2006 UCF Golden Knights Season, Game Recaps, Scores and Reviews
Nov. 25
UCF 31 ... UAB 22
UCF got up early on two Mike Walker touchdown passes and a
Jason Peters ten-yard touchdown run, but UAB bounced back wit three
Swayze Waters field goal s and a 14-yard Joseph Webb touchdown run
to get close. Then things got really close as Chris Felder picked up
a fumble and took it 44 yards for a score, but the Webb two-point
conversion attempt failed. UCF was able to stop the run and put it
away on six-play, 80-yard drive finishing with a four-yard Kyle
Israel scoring run. Player of the
game ... UCF WR Mike Walker
caught seven passes for 133 yards and two touchdowns Stat Leaders: UCF- Passing: Kyle Israel,
19-22, 270 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT Rushing: Jason Peters, 19-129, 1 TD Receiving:
Mike Walker, 7-133, 2 TD UAB - Passing: Joseph Webb, 25-39, 289 yds
Rushing: Dan Burks, 8-45 Receiving: Willie Edwards,
5-100 Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ...
UCF closed out the era in the Citrus Bowl before moving to its new
digs next year with one of its better performances of the year in
the win over UAB. Kyle Israel was razor sharp while Mike Walker and
Jason Peters came up with good games to give the attack more balance
than it had all year long. Israel was excellent on third downs while
the defense kept UAB from getting things moving early. While UCF
would've folded in past games, it came up with the late drive it
needed to have to end the disappointing season on a high note.
Nov. 18
Tulane 10 ... UCF 9
Tulane got out to a 10-0 halftime lead on a 29-yard Ross
Thevenot field goal and a nine-yard Damarcus Davis touchdown catch
with :34 to play, and then the defense held on allowing three
Michael Torres field goals and getting a forced fumble from Israel
Route on the Golden Knights' final drive to preserve the win. Torres
missed a 35-yard attempt with just over three minutes to play that
would've given UCF the lead. Player of the
game ... Tulane QB Lester
Ricard was 26-of-43 for 267 yards, one touchdown and two
interceptions and ran for four yards on 11 carries. Stat Leaders: UCF- Passing: Kyle Israel,
16-20, 173 yds Rushing: Kevin Smith, 16-41 Receiving: Rocky Ross,
9-124 Tulane - Passing: Lester Ricard, 26-43, 267 yds,
1 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Ray Boudreaux, 11-39 Receiving: Jeremy
Williams, 10-106 Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ...
UCF beat Memphis on a last second field goal last week, but couldn't
close against Tulane this week. The problem continues to be with an
offense that can't get into the end zone and has to settle for field
goal after field goal; UCF shouldn't have been in a position to need
a late field goal with the way the offense moved the ball in the
second half. The D came up with a great second half and put the team
in a position to win, but the offense couldn't come through. It's
late November and the quarterback situation still isn't settled.
Nov. 11
UCF 26 ... Memphis 24
Michael Torres kicked an 18-yard field goal with just over
three minutes to play and the D held on as UCF broke a four-game
losing streak. Torres four field goals scoring the team's final 12
points, but Memphis stayed alive on 28-yard touchdown catches from
Joseph Doss and Duke Calhoun. Steven Moffett had a career day for
the Golden Knights throwing for 319 yards with a 29-yard scoring
pass to Mike Walker and a three-yard pass to Shane Smith for a 14-0
lead before Calhoun answered with a 24-yard touchdown.
Player of the game ...
UCF QB Steven Moffett completed 19 of 28 passes for 319 yards and two
touchdowns Stat Leaders: Memphis - Passing: Martin Hankins, 27-41, 272
yds, 3 TD Rushing: Joseph Doss, 12-59 Receiving: Ryan Scott, 8-47 UCF - Passing: Steven Moffett, 19-28, 319 yds,
2 TD Rushing: Kevin Smith, 28-93 Receiving: Rocky Ross, 6-135 Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ...
The emergence of Steven Moffett in place of Kyle Israel gave the
passing game a shot in the arm against the woeful Memphis defense.
The Golden Knights were great at controlling the clock and the ball
to keep the Memphis offense off the field and give their average
defense a break. With Tulane coming up next, the secondary has to be
much tighter, and there needs to be a more consistent pass rush.
Most importantly, the offense has to convert drives into touchdowns
instead of settling for field goal after field goal like it did
against Memphis.
