Editor's Note: Dick Weiss, a member of the U.S. Basketball Writers Association Hall of Fame, has covered college sports in Philadelphia and New York for more than 40 years. He will be providing regular commentary for the American Athletic Conference during the 2014-15 season.
When UCF plays perennial power Brigham Young under the lights at Bright House Networks Stadium Thursday night on ESPN, it will be a chance for the Knights to recapture the national spotlight.
UCF was one of college football's feel-good stories last year. The Knights rolled to an 11-1 record, winning the American with a perfect 8-0 record that included victories at Penn State and Louisville and a 52-42 victory over Big 12 champion Baylor in the Fiesta Bowl. UCF finished 10th in the final Associated Press poll, relying heavily on the skills of quarterback Blake Bortles, who was The American's Offensive Player of the Year after throwing for 3,581 yards and 25 touchdowns in a high-powered offense that averaged 441.5 yards and 34.6 points a game.
Bortles was the first quarterback taken in the 2014 NFL Draft, and was selected with the No. 3 overall pick, leaving head coach George O'Leary to reconstruct UCF’s success a little differently this season during a challenging nonleague schedule that included a neutral-site game against Penn State in Dublin, Ireland, a game at SEC runner-up Missouri and the matchup against BYU. Thursday’s game will be the Knights' second consecutive midweek game and the beginning of a stretch where UCF (2-2) plays five of six at home.
“When you play two Thursdays in a row, it’s a little different,” O’Leary said. “We had time to get a game plan in, but after this week we settle into pretty much normalcy where we play on Saturdays and we have a normal week.”
O'Leary's team has been buoyed by a constantly improving defense, which has gone from giving up an average of 32 points in losses to Penn State and Missouri in the first two games to less than 10 in its last two. O'Leary is hoping the trend continues against a BYU team that suffered a shock to its system when its quarterback Taysom Hill, a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate, suffered a season-ending fractured leg last Thursday during an unexpected loss to Utah State as the Cougars, who were ranked 18th in the polls and have wins over Virginia, Texas, Houston and UConn lost the chance for a perfect season.
It was an ugly injury, according to BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall, who said a plate and eight screws were inserted in Hill's leg and that major ligaments were shredded.
“What happens now is that the team simply has to execute at a higher level,” said Mendenhall. “Taysom is gone. One player does not make a team, even though Taysom is a fantastic player, but the execution of all positions within their assignment, within their technique – that has to improve right now.''
Hill had thrown for 975 yards and seven touchdowns before the injury. He was selected as the FBS independent Player of the Week for four straight weeks.
“He's a great player,'' O'Leary added. “I'm not sure he's not better on one leg than most players are on two.''
The Knights should be better prepared for a dangerous Cougar offense in transition.
“Each game, I think we've gotten better on defense,” O’Leary said. “I think they’ve tackled better. They’re getting a little bit more pressure on the quarterback.''
Last year, the Knights' offense bailed the team out of close games. This year, it’s the exact opposite.
UCF’s defense has proven to be tenacious, particularly in the red zone. While the team is still working to improve caging, coaches have seen vast improvement in tackling techniques and the pass rush. UCF entered the week with the top-ranked run defense in the conference, getting the most out of senior defensive lineman Jaryl Mamea, who busted out for three sacks and four tackles with four quarterback hurries during last week’s 17-12 victory over Houston.
That game had a wild ending, as senior safety Brandon Alexander made a game-saving play in the final minute.
The Knights were ahead by five with Houston once again in the red zone. As quarterback Greg Ward Jr. scrambled 19-yards toward the goal line and reached for the pylon, Alexander hit Ward’s arm and knocked the ball through the side of the end zone for a touchback. The officials’ call was confirmed by video review.
“The quarterback broke and I just knew his intent was not to pass, it was to run," Alexander said. "So he just dove. When he dove, I dove. Everything happens for a reason. I just laid on the ground real quick.”
Alexander also had nine tackles and an interception. Last year at home against Houston, Alexander broke up a fourth-down pass in the end zone to help the Knights hold off the Cougars.
“Any win is a good win,” UCF coach George O'Leary said. “Defensively, I think we've been playing consistently. Offensively, it's been inconsistent. That's the chore this week – to try to get them jump-started. I think the big things with conference games, and I tell the kids this, every game is a big game because you control your own destiny.”
Whether UCF can be a conference contender will ultimately depend on how quickly the Knights' offense matures and whether they can score enough points to give the defense some rest.
O'Leary's quarterback situation is still somewhat in flux. Justin Holman won the starting role from redshirt freshman Pete DiNovo after Holman’s sizzling second-half performance put UCF in position to beat Penn State in the Aug. 30 opener in Ireland. But after a few streaky performances, UCF coach George O'Leary said Nick Patti could see game action if things don't pick up offensively.
"He’s good," O'Leary said of Patti during his Monday press conference. "If we’re struggling at all at quarterback, he’s going to see action. We just have to get things going.”
O'Leary has taught his team how to win in the last two years and the Knights have been their best in close games. They are 9-0 in conference play since joining The American. Seven of those wins have been one-possession games.
“That's why I have gray hair,” O'Leary said. “We constantly talk about fighting through the fourth quarter and starting and ending the same way. I give credit to the players for their never-give-up attitudes. You always want to get to that fourth quarter with the ability to win the game.
“This was the first time I've ever been involved in a game that comes down to the last 18 inches as the difference between winning the game and losing the game. It was unbelievable. But I thought the cameras had the right angle and it was a great call by the official, making the call initially. (Ward) made a great run down the sidelines, trying to jump into the end zone. The ball came loose and it was a great effort by Brandon.”