Dr. Blackwell's BLOG

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Today, officials from the St. Petersburg Bowl (8/19, 8pm on ESPN) offered the Scarlet Knights of Rutgers the Big East spot of the game to take on the UCF Knights! UCF was offered the Conference USA slot last week. The Scarlet Knights (8-4; 3-4 Big East) ended their regular season of play on Saturday with a close (24-21) loss to #16 West Virginia. UCF (8-4; 6-2 C-USA) finished their regular season with a defeat of the UAB Blazers (34-27) last Saturday. The way the two teams’ seasons ended, the UCF Knights will have an extra week under their belt to rest and prepare for final exams, which begin at UCF this week. Rutgers, on the other hand, immediately enters practice. Plus, the game will be in the middle of their final exam week. The Knights actually stack-up fairly well against each other:

– The Scarlet Knights rank No. 20 nationally in rushing defense (109 yards allowed per game), No. 42 in passing defense (203 yards allowed per game) and No. 19 in total defense (312 yards allowed per game).

– UCF ranks No. 4 nationally in rushing defense (83 yards allowed per game), No. 70 in passing defense (210 yards allowed per game) and No. 46 in total defense (348 yards allowed per game).

A big advantage for the UCF Knights is that the game is only 126 miles from their campus; and UCF has already sold over 12,000 tickets to the game, selling-out their student ticket allotment in just 2 days. Tickets for the St. Petersburg Bowl are cheap at only $30 (plus service fees and taxes) Tickets should be purchased only through the UCF Athletics Ticket Office (ucfbowl.com). This game is going to be exciting and it is going to be great to get the chance to cheer-on the UCF Knights one more time this year! GO BLACK & GOLD!!! BEAT RUTGERS!!!

 The UCF Knights football team has a post-season destination but their opponent is yet to be named. Sources close to the St. Petersburg Bowl (December 19th, 8pm on ESPN) have confirmed that the Knights will be given a bid to the Bowl today. UCF will hold a press conference at 2pm to accept the bid. UCF will play an opponent from the Big East Conference. As of now, their three possible opponents are Rutgers, Connecticut, and USF. The Big East concludes its regular season this Saturday so UCF may not learn which team they will face until after Saturday. The St. Petersburg Bowl is the second best bowl tie-in for Conference USA and carries a $1 million payout. Only the Liberty Bowl, which pits C-USA’s Champion against an SEC opponent, pays more at $1.7 million. The UCF Colleges of Nursing and Health & Public Affairs Alumni Chapters will hold a Tailgate Party for the event. More news to follow.Congrats to the Knights for securing C-USA’s second best bowl game!

  With their 34-27 victory against UAB, the UCF Knights football team finished their regular season with an astonishing 8 wins and 4 losses after a dismal 2008 4-8 record. The Knights played their final regular season game against the UAB Blazers, who were looking to secure their 6th win and attain bowl eligibility. UCF canceled all bowl hopes for UAB showing strong offensive and defensive fronts. Although UAB rallied late in the game (failing to take control of an on-side kick), the Knights held on to their lead and completed the season 8-4 (6-2 C-USA). UCF now awaits its bowl bid invitation, which should come by the week’s end. ESPN is predicting UCF will play USF in the St. Pete Bowl. And while the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl and EagleBank Washington, DC Bowls are also possible destinations, UCF officials seem to be pointing towards a St. Pete Bowl scenario. Head Coach George O’Leary has stated he hopes the St. Pete Bowl will extend the invite to the Knights squad and the team is also hoping for the chance to play a Big East opponent in St. Pete on December 19th. If the invites don’t come sometime this week, then the latest would be Saturday or Sunday after Conference USA names its Champion (ECU or Houston).

With their 49-0 victory against the Tulane Green Wave on Saturday, the UCF Knights secured a slot in one of Conference USA’s six bowl tie-in games. C-USA sends its Champion to play an opponent from the SEC in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl in Memphis, Tennessee. The other 5 bowl slots (Sheraton Hawaii Bowl in Oahu, HI; Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl in Ft. Worth, TX;   R+L Carriers Bowl in New Orleans, LA; St. Petersburg Bowl in St. Petersburg, FL; and the EagleBank Bowl in Washington, DC) are not distributed in any particular order with assignment partly-based on regional location. UCF projects its placement in either the R+L Carriers Bowl, St. Petersburg Bowl or the EagleBank Bowl:

 Super Dome; New Orleans, LA (12/20 @ 8:15 pm; ESPN): Pits UCF against the Sun Belt Champion, which is currently Troy State (8-3; 7-0 SBC).

 RFK Stadium; Washington, DC (12/29 @ 4:30pm; ESPN): Pits UCF against an opponent from the ACC. However, as of now, the ACC doesn’t have enough bowl eligible teams to make this bowl, allowing for an at-large selection.

 Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, FL (12/19 @ 8:15pm; ESPN): Pits UCF against an opponent of the Big East. Because of its close proximity to UCF, many are predicting this will be UCF’s bowl destination. It is also rumored that a UCF vs. USF (7-3; 3-3 Big East) matchup would also be quite attractive, not only guaranteeing a sellout, but re-kindling the Knights vs. Bulls rivalry.

Pre-orders for tickets have already begun. Log-on to ucfathletics.com to order tickets. Although tickets are pre-ordered, they will not be processed until the bowl has been assigned. Earlier reservations will result in better seats. Members of the Golden Knights Club are given priority seat selections. Orders must be placed by 12/4.

  The UCF Knights continued their season with another historic victory Saturday afternoon at Bright House Networks Stadium. After defeating their first-ever top-25 ranked opponent last week, UCF (7-4; 5-2 C-USA) handed the Tulane Green Wave a 49-0 loss, marking the first time the Knights have shut-out a Conference-USA opponent. UCF dominated both offensively and defensively. But it was the tough defense that forced several Tulane (3-8; 1-6 C-USA) turnovers that UCF capitalized on, yielding a whopping 28 points! The win brought the Knights their 7th victory of the season, which guaranteed them a slot in one of Conference USA’s six bowl tie-ins. Unfortunately, UAB’s loss to East Carolina secured the Pirates their place in the C-USA Championship game, ending the Knights’ chance of appearance. UCF plays its final 2009 regular-season game this Saturday at Alabama-Birmingham (5-6; 4-3 C-USA). Kickoff is @ Noon.

 The UCF Knights (6-4; 4-2 C-USA) will battle it out on the field for their final home game this Saturday at Bright House Networks Stadium. The Knights will take-on the Tulane Green Wave (3-7; 1-5 C-USA) who have been struggling this season in both in and out-of-conference play. The Knights are riding a high after knocking-off #13-ranked Houston (8-2; 4-2 C-USA), marking their first-ever defeat of a top-25 ranked opponent. UCF has had a successful 2009 football season and last week’s win made the Knights bowl eligible. Although the Knights have 4 losses, 2 of them came at the hands of top 10 teams (#9 Miami and #2 Texas). Although unlikely, if ECU loses their remaining 2 contests, the Knights will be in the C-USA Championship game. Early bowl projections have UCF taking-on USF in the St. Petersburg Bowl on December 19th. Kickoff this Saturday is set for 2:00pm. The UCF Colleges of Nursing and Health & Public Affairs Alumni Chapters will hold their final home Tailgating Party of the year in Lot E-6 from 10:00am-1:15pm. Let’s hope the Knights win their last 2 remaining games and end the season 8-4! GO KNIGHTS!!!

