Dr. Blackwell's BLOG

The UCF Knights (4-2; 2-0 AAC) extended their conference winning streak to 11 on Saturday in their 20-13 defeat of the Tulane Green Wave (2-5; 1-2 AAC) at Bright House Networks Stadium. The Knights continued to display some offensive struggles. Starting quarterback Justin Holman was benched in the third quarter for several minutes while backup Nick Patti took over at the helm. UCF’s turnovers were costly, with all but 7 of Tulane’s points coming from turnovers. But UCF’s defensive squad remained strong well into the end of the second half, stopping Tulane on a final 4th down to give the Knights back the ball and a win. UCF head coach George O’Leary was far from impressed with how the offensive unit performed during the game: “Their lives are going to change Monday because I’m not going to put up with that lackadaisical garbage I saw today from the offense,” O’Leary said with a stern expression. “. . . I’ve been around football too long to know that you can’t keep winning playing like that. You really can’t.” UCF plays at home again this Saturday for their 2014 Homecoming festivities. The Knights will play the Owls of Temple (4-2; 2-1 AAC) at 5:00pm at Bright House Networks Stadium with the game being nationally televised on CBS Sports Network. The UCF College of Nursing Tailgate Party will begin at 1:30pm in the Softball Lot underneath the scoreboard. Below, watch ESPN’s recap of the Knights’ victory Saturday over Tulane:

The UCF Knights (3-2; 1-0 AAC) football team defeated the Cougars of BYU (4-2; IND) 31-24 in overtime on Thursday in-front of a loud home crowd of over 41,000 and a nationwide audience on ESPN. The Knights dominated the first quarter of the game on both offense and defense, scoring 10 points in that quarter alone. BYU struggled offensively the entire exist half, amassing just 3 points. But the second half was a different story. BYU came out of halftime fired-up and ready to play. They scored 21 points in the third quarter alone before UCF finally began to put together an effective offensive front. The Knights climbed out of the hole they dug for themselves and eventually would tie the game up 24-24. UCF took the first OT possession and mounted a successful 7-point drive that put them ahead. When BYU regained possession to answer, they would go scoreless. The Knights’ defense coupled with the deafening crowd was enough to stop them on their final drive of the game, giving them a four-and-out scenario. The Knights now move on in conference play and host the Green Wave of Tulane on Saturday. Kickoff is set for Noon and the game will be nationally-televised on ESPNU. The College of Nursing tailgate party will begin at 10am in the Softball lot, under the scoreboard. Below, watch highlights of UCF’s thrilling OT victory over BYU courtesy of ESPN:

The UCF Knights (2-2; 1-0 AAC) dodged a MAJOR bullet Thursday night in their 17-12 defeat of the Houston Cougars (2-3; 0-1 AAC) in-front of a nationwide audience on ESPN. The Knights delivered an outstanding defensive performance, holding Houston to 331 yards (still more than the Knights’ 228) and not allowing a single Houston touchdown. The Cougar’s overall time of possession was also higher than UCF’s (32:17 vs. 27:43). With a late 4th quarter drive and time expiring, Houston looked as if they were going to win the game. But a game saving fumble by UCF’s Brandon Alexander gave UCF back possession of the ball. The Knights took a knee to let the game clock expire with less than 35 seconds remaining. The Knights play their final out-of-conference game this Thursday against the BYU Cougars (4-1; IND). Kickoff is set for 7:30pm and the game will be nationally-televised on ESPN. The College of Nursing tailgate party will begin at 3:30pm in the Softball Lot, below the scoreboard. Below, watch highlights of the Knights’ victory against the Houston Cougars, courtesy of ESPN:

The UCF Knights (1-2; 0-0 AAC) got their first taste of victory this weekend with a 41-7 mauling of the Wildcats of Bethune-Cookman University (2-1; 0-0 MEAC). The Knights sputtered during the first quarter to put points on the board and struggled defensively to stop the Wildcats, who scored their first and only game touchdown as the quarter came to an end. But as the second quarter began, UCF started clicking. The Wildcats would go on to remain scoreless the rest of the game and Knights’ running back Will Stanbeck got his first 100-yard plus game Saturday. The crowd was raucous. Bright House Networks Stadium was near capacity, with over 41,000 fans in-attendance, the sixth largest in UCF history. With the family weekend underway, the audience embraced the Marching Wildcats incredible halftime performance, which was proceeded by the first performance of the Marching Knights of the 2014 football season. The Marching Knights are fielding the largest band in UCF history, with over 400 members taking the field. UCF will now have a bye-week as they prepare to enter American Athletic Conference play next Thursday against the Houston Cougars (2-2; 0-0 AAC). Kickoff for UCF at Houston is set for 7:00pm and the game will be nationally televised on ESPN. Below, take a look at video highlights of a controversial personal foul call against Rannell Hall, who was ejected the rest of the game and (could sit out for half of the Houston game should the call not be overturned) courtesy of ESPN:

