STRENGTHS
UCF has the potential to field an explosive offense, led by emerging sophomore QBRyan Schneider. Last year, he passed for more yards as a freshman than Daunte Culpepper, while leading the Golden Knights to a huge upset road victory over Alabama. Primarily a pocket passer with just adequate arm strength, Schneider's strengths are his leadership qualities and sound decision-making ability.
|
Golden Knights at a glance
|
|
2001 schedule
Sept. 1 at Clemson
Sept. 8 at Syracuse
Sept. 15 vs. La Lafayette
Sept. 22 at Tulane
Sept. 29 at Virginia Tech
Oct. 6 vs. UAB
Oct. 13 vs. Liberty
Oct. 20 vs. Louisiana Monroe
Oct. 27 at Utah State
Nov. 3 vs. Akron
Nov. 10 at Arkansas
2000 results (7-4)
at Georgia Tech L 21-17
Northwestern St. W 19-7
at Akron L 35-24
William & Mary W 52-7
at Eastern Michigan W 31-10
at Northern Illinois L 40-20
Eastern Kentucky W 34-3
Louisiana Monroe W 55-0
at Alabama W 40-38
at Louisiana Tech W 20-16
Virginia Tech L 44-21
|
The Golden Knights hope to mix in a more impressive rushing attack, led by cat-quick and shifty senior Terrance Williams and bruising redshirt freshman Alex Haynes. Williams was the juco Player of the Year in '98 after averaging over 200 yards rushing per game at Hinds Community College; he redshirted last season at UCF due to an ankle injury.
Senior DT Josh McKibben keys the defense. Last season he recorded 80 tackles, including 14 stops behind the line and five sacks. Also watch out for junior DE Elton Patterson. He's coming off a 10-sack campaign, giving the Golden Knights an excellent inside-outside tandem along the front four. At MLB, senior Tito Rodriguez averaged 13.4 tackles per game last season (second in the nation). UCF is also solid in the deep patrol, led by cover corners Travis Fisher and Asante Samuel.
QUESTIONABLE AREAS
For Schneider to have continued success throwing the football, everything must fall into place at wide receiver. Depth could be a problem behind reliable junior Jimmy Fryzel. Since Schneider is not a scrambler, the offensive line, led by underrated senior OG Willie Comerford, has to be up to the task each week. Defensively, there is a noticeable lack of depth at DE and LB, so if any injuries occur you could see a definite drop in performance level.
Overview: UCF finished last year with a solid 7-4 record, but even more impressive was the upset of Alabama on the road and the hard-fought battle against Georgia Tech. Tech had to score a pair of TDs in the last four minutes, including one in the final 38 seconds, to pull out a 21-17 victory. Mike Kruczek and his staff hope that the confidence gained from the effort against Georgia Tech and Alabama will help UCF through a brutally tough schedule.
Folks, it starts out tough and continues that way through the rest of the campaign. UCF opens with four of five games on the road, against the likes of Clemson, Syracuse, Tulane and Virginia Tech. They finish on the road against Arkansas. Offensively, Schneider proved he can get the job done at a high level, but WRs must emerge for the progress to continue. The running game, which has some potential, could provide a nice boost.
Defensively, UCF has talent -- led by McKibben, Patterson, Rodriguez and Fisher -- but depth is a major problem, particularly at DE and LB. While the overall talent level at UCF appears to be better across the board than it was during the Daunte Culpepper era, it likely won't show up in terms of the won-loss record this season because of the brutal road schedule. UCF also faces a talent-laden Alabama-Birmingham squad at home Oct. 6. That game should provide a good barometer as to where the Golden Knights stand.
