The Kansas State Wildcats moved to 3-0 on the season last week with a win over Iowa State. The game was not flashy, but it did show what the Wildcats are working with as a team and what they must improve upon.
Thus far into the season the offense has been rolling for the most part. Daniel Thomas has set a pace that would break Darren Sproles‘ single-season rushing record, and the Wildcat receivers—especially Brodrick Smith—have proven that they are not the worst receiving core in the Big 12 (as predicted by some “experts”).
K-State looks to continue their solid start to the 2010 season with a test against the University of Central Florida from Conference USA. This UCF team is not a weak opponent, but they are not an over-the-top elite team, either. The fact is they are a dangerous team and with Nebraska coming up the week after, this has all the makings of a dangerous trap game for K-State.
A look at the Knights
This UCF team is not afraid to play BCS-level opponents. Last season the Knights played both Miami (FL) and Texas in its non-conference schedule. The Knights finished the season 8-5, ending with a 24-45 loss to Rutgers in the St. Petersburg Bowl.
The Central Florida Knights are led by head coach George O’Leary. O’Leary, at one time, was a very successful coach at Georgia Tech. He left Georgia Tech for Notre Dame in 2001 but was fired shortly after when it became apparent that he had lied on his resume. It was also reported that under his time at Georgia Tech there were ineligible players suiting up for the Yellow Jackets, but it was proven not to have been known by O’Leary or his staff. O’Leary has since redeemed himself at UCF.
Since joining UCF, the Knights have performed well on and off the field. In 2005 the Knights had one of the highest GPA’s in the nation. In 2004 they set an NCAA record with a 2.78 team GPA, only to break that record with a team GPA of 2.808 in 2005. UCF’s on-field performance has been nearly as good. In his time with the Knights, O’Leary has already collected two division titles to accompany his conference title in 2007. The Knights have also participated in three bowl games in the past five seasons, including last year.
The Knights started the season off strong with a win over South Dakota—the same South Dakota team that defeated Minnesota 38-7 in week two. The Knights then went on to lose a tough game against North Carolina State 28-21, but rebounded nicely against Buffalo, winning their first road game 24-7.
The defense for the Knights has been superb, as expected, but the offense has struggled. UCF had a solid running back last season in Brynn Harvey, who rushed for over 1,000 yards, but he was injured in the spring and will be forced to sit out this game. Instead, the Knights will have to make due with a new halfback. Jonathon Davis has attempted to fill the hole, but has struggled by only running for 149 yards on 44 carries (3.4 yards per carry). He was held to 10 yards rushing against Buffalo last week.
UCF on Offense
The Knights offense is relatively inexperienced and is very young. The offense only has two seniors (OT Jah Reid and WR Kamar Aiken), however they do return a strong core of offensive lineman, and they feature a freshman quarterback that has Knights fans raving.
Jeffrey Godfrey (5’11″ 182 lb, true freshman quarterback) will be the starting quarterback for the Knights on Saturday. He has surpassed expectations and passed junior Rob Calabrese for the job. Godfrey is one of the most highly-touted recruits to come to UCF and he has not disappointed. Through three games he is the team’s second-leading rusher and he has been a very efficient passer, completing 68.3% of his passes. Godfrey was named the Florida 6A player of the year as a high school senior.
Jonathon Davis (5’9″ 200 lb, true sophomore halfback) has gotten the majority of the carries this season in the absence of Harvey. He has not performed particularly well, only gaining an average of 3.4 yards per carry, and was held to just ten yards rushing against Buffalo. However, he is a good solid power-back that can be used in third-and-short situations. Look for speedsters Brendan Kelly and Ronnie Weaver to get more touches this week than last week against Buffalo. The loss of Harvey is huge for the Knights.
The wide receiver corps for the Knights has been fairly balanced thus far this season. AJ Guyton (5’11″ 196 lb, redshirt junior) leads the team in receptions with 12 this season. He started half of the games last season for the Knights, catching 44 passes (first on the team) for 572 yards (second on the team). Kamar Aiken (6’2″ 219 lb, senior) led the Knights in receiving yards last season with 610 as well as touchdowns with nine. He also ranked second on the team in receptions with 36. Aiken is one of the offense’s two senior starters and is possibly its biggest playmaker. This season he has 10 receptions for 136 yards. The third receiver putting up numbers for the Knights is Brian Waters (6’2″ 197 lb, redshirt senior). Waters was projected as a bench player, with Quincy McDuffie (5’10″ 177 lb, true sophomore) being a starter, but has already put up more catches and yards then he did all of last season after being the team’s leader in receptions and yards in 2008. The Knights have a speedy and dangerous receiving corps, full of depth and experience.
