The UCF Knights, fresh off a dream season at 12-1, have an immediate opportunity to show that they belong in the conversation of college football’s best programs when they kick off the 2014 season in the Croke Park Classic against Penn State in Ireland on Saturday.
UCF, the first team outside the Top 25, ranked 26th by the Associated Press, defeated Penn State 34-31 a season ago, although the Nittany Lions lead the series 2-1.
“I think last year was our first time winning against the Big Ten and then to play those guys again and win it on a national stage would be great and set us up for the right direction in the season in terms of winning those nine conference games like coach (George) O’Leary keeps saying,” UCF senior linebacker Terrance Plummer told the Orlando Sentinel. “It’ll be great for us, our team, our program and our university.”
UCF returns nine starters on defense, including the entire secondary, which has combined for 97 starts. That could equate to game-changing experience taking on a young Penn State offense.
“Well it helps that we’re experienced this year with the nine guys returning and we have our whole entire defensive line back,” Plummer said.” And with them having new guys on the offensive line, [we’re] just trying to throw things at them that they haven’t seen. But we’re going to go in with the game plan that we have set and hoping that our guys who have been preparing so well can out prepare those guys and out will those guys.”
In scouting the opponent, O’Leary cautioned that the tradition of big, athletic linemen in the north likely makes up for a lack of experience up front.
“If you look at everybody in the country, they play seven kids on the offensive line. They may put two guys up that can play the guard or tackle position,” O’Leary said. “Penn State has always had linemen, both offensively and defensively. I think when you’re up in the north you have a lot of those kind of kids in programs. And they’ve done a good job of retaining those players. They’ll be big and strong and that’s what I anticipate whoever they line up with.”
The UCF defense will be facing an offense it hasn’t seen installed by first-year Penn State coach James Franklin. UCF has, however, studied the schemes Franklin implemented at Vanderbilt, where he coached from 2011-13.
“It’s the unknown that you get concerned about and that’s where we have to be able to adjust,” O’Leary said. “It’s nice to have experienced defense back when that happens. You should be able to adjust that with calls and get some things done and again I think the same issue with us as far as what’s getting done.”
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