2008 UCF Knights football team
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The 2008 UCF Knights football team will represent the University of Central Florida in the 2008 college football season. Their head coach is George O'Leary, in his fifth season with the team. For the second season, the UCF Knights will play all of their home games at Bright House Networks Stadium on the school's main campus in Orlando, Florida. The Knights seek to defend their Conference USA football championship.
All games are broadcast live on the UCF-ISP Sports radio network. The flagship will continue to be WQTM 740 AM in Orlando, despite its format change away from sports. The games are called by Marc Daniels (play-by-play) and Gary Parris (color commentary), with Scott Adams and Jerry O'Neill as field reporters. Other UCF radio programming will be carried on NewsRadio 540 WFLA.
The team does not have a local TV contract, but their games will appear nationally on cable television six times—two on ESPN, one on ESPN2, one on ESPNU and two on CBS College Sports (formerly CSTV).
Schedule
August 306:00 p.m.S.C. State*
W 17-042,126 September 67:00 p.m.No. 17 USF*
- Bright House Networks Stadium
- Orlando, FL
ESPN2L 31-2446,805 September 201:00 p.m.at Boston College*
ESPNUL 34-7 September 278:00 p.m.at UTEP
CBS-CL 58-13 October 43:30 p.m.SMU
- Bright House Networks Stadium
- Orlando, FL
CBS-C October 113:45pmat Miami*
ESPNU October 268:00 p.m.at Tulsa
ESPN November 28:00 p.m.No. 14 East Carolina
- Bright House Networks Stadium
- Orlando, FL
ESPN
November 83:30 p.m.Southern Miss
- Bright House Networks Stadium
- Orlando, FL
November 154:30 p.m.at Marshall
CSS November 22TBAat Memphis
November 293:30 p.m.UAB
- Bright House Networks Stadium
- Orlando, FL
2008 Signing Class
Coach O'Leary and his coaching staff announced these people to the 2008 UCF Knights Football Team on Wednesday February 6, 2008; as it was the National Football Signing Day:
-- --- -- --- -- --- -- --- -- --- --
Athlete
Marquee Williams (Vanguard - Ocala, FL)
Defensive Backs
Chad Keys (St. Paul's School - Covington, LA)
Defensive Ends
Jarvis Gathers (Feather River C.C. - Andrews, SC)
Robert Pritchard (North Gwinnett - Suwanee, GA)
Defensive Tackle
Theo Goins (Hightower - Fort Bend, TX)
Chris Martin (Choctawhatchee - Fort Walton Beach, FL)
Linebackers
Josh Linam (Tavares - Tavares, FL)
Loren Robinson (Lyman - Longwood, FL)
David Williams (Cardinal Gibbons - Ft. Lauderdale)
Offensive Lineman
Chad Hounshell (Lake Catholic - Mentor, OH)
Jarien Moreland (Glade Central Community - Belle Glade, FL)
John Oliver (Troup - LaGrange, GA)
Steven Robinson (Lincoln - Tallahassee, FL)
Running Backs
Brandon Davis (Peachtree Ridge - Suwanee, GA)
Brynn Harvey (Largo - Largo, FL)
Vance King (Stockbridge - Stockbridge, GA)
Latavius Murray (Onandaga Central - Medrow, NY)
Tight Ends / Hybrid Back
Brendan Kelly (Shoreham-Wading River - Shoreham, NY)
Kyle Madden (Harrison - Kennesaw, GA)
Quarterback
Rob Calabrese (East Islip - Islip Terrace, NY)
Other News
On 2008-08-22, wide receiver Richard Jackson announced that he had completed his enrollment at UCF, completing a transfer from the University of Notre Dame. Jackson was a star prospect from East Ridge High School in nearby Clermont, Florida.[1] He received a hardship waiver from the NCAA on September 5, giving him immediate eligibility.[2]
Game Summaries
Week 1: South Carolina State (August 30)
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SC State | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UCF | 0 | 7 | 0 | 10 | 17 |
The Knights began their season at home against South Carolina State. Making his first start at quarterback, Michael Greco had a difficult time trying to find his groove, completing 9-of-16 passing for 90 yards, and running 13 times for 57 yards. But the defense remained strong and carried the team, holding the Bulldog offense to less than 22 minutes of play time, with Jason Venson catching an interception.
Week 2: #17 South Florida (September 6)
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #17 USF | 10 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 31 |
| UCF | 7 | 3 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 24 |
Greco's struggles continued when the Knights hosted USF for the last match in their "War on I-4" rivalry. While the Bulls scored first, Joe Burnett answered back with a 91-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. The Knights defense held as well as they could, holding the Bulls to 10 points in the first half and allowing the Knights to tie the game going into halftime. However, the Knights had difficulty maintaining their discipline, and it cost them in penalties. The Knights had 12 penalties for 148 yards, one of which negated a touchdown on an interception in the second quarter.
Although it appeared the Bulls would begin to run away with the game, scoring two touchdowns in the third quarter, Michael Greco finally awoke toward the end of the fourth quarter, leading two touchdown drives in the final minutes of regulation to force overtime. However, they came up short on a fourth-down run on their turn, failing to answer a quick USF touchdown.
Although sluggish for most of the game, the Knights offense did not turn the ball over. After their first two games, UCF has a +3 turnover ratio.
The unanticipated struggles for the Bulls dropped them back to their preseason #19 ranking in the AP poll despite the win.
Week 3: Bye
Week 4: Boston College (September 20)
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UCF | 0 | ||||
| BC | 0 |
Week 5: UTEP (September 27)
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UCF | 0 | ||||
| UTEP | 0 |
Week 6: Southern Methodist (October 4)
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SMU | 0 | ||||
| UCF | 0 |
Week 7: Miami (FL) (October 11)
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UCF | 0 | ||||
| Miami | 0 |
Week 8: Bye
Week 9: Tulsa (October 26)
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UCF | 0 | ||||
| Tulsa | 0 |
Week 10: East Carolina (November 2)
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ECU | 0 | ||||
| UCF | 0 |
Week 11: Southern Miss (November 8)
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USM | 0 | ||||
| UCF | 0 |
Week 12: Marshall (November 15)
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UCF | 0 | ||||
| Marshall | 0 |
Week 13: Memphis (November 22)
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UCF | 0 | ||||
| Memphis | 0 |
Week 14: UAB (November 29)
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UAB | 0 | ||||
| UCF | 0 |
References
- ^ Brandon Helwig (2008-08-22). "Jackson transferring to UCF".
{{cite web}}: Text "accessdate-2008-08-25" ignored (help) - ^ "Football's Richard Jackson Cleared By NCAA". 2008-09-05. Retrieved 2008-09-08.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|source=ignored (help)
External links
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