Nov. 4
East Carolina 23 ... UCF 10
East Carolina got a career day from RB Brandon Fractious, who
ran for 128 yards with a 17-yard touchdown while the defense kept
the UCF offense to 263 yards and just a three-yard Kevin Smith
touchdown and a 51-yard Michael Torres field goal, needed a 51-yard
interception return for a score from Kasey Ross to finally put the
game away. Robert Lee hit two 42-yard field goals for the Pirate s
to go along with a 31-yard shot to start the scoring.
Player of the game ...
East Carolina RB Brandon Fractious ran 23 times for 128 yards and a
touchdowns Stat Leaders: East Carolina - Passing: James Pinkney,
16-30, 135 yds, 2 INT Rushing: Brandon Fractious, 23-128, 1 TD Receiving: Aundre
Allison, 8-67 UCF - Passing: Kyle Israel, 18-34, 205 yds, 2
INT Rushing: Kevin Smith, 18-50, 1 TD Receiving: Mike Walker,
9-85 Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ...
UCF's season has gone from bad to worse losing four in a row with
the offense seemingly stepping backwards every week. Kevin Smith
couldn't get the ground game on track against East Carolina, while
Kyle Israel never got the passing game into a groove. The defense
bounced back after getting bombed on by Houston the week before
keeping the ECU offense from getting the short passing game rolling
like normal. Now it's about salvaging something out of the last
three weeks, but UCF has to do it on the road at Memphis and Tulane
before the season-finale against UAB.
Oct. 28
Houston 51 ... UCF 31
In a wild shootout with 1,046 yards of total offense, Houston
broke a 31-31 tie in the fourth quarter on two Jackie Battle
touchdown runs and an eight-yard Vincent Marshall touchdown catch.
UCF got three Kevin Smith touchdowns, but Houston always had an
answer with Battle also finishing with three scores and Kevin Kolb
bombing away for a 52-yard scoring pass to Biren Ealy and a 62-yard
play to Roshawn Pope. Four Golden Knight turnovers, including a
Willie Gaston fumble recovery off a long pass returning it 63 yards
to the four leading to a Battle score. Houston's Will Gulley made 17
tackles and forced two fumbles.
Player of the game ...
Houston QB Kevin Kolb completed 22 of 34 passes for 305 yards and three
touchdowns with an interception Stat Leaders: Houston - Passing: Kevin Kolb, 22-34, 305 yds,
3 TD, 1 INT Rushing: Anthony Aldridge, 9-131, 1 TD Receiving: Vincent
Marshall, 6-39, 1 TD UCF - Passing: Kyle Israel, 9-18, 207 yds, 1
TD, 1 INT Rushing: Kevin Smith, 31-163, 3 TD Receiving: Mike Walker,
6-119 Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ...
What happened to the up-and-coming UCF
defense? Nothing's working over the last few weeks getting bombed on
for 143 points in three straight losses. As bad as things have been,
winning out and becoming bowl eligible is still an option if the
offense can play like it did for about 50 minutes of the Houston
game against East Carolina. Memphis, Tulane and UAB are all
beatable, but the defense has to do something to stop allowing all
the big plays. Teams are able to go on big runs against the Golden
Knights, and with Kevin Smith running well enough to control the
tempo, that shouldn't happen.
Oct. 21
Rice 40 ... UCF 29
Rice got three second half touchdown runs from Quinton Smith
highlighted by a 69-yard sash, and Chase Clemens threw two touchdown
passes to hold off UCF in a shootout. The Golden Knights got 327
passing yards out of Kyle Israel, 155 rushing yards from Kevin
Smith, and 13 catches and a 20-yard score from Mike Walker, but
three drives turned into Michael Torres field goals while Rice was
rumbling for touchdowns.
Player of the
game ...
Rice RB Quinton Smith ran 21 times for 183 yards and three
touchdowns Stat Leaders: Rice- Passing: Chase Clement,
16-29, 170 yds, 2 TD Rushing: Quinton Smith, 21-183, 3 TD Receiving:
Jarrett Dillard, 7-86, 1 TD UCF - Passing: Kyle Israel, 27-42, 327 yds, 3
TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Kevin Smith, 24-155 Receiving: Mike
Walker, 13-169, 1 TD Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ...
UCF's offense moved the ball on Rice
with as much balance and as effectively as it has all season long,
but the run defense couldn't handle Quinton Smith the the Owl ground
game allowing 250 yards. Had the defense been able to come up with a
few stops in the second half, and if the offense could've gotten
rolling just a little bit earlier, UCF would've come away with the
win. Now, bowl hopes are all but gone after losing five of the last
six games with a tough date at Houston coming up.