                                                                                     The UCF Knights (6-4; 4-2 C-USA) made UCF Football history Saturday afternoon in front of a proud and boisterous Homecoming crowd at Bright House Networks Stadium and a national audience on CBS. For the first-time ever in their football-playing history, the UCF Knights defeated a top-25 ranked-opponent. The Houston Cougars came into the game ranked #13 in the nation with an 8-1 record with BCS victories against such teams as Mississippi State, Northwestern, Oklahoma State, and Texas Tech. UCF had mediocre play during the first quarter and were down by 7 at the half. But proving that they are a second half team, the Knights’ defense rattled Houston’s Heisman Candidate QB Case Keenum and dominated the entire second half. Turnovers in both the first and second half of the game also crippled Houston. A couple last few minute quick plays and failed on-side kick attempts sealed Houston’s (8-2; 4-2 CUSA) fate. UCF still has a fighting chance of playing for the CUSA Championship game but needs ECU to lose 2 of their last remaining 3 games, starting today with their game against Tulsa on ESPN @ 8:15pm. UCF also needs to win their final 2 games of the season. The Knights final home game is Saturday against the Tulane Green Wave. Kickoff is @ 2:00pm. Today’s victory was not only historic for the Black & Gold, but it also confirmed the Knights’ bowl eligibility. (Photo coutesy Orlando Sentinel).

The UCF Colleges of Nursing and Health & Public Affairs invite you to our Homecoming Tailgate Party this Saturday starting at 8:30am on the Fairwinds Alumni Center area on Memory Mall. Come join us for some morning spirits and breakfast while we watch the Homecoming Parade and Festivities before heading into the stadium to cheer on our Knights against the #13 Houston Cougars. Contributions of food and drink always appreciated. See-you there…GO KNIGHTS!!!

The UCF Knights (5-4; 3-2 C-USA), playing under the gun of their second string quarterback Rob Calabrese and without lead running back Brynn Harvey, fell to the #2 Texas Long Horns (9-0; 5-0 Big 12) on Saturday. Although UCF scored first, their 3 points were followed by 35 unanswered Texas points. UCF struggled offensively while Texas put together quick passing plays which racked-up the points. The official reason for not starting QB Brett Hodges and RB Brynn Harvey was bruised ribs and a strained ankle, respectively. UCF now moves back into Conference USA action, playing three remaining C-USA teams starting Saturday with #13 Houston. Kickoff is set for Noon and the game will be nationally-televised on CBS.  The College of Nursing and Health & Public Affairs Tailgate Party will be in Memorial Mall, right next to the Fairwinds Alumni Center. The time is TBD. GO KNIGHTS!!! BEAT HOUSTON!!!

The UCF Knights (5-3; 3-2 C-USA) pulled off a major and last-minute victory against the Thundering Herd of Marshall (5-4; 3-2 C-USA) Sunday night in-front of a national audience on ESPN. Without competition from the NFL, the Knights had the only football game of the evening. Even though it was a late game on a Sunday night, nearly 36,000 fans attended the game and those that stayed until the last 2 minutes saw one of the biggest comebacks in UCF Football history! The Herd led 20-14 in the last 2:40 of the 4th quarter and took over on downs. Marshall looked destined to run out the clock and claim its first victory over the Knights since moving to Conference USA. But UCF’s defense had different plans. Junior Bruce Miller and freshman cornerback Josh Robinson gave UCF one last fighting chance.

Miller stripped the ball from Marshall Quarterback Brian Anderson and Robinson recovered on the Herd 30-yard line. UCF QB Brett Hodges dodged pressure on the ensuing series and took UCF all the way down to the 1-yard line with a 19-yard pass to Kamar Aiken. Hodges dropped back one more time, connecting with senior Rocky Ross for a 1-yard touchdown. Nick Cattoi hit the extra point and UCF pulled ahead of Marshall 21-20 with 23 seconds left in the game. Marshall started their final drive on their 48 yard line; but 3 incomplete passes and a sack sealed their fate and a UCF Knights victory! UCF moves up to 2nd place in Conference USA East and will venture into Austin, TX to take on the #2 Longhorns (8-0; 5-0 Big 12) at Noon on Saturday. The game will be nationally-televised on Fox Sports Network. WAY TO GO KNIGHTS!!! BEAT THE LONGHORNS!!!