The UCF Knights (0-2; 0-0 AAC) dropped their second game of the season Saturday to the #20-ranked Missouri Tigers (3-0; 0-0 SEC) 38-10 in Columbia. The Knights offense and defensive fronts performed well in the first half. But a tipped ball that fell into the hands of the Tigers in the middle of the third quarter doomed the Knights. The Missouri defense put aggressive pressure on UCF’s new quarterback Justin Holman, who started for the first-time ever on Saturday. The pressure proved way too much for UCF; multiple turnovers would seal the fate for the Knights well into the fourth quarter. And no matter what, UCF wasn’t able to rebound from the mistakes. UCF moves on to their Orlando campus Saturday for a matchup against the Wildcats of Bethune-Cookman College (2-0). The game against BCC will begin at 6pm and will be televised nationwide on ESPN3. The UCF College of Nursing Tailgate Party for the game will begin at 2pm and will be held under the scoreboard in the Softball Lot. Below, check-out video highlights of UCF’s loss to Missouri courtesy of ESPN:

The UCF Knights (0-1; 0-0 AAC) lost to the Nittany Lions of Penn State (1-0; 0-0 B10) on Saturday in Dublin, Ireland in the Croke Park Classic. The Knights’ Offense sputtered the entire first half of the game under the gun of quarterback Pete DiNovo, who was only able to lead the offense to a paltry 28 yards of total offense. DiNovo completed just 3/8 passes for only 18 yards. When DiNovo was finally removed from the game at the midpoint of the third quarter, UCF ignited with Justin Holman at QB, putting up 3 touchdown scoring drives, going into the lead for the first time in the game 24-23 with just 1:13 left to play. But, unfortunately, with the Defense being absolutely gassed (Penn State’s time of possession was almost 10 minutes longer than UCF’s due to the poor offensive performance for more than 1/2 of the game), Penn State easily marched down the field, setting up kicker Sam Ficken for a winning field goal with :03 left on the clock. UCF now has a bye-week before heading to Missouri to take on the Tigers (1-0; 0-0 SEC) on 9/13. Missouri is coming off a 18-28 victory against San Diego State and play at Toledo this Saturday. Watch ESPN’s highlight of UCF’s loss to Penn State in the Croke Park Classic below:

The UCF Knights arrived at about 8:00am in Dublin, Ireland Wednesday to begin preparations for their matchup against Penn State Saturday. The team took a quick nap and then ate some lunch before heading out to their practice field to begin drills. Take a look at the Orlando Sentinel video featuring coverage of the team in Ireland. Kickoff of UCF vs. Penn State in the Croke Park Classic is at 8:30am on Saturday. The game is being broadcast nationwide on ESPN2.

The UCF Knights (0-0; 0-0 AAC) departed Orlando this afternoon for Ireland. The Knights take on the Nittany Lions of Penn State (0-0; 0-0 Big 10) in the Croke Park Classic this Saturday. The matchup between the two will be broadcast nationally on ESPN2. Kickoff is set for 8:30am EST. UCF returns 9 starters and has a hellacious Defense which should give the inexperienced Penn State offense all it can handle. The Knights, however, have some big question marks after the loss of quarterback Blake Bortles and top running back Storm Johnson to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Penn State leads the series 2-1; but the Knights took care of business and bested them 34-31 last year in Beaver Stadium. Take a look at the video below featuring highlights of the Knights boarding their bus to the airport along with some interviews by key UCF players and head coach George O’Leary:

With UCF’s season opener in Dublin Ireland just a few months away, the game is being promoted in the city. A friend of mine who was there on business last week snapped a photo of a billboard promoting the matchup (see below). The all-time series record is 1-1 with UCF beating Penn State in Happy Valley last season 34-31. The 2014 matchup will air on ESPN2 at 8:30am on August 30th.

The UCF Knights football team and coaching staff received some pretty sweet rings commemorating their memorable 2013 season, capped off with a 12-1 record, a #10 ranking, and 52-42 defeat of Baylor in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. Take a look at the video from UCF Athletics showing-off Coach O’Leary’s ring below. Congrats to the team and coaches. Photo Courtesy Orlando Sentinel.