Dr. Blackwell's BLOG

The UCF Knights (9-4; 7-1 AAC Co-Champs) fell to the Wolfpack of NC State 34-27 on Friday night in the St. Petersburg Bitcoin Bowl, ending their season on a somewhat sour note. NC State’s talented quarterback Jacoby Brissett seemed to be able to scramble out of the Knights’ defensive pressure whenever he needed to. And the UCF offense struggled throughout the contest, with quarterback Justin Holman completing 291 passing yards, 3 TDs and 1 INT. But what really hurt UCF the most was a flat defensive play in the 3rd quarter. A late rally in the 4th quarter which saw UCF score 17 points wasn’t enough to put UCF past NC State. The game was televised nationally on ESPN. Below, watch highlights of the loss courtesy of ESPN:

The UCF Knights (9-3; 7-1 AAC) made HUGE national headlines on Thursday in their literal last-second defeat of the Pirates of East Carolina (8-4; 5-3 AAC) 32-30 in a nationally-televised matchup on ESPN in Greenville, North Carolina. The Knights’ victory came after what could only be called a complete fourth-quarter meltdown. UCF was in the lead 26-9 when the Pirates rallied back hard to score three back-to-back touchdowns. ECU was poised to win the game 30-26 and ran the clock down to just :10 before kicking the ball back to the Knights for their final drive of the game. Determined to never give-up, UCF’s quarterback Justin Holman hit Josh Reese for a 14-yard gain before setting up the 51-yard bomb of a hail Mary pass to receive Reshad Perriman, who reached over the hands of 3 ECU defenders and marched right into the end zone to give the Knights their winning score. The win resulted in UCF sharing the title of American Athletic Conference Football Champion with the University of Cincinnati Bearcats and Memphis Tigers (due to only having 10 team members, the AAC is ineligible to hold a conference championship game). On Sunday evening, UCF accepted an official invite to participate in the 2014 Bitcoin Bowl in St. Petersburg. That game will start at 8pm on December 26th and will be televised nationally on ESPN. Below, check-out Justin Holman’s breath-taking hail Mary pass to Reshad Perriman, sealing the Knights’ victory against ECU and their crown as AAC Football co-Champions:

Photo Courtesy Orlando Sentinel.

The UCF Knights (8-3; 6-1 AAC) gave their rivals the USF Bulls (4-8; 3-5 AAC) their first-ever home field shutout in school history on Black Friday, winning 16-0 in-front of 31,000 fans (the majority of whom packed the stadium wearing Black and Gold to support the Knights) at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. Although UCF gave USF a handful of scoring opportunities, the Bulls failed on every attempt. This included two 4-1 scenarios in addition to a number of UCF turnovers. UCF, on the other hand, dominated defensively throughout the matchup. UCF got its scoring done in the first half with receivers Breshad Perriman and Rannell Hall, who both scored touchdowns — the only two of the game – in the second quarter. The only two points UCF scored during the second half came from a safety. UCF now moves on to play its final game of the regular season against East Carolina (8-3; 5-2 AAC) who will undoubtedly give the Knights their greatest competition in the second half of their season. The Pirates are coming off of a 49-32 win against Tulsa (a team that fired its head coach Bill Blankenship on Monday). ECU dropped two conference games (against Temple and Cincy) this season and are ineligible to be crowned conference champions. However, if the Knights win, they will more than likely share the title with Cincy and Memphis, who secured its share of the AAC Title with their win over UCONN Saturday. Kickoff for UCF at ECU is set for 7:00pm. The game will be nationally-televised on ESPN. Below, watch highlights of UCF’s 16-0 shutout of rival USF courtesy of ESPN. Photo Courtesy Orlando Sentinel.

The UCF Knights (7-3; 5-1 AAC) pummeled the Mustangs of SMU (0-10; 0-6 AAC) 53-7 in-front of a rain-soaked crowd of just 31,000 at Bright House Networks Stadium on Saturday.

