Following two defeats to open the season—a heart-wrenching 26-24 loss to Penn State in the Croke Park Classic and a 38-10 drubbing at the hands of No. 20 Missouri last weekend, the UCF Knights will have to show considerable improvement to contend with the likes of Cincinnati and East Carolina for another AAC title.
Coming off the best season in school history at 12-1, last year’s AAC champions are in desperate need of a new identity. Replacing last year’s leaders Blake Bortles, the 2013 AAC Offensive Player of the Year, and Storm Johnson—both now playing in the NFL with the Jacksonville Jaguars—is proving a tough chore.
While redshirt freshman Pete DiNovo got the nod to start at quarterback against Penn State in the season opener, his time under center was short-lived. Unable to get the offense in gear, DiNovo was pulled in the second half of the season opener, replaced by Justin Holman, Bortles’ backup in 2013.
Behind a strong arm and fleet feet, Holman sparked the offense and nearly engineered a memorable comeback over the Nittany Lions, completing 9-of-14 pass attempts for 204 yards and one touchdown. A dual threat, he also added two scores on the ground. If Holman had started the game, UCF likely would have notched a victory in its season opener.
“I said at halftime that he’s not moving the chains,” head coach George O’Leary said of DiNovo after Penn State’s win in Dublin, Ireland. “I didn’t like the way [DiNovo] was handling things out there. He just seemed to be all over the place.”
Unfortunately for the Knights, Holman’s playmaking abilities weren’t on display Saturday against Missouri despite two weeks of preparation. He was sacked four times by a ferocious front seven that dominated an inexperienced Knights’ offensive line and was picked twice. On the ground, Holman averaged only 2.2 yards on 15 carries.
With questions lingering at the quarterback position, the primary issue facing the Knights going forward is finding a way to get the ball into the hands of playmaking wide receivers J.J. Worton, Rannell Hall, Breshad Perriman and Josh Reese. Of the four, only Reese has scored a touchdown. Worton leads the receiving corps with eight catches for 115 yards.
The offense, which has accounted for 545 total yards (431 passing and 114 rushing) through the first two games, will have to become more fluid, reminiscent of the second half performance against Penn State in which the Knights put together scoring drives of 70, 75 and 78 yards.
Opponents have had their way with UCF’s defense. In training camp, the defense was thought to be one of the team’s strengths with nine returning starters from a year ago, but the experienced unit has given up 833 total yards (416.5 avg.) to Penn State and Missouri.
O’Leary told the Orlando Sentinel this week that the problems on defense are correctable and he will encourage tacklers to close in on their assignments quicker.
“It’s either over-committing or not committing,” he said. “I think on some of them, we didn’t commit. The ones where we over-commit, we can correct those alright. I have no problem with those guys. We can correct those. It’s the ones that keep (saying), ‘ready, ready, ready, ready’ and never fire. Those are the guys that get you in trouble and we got some of them that once they see it, they gotta go. They’re sitting there taking a picture.”
Things should get a little easier for the Knights Saturday in the home opener at Bright House Network Stadium against the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats (2-0). The Wildcats shouldn’t be taken lightly, however, as they are one of the top FCS teams in the nation and are currently ranked No. 13 in the FCS Coaches Poll.
With Cincinnati and East Carolina off to strong starts, UCF needs to generate momentum in a hurry for any hopes of an AAC title defense.
“Being able to get our first win this week will get the momentum going for the season and hopefully towards a conference championship,” said senior wide receiver Rannell Hall.
It’s been a bit of a shaky start for the Knights, but O’Leary believes in playing a tough non-conference schedule and isn’t underestimating the Wildcats on Saturday.
“We’re going to have to play stingy on defense,” said O’Leary. “Defensively they mix up their coverages and basically play a seven, eight-man front. They have a bunch of experience back.”
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