Oct. 13
Pitt 52 ... UCF 7
Pitt had few problems getting up 45-0, starting off with a
kickoff return for a score from Lowell Robinson, before a one-yard
Kevin Smith touchdown run late in the third quarter. Four first half
turnovers cost UCF, but the real problem was stopping LaRod
Stephens, who tore off three touchdowns runs and 135 yards. Tyler
Palko threw two touchdown passes including a 54-yard play to Oderick
Turner. Player of the
game ... Pitt RB LaRod
Stephens ran 19 times for 135 yards and three touchdowns Stat Leaders: Pitt- Passing: Tyler Palko,
11-15, 172 yds, 2 TD Rushing: LaRod Stephens, 19-135, 1 TD Receiving:
Oderick Turner, 3-69, 1 TD UCF - Passing: Kyle Israel, 13-19, 158 yds
Rushing: Kevin Smith, 20-70, 1 TD Receiving: Mike
Walker, 8-73 Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ...
UCF played against Pitt like a team on a
short week after an emotional win. Turnovers were the early problem,
but the lack of overall execution kept the game from being close.
The run defense couldn't handle anything Pitt wanted to do, while
there weren't nearly enough big plays to get back into the game. Now
the team has to get its focus back on Conference USA play with a key
stretch coming up against Rice, at Houston, and East Carolina that
could get the team back in the league title hunt. There will have to
be much sharper performances to get those three unbeaten.
Oct. 4
UCF 23 ... Marshall 22
Michael Torres connected on his third 22-yard field goal of
the game with seven seconds to play to pull out the win. Marshall
battled its way into the lead on two fourth quarter Anthony
Binswanger field goals including a 50-yard bomb to put the Herd up
by two, but UCF QB Steven Moffett led a 76-yard drive in less than
three minutes to get Torres in a position to get the win. Moffet
started off the second half with a 28-yard touchdown pass to Mike
Walker, and in the quarterback rotation, Kyle Israel ran for a
two-yard score in the second quarter. Player of the game ... UCF RB Kevin Smith ran 26 times
for 166 yards. Stat Leaders: Marshall- Passing: Bernard
Morris, 14-22, 136 yds, 1 TD Rushing: Ahmad Bradshaw, 18-181, 1 TD . Receiving:
Hiram Moore, 7-62 UCF - Passing: Steven Moffett, 13-19, 165
yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Kevin Smith, 26-166. Receiving:
Javid James, 5-86 Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Talk
about your gut-check wins, UCF showed great heart getting the win
over Marshall in an emotional battle. After the tough loss to
Southern Miss the week before, the Golden Knights needed this to get
back in the Conference USA title race with road dates with Houston
and Memphis ahead. The two quarterback system worked with Kyle
Israel providing a nice spark to go along with the production from
Steven Moffett, but the real star was the steady Kevin Smith, who
found a way to get back on the field despite getting hurt. The
offense can't afford to lose him, and he'll get a little bit of
extra time with ten days off before the Pitt game.
Sept. 26
Southern Miss 19 ... UCF 14
Southern Miss took advantage of four UCF mistakes including
two turnovers and two major special teams snafus to sneak out with
the win. Chris Johnson took a Jeremy Young pass up the right
sidelines for a 54-yard touchdown to start off the scoring for the
Golden Eagles, and then the closed out the half on a 19-yad Darren
McCaleb field goal after a blocked punt off a missed snap. UCF
fought back with a one-yard Kevin Smith touchdown run and a six-yard
Jared James touchdown grab, but USM was able to stay ahead thanks to
a four-yard Jerome Lyons interception return for a score. Player of the game ... Southern Miss LB Jerome Lyons
made seven tackles and sealed the game with an interception return
for a score. Stat Leaders: Southern Miss- Passing:
Jeremy Young, 15-31, 184 yds, 1 TD Rushing: Damion Fletcher, 23-109 . Receiving:
Rodney Gray, 5-75 UCF - Passing: Steven Moffett, 18-31, 191
yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Kevin Smith, 30-129, 1 TD. Receiving:
Javid James, 7-70, 1 TD Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ...
It's amazing UCF didn't get blown out by
Southern Miss considering the poor tackling and the mistakes made on
special teams. The offense did a good job of moving the ball at
times, but it couldn't get in the game after getting down early. Too
many USM plays could've been shut down with a sure stop, and there
weren't quite enough big plays once the Golden Eagle offense was
given a big break. Outside of one big mistake, punter Aaron Horne
did a great job of blasting the ball and pinning USM deep.
Sept. 16
South Florida 24 ... UCF 17
Ean Randolph caught a 27-yard pass with just over three
minutes to play to break a 17-17 tie and give South Florida the win.