Per the Orlando Sentinel: The veteran defense and special teams unit helped the Knights force a season-high five turnovers and limited SMU to just 116 total yards, a UCF opponent’s lowest output since 2009. Equally damaging, the Knights allowed the Mustangs just four first downs during a rain-drenched, three hour and 17 minute game before an announced attendance of 30, 920 fans. UCF’s defense has held its past two opponents to just 14 points and limited an opponent to less than 10 points three times this season. The Knights collected just 47 team tackles to SMU’s 97 because the UCF offense dominated the clock with 40 minutes of possession time to the Mustangs’ 19.

The Knights move on to preparations for what many fans consider to be the biggest game of the season–Saturday’s Noon matchup against rival USF (4-7; 3-4 AAC). USF has struggled all season and are coming off a 31-20 loss to Memphis, a team that currently shares the top-spot of the American Athletic Conference alongside UCF and Cincy. UCF vs. USF will take place at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida on ESPN2. There is currently a 0% chance of rain with a \ high of 70 degrees. Below, check-out video highlights of UCF’s 53-7 win over SMU courtesy of ESPN:

The UCF Knights (6-3; 4-1 AAC) took care of the Golden Hurricane of Tulsa (2-8; 2-4 AAC) handily Friday night 31-7 on a matchup that was broadcasted nationwide on ESPN2. The Knights started off slow, scoring just 3 points in the entire first quarter (after taking Tulsa to the red zone 3 times). But UCF turned on the heat for the rest of the game, holding Tulsa to just 7 total points. Quarterback Justin Holman was 6-of-27 passing for 291 yards, zero interceptions and three touchdown passes to J.J. Worton, Breshad Perriman and Josh Reese. Reese hauled in a 77-yard touchdown reception, the ninth longest in school history. Bright House Networks Stadium wasn’t quite as packed as usual with only 36,000 fans on hand to watch the game; the loss to UCONN two weeks ago took its toll on attendance. But the Knights should have a nice packed stadium when they play their final home game next Saturday against SMU. The Friday after that, the Knights travel to Raymond James Stadium to take on their rival USF, who has been struggling this season. The Knights now sit on-top of the American Athletic Conference along with Memphis (6-3; 4-1 AAC) and Cincinnati (6-3; 4-1 AAC).  Photo and excerpts courtesy Orlando Sentinel.

14 years ago on this date, my dad and I witnessed UCF Football History as the Knights toppled the Crimson Tide of Alabama! That is an afternoon I will remember for the rest of my life! GO KNIGHTS!!! Watch the game-winning field goal below:

The UCF Knights (5-2; 3-o AAC) took care of business on Saturday, defeating the Owls of Temple (4-3; 2-2 AAC) 34-14 in-front of close to 40,000 fans who showed-up to Bright House Networks Stadium to celebrate UCF’s Homecoming. The Knights’ offensive unit finally played a solid 60-minutes of football, amassing a season-high 466 yards. QB Justin Holman was responsible for 336 of those yards, surpassing his play against BYU two weeks ago. Holman was 25 of 39 passes and didn’t throw a single interception the entire game. The UCF defense was also stellar, holding Temple to just one touchdown drive the entire game. Players credited the crowd, “The crowd was amazing,” said defensive lineman Miles Pace, who recorded one of UCF’s four sacks. “They played a big part on our defense especially when we were backed up on our goal line. The crowd is loud so it gets the offense rattled so they won’t be able to get a play off so the quarterback or the center couldn’t get the snap count so they played a big part on our defense.” UCF is now 11-0 in their last 11 contests in the American Athletic Conference as they move into a much colder environment to face the Huskies of UCONN this Saturday. The low for the game is expected to be 40 degrees; and the forecast predicts some rainy or snowy conditions. And although UCONN is 1-6 without a single conference win all season, they are coming off a very close 31-21 loss to #21 East Carolina. Kickoff for the UCF @ UCONN game is set for Noon and the game will be nationally-broadcasted on CBS Sports Network. The Knights are favored to beat the Huskies by 11.5 points. Below, check out video highlights of UCF’s victory over Temple, courtesy of the American Athletic Conference:

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: