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JT Sneaks · 08-30-2005, 11:44 AM

UCF

ORLANDO - For the fourth consecutive season, the UCF Golden Knights open the season on ESPN in front of a national television audience. The Golden Knights visit South Carolina in primetime on Thursday, September 1 in the first college football broadcast of the season on ESPN.

UCF makes it ESPN Thursday night primetime debut in a game featuring two of the top coaches in the nation in George O'Leary and Steve Spurrier.

Mike Tirico will call the action on ESPN while Kirk Herbstreit provides the color commentary and Erin Andrews patrols the sidelines. The UCF ISP Sports Network begins pregame coverage at 5:45 p.m. The radio broadcast is also available at ucfathletics.com.

Series Notes
UCF is 0-2 all-time vs. South Carolina, with both losses coming in Columbia. The Golden Knights lost 33-14 in 1996 at South Carolina in UCF's first season as a Division I-A member. The following season, the Gamecocks survived a scare from the Golden Knights, holding on for a 33-31 victory. Daunte Culpepper threw for 299 yards and three touchdowns in the two-point loss.

George O'Leary has faced Steve Spurrier three times, but never as a head coach. The two met when O'Leary was the defensive coordinator for Bobby Ross at Georgia Tech from 1987-89 while Spurrier was the head coach at Duke. The Blue Devils won 48-14 in 1987, 31-21 in 1988 and 30-19 in 1989.

UCF is 1-9 all-time vs. SEC schools, with the lone win coming in 2000 at Alabama (41-38). The Golden Knights have lost four games by five points or less to SEC competition, including two games by one point.

UCF on ESPN
UCF is 0-4 all-time on ESPN, including last season's 34-6 loss at Wisconsin to open the season. George O'Leary has coached 10 games on ESPN Thursday night primetime telecasts, going 6-4 when he was the head coach at Georgia Tech.

UCF in Season Openers
UCF is 14-12 all-time in season openers in 26 years of football. Over the last six seasons, the Golden Knights have faced some of the top teams in the nation to start the season, including No. 21 Wisconsin in 2004, No. 9 Virginia Tech in 2003, No. 24 Penn State in 2002, No. 19 Clemson in 2001, Georgia Tech in 2000 and No. 22 Purdue in 1999.

George O'Leary is 5-3 in season openers as a head coach. O'Leary missed UCF's season opener last season to attend the funeral of his mother.

Senior Starters
UCF is third in the nation with just six senior starters entering the 2005 season. Only Rice (3) has fewer senior starters than the Golden Knights.

Ready for Action
UCF head coach George O'Leary will have one of the nation's youngest teams in 2005. UCF's current depth chart features 23 freshmen or sophomores listed among the team's top 44 offensive and defensive players.

Nine true freshmen dot the depth chart, including one starter. True freshman Cory Hogue is the projected starter at weakside linebacker.

Running Back by Committee
How do you replace UCF's all-time leading rusher in Alex Haynes? The Golden Knights will look to several players to fill the void of Haynes, who graduated last December and is now in training camp with the Baltimore Ravens.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of preseason camp has been the play of freshman tailback Kevin Smith. The Miami native has been sensational, showing excellent athleticism and the ability to break the long run in camp. With terrific agility and speed, Smith has shown he can run in-between the tackles and also break a run to the outside. Even more shocking, Smith did not play tailback his senior year in high school at Southridge High School in Miami. Smith played defensive back as a senior, but rushed for 1,125 yards and 15 touchdowns as a junior for Southridge.

Junior Dontavius Wilcox is the starter at tailback after a solid spring and preseason camp.

Jason Peters is another running back who should see significant time. Peters is the starter at fullback entering the season. He was ranked by some media outlets as the No. 3 tailback in the junior college ranks last season.

Since joining Division I-A in 1996, the Golden Knights are 10-27 in the month of September

Scouting South Carolina
The Gamecocks of South Carolina begin the 2005 season with the return 39 letterwinners from last year's 6-5 team. The Gamecocks welcome back 11 starters - four on offense, four on defense and three on special teams - as head coach Steve Spurrier begins his first season at the helm.

The 2004 season ended with a 29-7 loss at arch-rival Clemson in Lou Holtz's final game as the USC head coach.

South Carolina sophomore rover Ko Simpson was named a first-team preseason all-conference honoree by the Southeastern Conference coaches.

Simpson was joined on the preseason all-SEC squad by offensive tackle Na'Shan Goddard, who was a second-team selection, offensive tackle Jabari Levey, who was recognized with a spot on the third team and kicker Josh Brown, who also garnered third-team honors.

Widely recognized as one of the top safeties in the country this preseason, Simpson comes off a freshman season in which he led the SEC and ranked third nationally with six interceptions. He also recovered three fumbles and scored two defensive touchdowns in 2004.

Orlando Press

UCF's opening game is three days away, and the Golden Knights' heavy bags are packed. Now they're laboring over small matters.

Their goal is for the little things not to become big problems. Things like substituting on the fly, calling plays from the sideline, being able to communicate on the field under fire.

In practice, such adjustments carry little penalty. Game days, it's a different story.

"You have to get that stuff right," defensive coordinator Lance Thompson said. "The last thing you want to do is have the wrong personnel in or get a penalty [for having too many players on the field.]

"Polish," is what UCF Coach George O'Leary calls it. It covers a lot of ground, from special teams to the 2-minute drill.

Polish is not what the Knights had Sunday. O'Leary called Sunday afternoon's two-hour indoor workout "sloppy," saying too many players "were going through the motions."

Ready for takeoff

It was easy to tell Sunday that a big-time opponent is up on UCF's schedule. O'Leary Air sounded ready to take off.

UCF managers strapped a large speaker to the back of a golf cart and blasted jet engine noise inside Nicholson Fieldhouse as QB Steven Moffett huddled the offense and called signals at the line. The noise is to help the Knights cope with what is expected to be a whipped-up 82,500 at South Carolina's Williams-Brice Stadium.

"It's loud, I can tell you that," O'Leary said. "My ears are clogged."

O'Leary used the noise last year when the Knights got ready for trips to Wisconsin and Penn State.

Etc.

The Knights have a handful of players nursing minor bumps, bruises or sprains but none who will miss the game because of injury. . . . K Matt Prater must like kicking under pressure better than he does without it. A practice-closing 52-yard field-goal attempt -- players to run sprints if he missed -- sailed true and would have been good from another 10 yards. He missed two earlier attempts from 52. . . . UCF Board of Trustees Chairman Dick Nunis peeked in on Sunday's two-hour workout. . . .

JT

08-30-2005, 11:44 AM	#8 (permalink)
JT Sneaks Assistant Coach Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 211	UCF ORLANDO - For the fourth consecutive season, the UCF Golden Knights open the season on ESPN in front of a national television audience. The Golden Knights visit South Carolina in primetime on Thursday, September 1 in the first college football broadcast of the season on ESPN. UCF makes it ESPN Thursday night primetime debut in a game featuring two of the top coaches in the nation in George O'Leary and Steve Spurrier. Mike Tirico will call the action on ESPN while Kirk Herbstreit provides the color commentary and Erin Andrews patrols the sidelines. The UCF ISP Sports Network begins pregame coverage at 5:45 p.m. The radio broadcast is also available at ucfathletics.com. Series Notes UCF is 0-2 all-time vs. South Carolina, with both losses coming in Columbia. The Golden Knights lost 33-14 in 1996 at South Carolina in UCF's first season as a Division I-A member. The following season, the Gamecocks survived a scare from the Golden Knights, holding on for a 33-31 victory. Daunte Culpepper threw for 299 yards and three touchdowns in the two-point loss. George O'Leary has faced Steve Spurrier three times, but never as a head coach. The two met when O'Leary was the defensive coordinator for Bobby Ross at Georgia Tech from 1987-89 while Spurrier was the head coach at Duke. The Blue Devils won 48-14 in 1987, 31-21 in 1988 and 30-19 in 1989. UCF is 1-9 all-time vs. SEC schools, with the lone win coming in 2000 at Alabama (41-38). The Golden Knights have lost four games by five points or less to SEC competition, including two games by one point. UCF on ESPN UCF is 0-4 all-time on ESPN, including last season's 34-6 loss at Wisconsin to open the season. George O'Leary has coached 10 games on ESPN Thursday night primetime telecasts, going 6-4 when he was the head coach at Georgia Tech. UCF in Season Openers UCF is 14-12 all-time in season openers in 26 years of football. Over the last six seasons, the Golden Knights have faced some of the top teams in the nation to start the season, including No. 21 Wisconsin in 2004, No. 9 Virginia Tech in 2003, No. 24 Penn State in 2002, No. 19 Clemson in 2001, Georgia Tech in 2000 and No. 22 Purdue in 1999. George O'Leary is 5-3 in season openers as a head coach. O'Leary missed UCF's season opener last season to attend the funeral of his mother. Senior Starters UCF is third in the nation with just six senior starters entering the 2005 season. Only Rice (3) has fewer senior starters than the Golden Knights. Ready for Action UCF head coach George O'Leary will have one of the nation's youngest teams in 2005. UCF's current depth chart features 23 freshmen or sophomores listed among the team's top 44 offensive and defensive players. Nine true freshmen dot the depth chart, including one starter. True freshman Cory Hogue is the projected starter at weakside linebacker. Running Back by Committee How do you replace UCF's all-time leading rusher in Alex Haynes? The Golden Knights will look to several players to fill the void of Haynes, who graduated last December and is now in training camp with the Baltimore Ravens. Perhaps the biggest surprise of preseason camp has been the play of freshman tailback Kevin Smith. The Miami native has been sensational, showing excellent athleticism and the ability to break the long run in camp. With terrific agility and speed, Smith has shown he can run in-between the tackles and also break a run to the outside. Even more shocking, Smith did not play tailback his senior year in high school at Southridge High School in Miami. Smith played defensive back as a senior, but rushed for 1,125 yards and 15 touchdowns as a junior for Southridge. Junior Dontavius Wilcox is the starter at tailback after a solid spring and preseason camp. Jason Peters is another running back who should see significant time. Peters is the starter at fullback entering the season. He was ranked by some media outlets as the No. 3 tailback in the junior college ranks last season. Since joining Division I-A in 1996, the Golden Knights are 10-27 in the month of September Scouting South Carolina The Gamecocks of South Carolina begin the 2005 season with the return 39 letterwinners from last year's 6-5 team. The Gamecocks welcome back 11 starters - four on offense, four on defense and three on special teams - as head coach Steve Spurrier begins his first season at the helm. The 2004 season ended with a 29-7 loss at arch-rival Clemson in Lou Holtz's final game as the USC head coach. South Carolina sophomore rover Ko Simpson was named a first-team preseason all-conference honoree by the Southeastern Conference coaches. Simpson was joined on the preseason all-SEC squad by offensive tackle Na'Shan Goddard, who was a second-team selection, offensive tackle Jabari Levey, who was recognized with a spot on the third team and kicker Josh Brown, who also garnered third-team honors. Widely recognized as one of the top safeties in the country this preseason, Simpson comes off a freshman season in which he led the SEC and ranked third nationally with six interceptions. He also recovered three fumbles and scored two defensive touchdowns in 2004. Orlando Press UCF's opening game is three days away, and the Golden Knights' heavy bags are packed. Now they're laboring over small matters. Their goal is for the little things not to become big problems. Things like substituting on the fly, calling plays from the sideline, being able to communicate on the field under fire. In practice, such adjustments carry little penalty. Game days, it's a different story. "You have to get that stuff right," defensive coordinator Lance Thompson said. "The last thing you want to do is have the wrong personnel in or get a penalty [for having too many players on the field.] "Polish," is what UCF Coach George O'Leary calls it. It covers a lot of ground, from special teams to the 2-minute drill. Polish is not what the Knights had Sunday. O'Leary called Sunday afternoon's two-hour indoor workout "sloppy," saying too many players "were going through the motions." Ready for takeoff It was easy to tell Sunday that a big-time opponent is up on UCF's schedule. O'Leary Air sounded ready to take off. UCF managers strapped a large speaker to the back of a golf cart and blasted jet engine noise inside Nicholson Fieldhouse as QB Steven Moffett huddled the offense and called signals at the line. The noise is to help the Knights cope with what is expected to be a whipped-up 82,500 at South Carolina's Williams-Brice Stadium. "It's loud, I can tell you that," O'Leary said. "My ears are clogged." O'Leary used the noise last year when the Knights got ready for trips to Wisconsin and Penn State. Etc. The Knights have a handful of players nursing minor bumps, bruises or sprains but none who will miss the game because of injury. . . . K Matt Prater must like kicking under pressure better than he does without it. A practice-closing 52-yard field-goal attempt -- players to run sprints if he missed -- sailed true and would have been good from another 10 yards. He missed two earlier attempts from 52. . . . UCF Board of Trustees Chairman Dick Nunis peeked in on Sunday's two-hour workout. . . . JT