The University of Central Florida Knights are ready for the Tulsa Golden Hurricanes following their blow out win against Memphis.
The Knights lost 49-19 the last time the two teams faced off, despite taking a 19-14 lead into halftime.
“We’ve got a big, big, big, game here on Thursday night,” said head coach George O’Leary. “It’s not only big for us, but for Tulsa too.”
The home game against Tulsa comes five days removed from a UCF trouncing over the Memphis Tigers 41-0.
The win snaps a two game losing streak for the Knights and also extends their home winning streak to five games, dating back to last season. With an overall record of 4-4, all four losses have come on the road for UCF.
“Well, it was a good win, really on all three phases,” said head coach George O’Leary. “It was a good total team effort. We got a chance to play a lot of players tonight, which is important because of the short week.”
Quarterback Jeff Godfrey led the Knights in rushing with 99 yards and a touchdown. His lone rushing touchdown gives him nine on the season, which is just one shy of his career high.
“I saw on film that they would drop back and make sure the quarterback didn’t beat them deep, so I took advantage of that with my legs,” said Godfrey, who’s first quarter 19-yard touchdown was all the Knights ended up needing.
Godfrey still managed to throw for 200 yards on 14 completions despite sitting out the entire fourth quarter, and UCF rushing the ball 49 times as a team.
UCF’s Jeff Godfrey breaks away on a 35-yard run in the first quarter, setting up a Knights touchdown. Sebastian Arbelaez
Of Godfrey’s 200 yards, 49 of them went to WR Quincy McDuffie, who also got his first rushing and receiving touchdowns of the season.
“I think he was a lot more aggressive and a lot more decisive,” said O’Leary. “He’s making plays and that’s what the quarterback is supposed to do.”
The shutout against Memphis gives the Knights’ defense their second of the season. Not only have the Knights outscored their opponents 149-9 this season at home, but the defense still hasn’t allowed a touchdown.
Linebacker Jonathan Davis consistently applied pressure in the backfield, getting seven tackles including one sack of Memphis QB Taylor Reed.
Along with Davis, defensive back Josh Robinson held the Tigers in check allowing just 134 total yards.
“We take pride in everything on defense. Just getting sacks or tackles for a loss. Its big when you’re at home and you can defend your place. We definitely take pride in that,” said Robinson, recent recipient of all-American fourth team honors in the mid-season awards.
The Knights know they have a tough challenge ahead of them with a shortened week. Tulsa enters Thursday’s game undefeated in conference play and are coming off a commanding 38-7 win over division rival SMU.
“We’ve just got to pick up on things quicker. You don’t have as much time to go into depth on every play,” said Robinson. “We’ve just got to make sure we execute on things when the time comes.”