UCF had one last shot marching all the way down to the USF 15, but
QB Steven Moffett was sacked, lost a fumble, and USF came away with
the win. Bull QB Matt Grothe had a career day throwing three
touchdown passes, but UCF was up to the task in the see-saw game
getting a touchdown pass from Moffett and a blocked punt for a score
from Blake Carter. Player of
the game ...
South Florida QB Matt Grothe accounted for 375 of the Bulls’ 433
total yards, and threw the game-winning touchdown pass with 3:207
left in the game. Stat Leaders: South Florida- Passing: Matt
Grothe, 21-31, 302 yds, 3 TD, 1 INT Rushing: Matt Grothe, 21-73 Receiving: Ean Randolph,
5-126, 1 TD Central Florida - Passing: Steven Moffett,
19-44, 219 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT Rushing: Jason Peters, 20-98, 1 TD Receiving: Mike
Walker, 12-133 Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ...
UCF moved the ball relatively well on the good South
Florida defense with Steven Moffett coming through with an efficient
performance, but there wasn't anything happening in the second half
with no offensive points. There's no real shame in losing to South
Florida, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with losing at Florida
the week before, but this is suddenly a 1-2 team starting Southern
Miss, at Marshall, and Pitt over the next three weeks. 1-5 is a
distinct possibility before playing Rice.
Sept. 9
Florida 42 ... UCF 0
Florida rolled for 637 yards of total offense and held UCF to
21 rushing yards in a blowout win. The Gators got out to a 7-0 first
quarter lead on a 58-yard touchdown pass to Percy Harvin, and then
the roof caved in on the Golden Knights. DeShawn Wynn ran for an
eight-yard score, Kesthan Moore ran for a 28-yard score, Dallas
Baker caught a ten-yard touchdown pass, and Andre Caldwell caught a
25-yard scoring strike for a 27-point run in the final 8:14 of the
first half. Leak finished the game with 352 yards and four touchdown
passes closing out his night midway through the third on an
eight-yard touchdown pas to Caldwell. Player of the game ... Florida QB Chris Leak completed
19 of 29 passes for 352 yards and four touchdowns with an
interception. Stat Leaders: UCF- Passing: Steven
Moffett, 14-32, 100 yds Rushing: Kevin Smith, 9-22 Receiving:
Mike Walker, 6-33 Florida - Passing: Chris Leak, 19-29, 352
yds, 4 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Tim Tebow, 9-62. Receiving: Percy Harvin,
4-99, 1 TD Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... The young UCF secondary got
taken to school. Losing 42-0 to Florida isn't the end of the world
considering how good this team is, but it would've been nice if the
Golden Knights could take something away from the blowout. Nothing
worked. The running game only managed 21 yards, the passing game
went nowhere, and the pass defense got ripped apart. Making matters
worse, UCF is the only team Florida has been able to run on in a
long time. The big question for the South Florida game will be at
quarterback, where Kyle Israel might get more playing time after a
lousy game from Steven Moffett.
Sept. 2
UCF 35 ... Villanova 16
UCF scored the first 14 points on two Steven Moffett touchdown
passes and broke it open in the second quarter on Mike Walker's
second touchdown catch of the game and a one-yard Jason Peterson
touchdown run. Villanova started to make it a little bit interesting
in the second half on a safety and a 16-yard touchdown catch from
Anton Ridley, but UCF put things away with a one-yard scoring run
from Kevin Smith. Player of the game ... UCF WR Mike Walker caught six
passes for 77 yards and two touchdowns Stat Leaders: Villanova- Passing: John
Stocco, 9-15, 124 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT Rushing: DeQuese May, 7-27. Receiving:
Phil Atkinson, 6-33 UCF - Passing: Steven Moffett, 15-20, 199
yds, 3 TD
Rushing: Kevin Smith, 20-86, 1 TD. Receiving: Mike
Walker, 6-77, 2 TD Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... The bar
has been set higher now at UCF, so an easy win over Villanova isn't
too much to get fired up about when the team wasn't as sharp as it
should've been. The offensive line wasn't consistent, the passing
game didn't always click, and there wasn't any scoring in the second
half until midway through the fourth quarter. The ground game has to
average far more than 2.8 yards per carry if UCF is going to avoid a
blowout at Florida next week.
So why does 2005 feel so empty? Maybe it's because of a 44-27
loss in a home game against Tulsa for the Conference USA title.
Maybe it was the missed extra point in the thrilling, but crushing,
overtime loss to Nevada in the Hawaii Bowl.
It's easy to forget now that the George O'Leary era didn't
exactly get off to a strong beginning with an 0-13 start as part of
a 17-game
losing streak with 19 losses in 20 games before going on an
impressive run of eight wins in nine games before the unsatisfying
finish.
What was most impressive about the
turnaround, the fourth greatest in college football history
(bettered by 1999 Hawaii, 1940 Stanford and 2000 South Carolina), is
how it happened. UCF appeared to need just a little bit of tweaking
to be much better than the 2004 disaster, and those changes came in
the form of true freshmen getting the start in the secondary and the
backfield. Now the team should reap all the rewards of suffering
through the youth and inexperience of last season.
The disappointments of a job not
finished last year will be part of the experienced and talented team all
season long. No matter how well things are going, it's unlikely O'Leary
will let his players forget how quickly it can all come crashing apart.
The nice part about this team will be how few times he'll have to bring
up any past failures; this group remembers them all too well.
However, UCF isn't a lock to win anything even with 19 starters
returning. All the fantastic looking young players in the secondary got
torched last year and must prove they can be consistent. All five
starters return to the offensive line, but that group couldn't stop
anyone's pass rush. And then there's the question of wins; did UCF
actually beat anyone last year? The best win of the eight last year was
either against Memphis or Houston while the five losses were against,
arguably, the five best teams on the schedule (South Carolina, South
Florida, Southern Miss, Tulsa and Nevada).
But who cares? After two straight losing seasons and a wildly
disappointing four-year stint in the MAC, there's no arguing against the
school's best season since 1998. Now the question becomes whether or not
the team hit a ceiling or if the program is about to enter the
stratosphere. The coaching, the recruiting base, and the potential is
there for a bright future. If last year was any indication, the future
might be now.
The
Schedule: The
key will be getting off to a decent start and not getting down if the
record is 2-4, or even 1-5, going into the layup against Rice. Forget
about winning at Florida, but a home date with South Florida will be
crucial for the team's psyche going
into the start of the Conference USA season with a huge home game
against East power Southern Miss followed up by a trip to play a
resurgent Marshall. There's a tough stretch of three road trips in four
weeks over the second half of the year that'll make or break bowl hopes.
Best
Offensive Player: Sophomore RB Kevin Smith. He's the speedy, steady,
reliable factor in the offense able to keep everything running smoothly
when everything isn't working quite right. However, QB Steven Moffett
has Conference USA Player of the Year potential if he improves as much
from last year to this year as he did from his sophomore to junior
seasons.
Best
Defensive Player: Sophomore CB Joe Burnett. He's a good-sized corner
with great hitting ability and a nose for the football. There are few
better open field tackling corners and there likely won't be many, if
any, in Conference USA who'll make bigger plays.
Key player
to a successful season: Senior DE Chris Welsh. The loss of Paul
Carrington takes away the team's top pass rusher leaving a huge hole to
fill. Welsh has been a steady defender over the last few seasons, but
he, or senior Kareem Reid, has to get to the quarterback early and
often.
The season
will be a success if ... UCF gets back to a bowl game. Yeah, it'll be Conference USA
title or bust with the way last season went, but the schedule is too
tough to demand or expect a second straight East championship. Another
eight win season would be fantastic.
Key game:
Oct. 14 vs. Southern Miss. Marshall and East Carolina are better and
the road trip to Memphis in mid-November isn't going to be a walk in the
park, but it's the Conference USA opener against Southern Miss that will
set the tone for the season and put UCF in the driver's seat if it can
come away with a win. USM won 52-31 last year.
2005 Fun
Stats:
- Penalties: UCF 97 for 823 yards - Opponents 79 for 616 yards
- UCF third quarter scoring: 60 - UCF fourth quarter scoring: 118
- UCF home crowd for the Conference USA title game vs. Tulsa: 51.978.
Highest attendance for any of the other UCF home games: 32,635.
The Last Time UCF…
…played in a bowl game…2005 (Hawaii Bowl vs. Nevada)
…missed a bowl game…2004
…pitched a shutout…2001 (UL-Lafayette)
…was shutout…2003 (Ohio)
…scored 50 points…2001 (Akron)
…went undefeated…Never
…won a conference title…Never
…had a 3,000-yard passer…2002 (Ryan Schneider)
…had a 1,000-yard rusher…2005 (Kevin Smith)
…had a 1,000-yard receiver…2005 (Brandon Marshall)
…had a first-round draft choice…1999 (QB Daunte Culpepper)
