against the Knights next week unless the UCF defensive front can generate more pressure.