Football Game Notes - The Conference USA Championship Game vs. Tulsa
Nov. 28, 2005
UCF Game Notes in PDF Format
ORLANDO - The West Division champion Tulsa Golden Hurricane (7-4, 6-2) will meet the East Division champion UCF Golden Knights (8-3, 7-1) on Saturday, Dec. 3 at the Florida Citrus Bowl in the inaugural Conference USA Football Championship game. ESPN will televise the championship game live beginning at Noon EST. After losing its first two games of the season, the resurgent Golden Knights won eight out of nine games over nine consecutive weekends to win Conference USA's Eastern Division championship. UCF capped off its remarkable run with a 31-28 victory at Rice on Nov. 19 to close out the regular season. The Golden Knights rallied from a 12-point halftime deficit and outscored the Owls 22-7 in the second half for the thrilling victory. The UCF ISP Sports Network begins pregame coverage with a two-hour show prior to kickoff. The "Voice of the Golden Knights," Marc Daniels, will handle the play-by-play duties while Gary Parris provides color commentary and Jerry O'Neill patrols the sidelines. The radio broadcast is also available at ucfathletics.com.
A Remarkable Turnaround O'Leary is no stranger to turning around the fortunes of a football program. Inheriting a team which posted a 1-10 record in 1994 at Georgia Tech, O'Leary directed the second-best turnaround in the nation in 1995 as the Yellow Jackets finished the season 6-5.
Change in the Right Direction UCF secured the best turnaround in Conference USA history after its 27-21 victory at UAB on Nov. 12. NCAA All-Time Most Improved Teams Team (Year) - Games 1. Hawaii (1999) - 8.5 2. UCF (2005) - 8.0 2. Stanford (1940) - 8.0 4. South Carolina (2000) - 7.5 * To determine games improved, add the difference in victories between the two seasons to the difference in losses, then divide by two.
One-Year Turnaround Prior to UCF, South Carolina was the last team to go from a winless campaign to bowl eligible a year later. In 1999, the Gamecocks went 0-11 before going 8-4 in 2000 under head coach Lou Holtz.
First in NCAA History Road Warriors Southern Miss was the last team to play seven games on the road and reach a bowl game in 2000. The Golden Eagles finished the season 8-4 and ended the season with a win over TCU in the GMAC Bowl. The Golden Knights had seven games on the road in 2005.
Series Notes Kragthorpe served as offensive coordinator at Northern Arizona in 1993, the same season Tim O'Leary, son of George, lettered as a free safety for the Lumberjacks. UCF's game vs. Tulsa will mark the first time in school history the Golden Knights have played a team from the state of Oklahoma.
Best Conference Record Ever
Gaining National Attention O'Leary Named National Coach of the Year by Two Prominent Web Sites O'Leary has led UCF to one of college football's greatest turnarounds in NCAA history as the Golden Knights went from 0-11 a year ago to 8-3 and Conference USA Eastern Division champions in 2005. O'Leary was named the Bobby Dodd National Coach of the Year in 2000 while he was head coach at Georgia Tech. He is the first coach in UCF history to be named national coach of the year by any media outlet.
Winning the Close Games
Turnovers Key to Turnaround In the eight wins, UCF has outscored the opposition 132-69 in the first half, including a 75-17 advantage in the first quarter. In the Golden Knights' three losses, UCF has been outscored 83-10 in the first half.
Running Wild in Conference USA
Interception Streak Continues The Golden Knights have 18 interceptions in their last nine games, including 12 in their last five games.
24-K Gold He ranks sixth in the NCAA in rushing yards for a true freshman with 868. He is also tied for sixth in 100-yard games for a true freshman with three. Smith's 164 yards in the Memphis victory is the 16th-highest total by a true freshman in the nation this season in a single game.
4th Down Success
Three Straight Comebacks on the Road UCF overcame its largest halftime deficit of the season (12 points) for its first win of the year when trailing at halftime in the Rice game. The Golden Knights were 0-3 in 2005 when trailing at the break before rallying for the 31-28 victory against the Owls. Rice led 21-9 at the half.
A Winning Season Away from Home Only one other team in UCF's Division I-A history has won four games in one season away from home. The 1998 team, led by senior quarterback Daunte Culpepper, won four games on the road.
Eight Wins and Counting Only the 1998 team had more victories in a season than this year's squad.
Walker Out for C-USA Championship Game Walker caught two key fourth quarter touchdowns vs. East Carolina to seal the 30-20 victory. He was named C-USA's Offensive Player of the Week for his efforts vs. the Pirates. Walker leads UCF with nine touchdown receptions in 2005. He is eighth in UCF single-season history with the nine touchdown catches.
No Ordinary Joe Burnett recorded his first two career interceptions in the Tulane victory. It marked the first time since 1997 that a true freshman tallied an interception for UCF (Damian Demps vs. NE Louisiana on Nov. 1, 1997). Burnett's two interceptions came in the fourth quarter vs. the Green Wave, including a pick in the end zone to secure the victory. Burnett is also tied for second in UCF single-season history with five interceptions. The five interceptions are the most by a single player in UCF's Division I-A history.
Smith Second in UCF History
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