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2005 Conference USA Football Championship Game

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2005 Conference USA Football Championship Game
Conference Championship
Tulsa Golden Hurricane UCF Knights
(8–4) (8–4)
44 27
Head coach: 
Steve Kragthorpe		 Head coach: 
George O'Leary
1234 Total
Tulsa 1417103 44
UCF 72000 27
DateDecember 3, 2005
Season2005
StadiumCitrus Bowl
LocationOrlando, Florida
MVPGarrett Mills (TE, Tulsa)
FavoriteTulsa by 3
RefereeRandy Smith
Attendance51,978[1]
United States TV coverage
NetworkESPN
AnnouncersMark Jones (play-by-play), Chris Spielman (analyst) and Rob Stone (sideline)
Conference USA Football Championship Game
  2006 > 
2005 Conference USA football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
East Division
UCF x   7 – 1     8 – 5  
Southern Miss   5 – 3     7 – 5  
Memphis   5 – 3     7 – 5  
East Carolina   4 – 4     5 – 6  
Marshall   3 – 5     4 – 7  
UAB   3 – 5     5 – 6  
West Division
Tulsa x$   6 – 2     9 – 4  
UTEP   5 – 3     8 – 4  
Houston   4 – 4     6 – 6  
SMU   4 – 4     5 – 6  
Tulane   1 – 7     2 – 9  
Rice   1 – 7     1 – 10  
Championship: Tulsa 44, UCF 27
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2005 Conference USA Football Championship Game was a college football game played on Saturday, December 3, 2005 at Citrus Bowl in Orlando. This was the 1st Conference USA Championship Game and determined the 2005 champion of the Conference USA.[2] The game featured the UCF Golden Knights, champions of the East division, and the Tulsa Golden Hurricane, champions of the West division.

A UCF record home crowd of 51,978 saw the host team Golden Knights fall to visitors the Golden Hurricane by a score of 44–27.

Teams

UCF

Main article: 2005 UCF Golden Knights football team

After going 0–11 in 2004, their final season in the MAC, and George O'Leary's first season as head coach, many did not expect much from UCF in its first C-USA season. They dropped their first two games (non-conference games), and stretched their active losing streak to 17 games - the longest active losing streak in the nation. The Golden Knights broke the streak by defeating Marshall for their first C-USA intra-conference victory. From there, UCF would go 7–1 in-conference (8–3 overall) and won the East Division. It was one of the best turnarounds in Division I-A history at the time (+8 wins), and they became the first team ever to go to a conference championship game the year after going winless.

Tulsa

Main article: 2005 Tulsa Golden Hurricane football team

The Golden Hurricane entered the game at 7–4 (6–2 in C-USA). They won five out of their last six games to clinch the C-USA west division, their first season as members of C-USA. Picked during the preseason to be a mid-pack team, Tulsa had also experienced fairly recent bad seasons of 1–10 (2001) and 1–11 (2002). Tight end Garrett Mills was a standout for the team during the season. He was on his way to an NCAA record 1,235 yards receiving (on 87 receptions), the most yards earned receiving by a tight end in a single season.[3]

Game summary

the 2005 C-USA Championship Game.

Quarterback Steven Moffett threw for 190 yards and 1 touchdown pass, but threw two interceptions and lost two fumbles in the game. On the opening drive, the Golden Knights drove 80 yards in 8 plays. Moffett connected to Willie Thornton for a 43-yard touchdown pass and a early 7–0 lead. Tulsa, however, scored 21 unanswered points. Nick Graham intercepted a Moffett pass and ran it 58 yards all the way down to the UCF 2 yard line. Uril Parrish's 2-yard dive gave Tulsa a 21–7 lead 13 seconds into the second quarter.

UCF got back in the game with a 7-play, 92-yard drive to start their second quarter. Kevin Smith, facing a 3rd & 1, broke free for a 31-yard touchdown run, trimming the deficit to 21–14. After a Matt Prater field goal, Joe Burnett's 68-yard punt return touchdown put the Golden Knights ahead 24–21. An excessive celebration penalty against UCF on the touchdown, however, gave Tulsa good field position. They scored on the drive to re-take the lead, then put up a field goal to go up 31–24. UCF got the ball back just before halftime. Prater kicked his second field goal of the game as time expired in the half. The Golden Hurricane led 31–27 at halftime.

Tulsa shutout UCF in the second half, and pulled away to a 44–27 victory. The Golden Hurricane accepted an invitation to the Liberty Bowl. With the loss, the Knights fell to 8–4 and accepted an invitation to the Hawaii Bowl.[4][5][6]

Game summary

2005 Conference USA Football Championship Game
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Tulsa 14 17 10344
UCF 7 20 0027

at Citrus Bowl • Orlando, Florida

Game information
First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter

Statistics

Statistics TLSA UCF
First downs 23 17
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards 219 221
Passing: comp–att–int 13–20–0 13–27–2
Time of possession 21:26 15:13
Team Category Player Statistics
Tulsa Passing Paul Smith
Rushing Uril Parrish
Receiving Garrett Mills
UCF Passing Steven Moffett
Rushing Kevin Smith
Receiving Brandon Marshall

References

  1. ^ Schmadtke, Alan (5 December 2005). "The Recap". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
  2. ^ "CONFERENCE USA FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME HISTORY AND RECORDS" (PDF). conferenceusa.com. Conference USA. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
  3. ^ "Tulsa's Mills Selected in Fourth Round by the New England Patriots". Hurricane Watch. April 30, 2006. Archived from the original on March 11, 2007. Retrieved July 16, 2006.
  4. ^ Schmadtke, Alan (December 4, 2005). "Aloha, Knights - UCF loses C-USA title but wins Hawaii Bowl trip (Part 1)". The Orlando Sentinel. p. C1. Retrieved September 15, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  5. ^ Schmadtke, Alan (December 4, 2005). "Aloha, Knights - UCF loses C-USA title but wins Hawaii Bowl trip (Part 2)". The Orlando Sentinel. p. C11. Retrieved September 15, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  6. ^ McKay, Rich (December 4, 2005). "Tulsa 44, UCF 27, Fans 51,978". The Orlando Sentinel. p. C11. Retrieved September 15, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon


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