The offensive line for the Knights is another experienced unit. They return four starters, including Jah Reid (6’7″ 324 lb, redshirt senior). Reid was a first team Conference USA performer last year and this is his third year as a starter. In 2007 he was named to the Conference USA all-freshman team. The Knights also return Theo Goins (6’4″ 314 lb, redshirt sophomore). Goins started five games last season and was named to the Conference USA all-freshman team.
Overall the Knights offense features plenty of talent, but has not yet found their grove. Their star player is injured and a true-freshman is leading the offense. This will be his first true road test against a loud Big 12 crowd. However, the Kansas State defense has struggled to pressure opposing quarterbacks this year and with Godfrey being a scrambler with a big experienced line blocking for him, he may have some surprises in store.
UCF on Defense
The defense has been the backbone of the UCF team, at least thus far. They held NC State to only 28 points and they held Buffalo and South Dakota to a combined 17 points. Unlike Iowa State, UCF has had tremendous success stopping the run. So far this year they have not allowed a 100-yard rusher, and last season the Knights ranked fourth nationally against the run. They have returned seven starters from that defense.
The defensive line returns Bruce Miller (6’2″ 248 lb, redshirt senior). Miller was named the Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year last season after he accumulated the fifth-most sacks in the nation with 13. Miller ranks ninth all-time in the state of Florida in sacks with 28. He has looked very good this season, already with 11 tackles, a sack, and an interception through the first three games. David Williams (6’2″ 241 lb, redshirt senior) also returns for the Knights. Thus far he has 11 tackles—two for loss—and a sack. The line did lose a star in Torell Troup (second-round draft pick in last year’s NFL draft) but has filled the hole very well with Victor Grey (6’4″ 263 lb, redshirt freshman). Grey has eight tackles this season including two-and-a-half for loss. The most impressive defensive newcomer for the Knights has been Darius Nall (6’3″ 246 lb, redshirt junior). He currently leads the team in sacks with three, tackles for loss with four, and ranks fourth on the team in tackles with 15.
The linebacker corps is senior-laden for the Knights. Lawrence Young (6’0″ 233 lb, redshirt senior) currently leads the team with 18 tackles and has three tackles for loss. Young ranked third on the team in tackles last year and started 12 games. Derrick Hallman (6’0″ 222 lb, senior) is the emotional leader for this football team. He ranks third on the team this season in tackles with 16, has forced three fumbles, and has two-and-a-half tackles for loss. Last season he ranked second on the team with 85 tackles. Hallman was an all-conference freshman performer as well.
The secondary for the Knights is the only unit on defense that is young. They are led by Kemal Ishmael (5’11″ 206 lb, sophomore) and Josh Robinson (5’10″ 197 lb, sophomore). Both are true sophomores but Robinson was a 2009 second-team all conference USA selection as well as being on the all-freshman team. Ishmael so far is the team’s second-leading tackler with 17. Robinson leads the team in pass breakups with three.
The defense as a whole will be the best unit Kansas State has faced so far this season. They are a senior-led group who know how to play. Their biggest weakness is that the defensive line, while very talented, is a slightly undersized. Every one of Kansas State’s offensive linemen is over 300 lbs. On the other hand, none of UCF’s defensive linemen weighs in at over 275 lbs.
UCF on Special Teams
Nick Cattoli (6’5″ 215 lb, junior) returns as the kicker for the Knights. Last season Cattoli connected on 14 of 20 field goals, including five of seven from beyond 40 yards. This season Cattoli has hit two out of three field goals and is a perfect 11 for 11 on extra points. Blake Clingan (6’3″ 229 lb, senior) has been the punter for the Knights since his freshman year. So far this year he has averaged 40.3 yards per punt, including a long of 50.
Three Keys to a Wildcat Victory
- Stick to the Game Plan
The Knights have been superb against the run, but they have yet to see a back with the talent of Daniel Thomas. K-State can’t be cocky, thinking that they will run over UCF, but they need to be confident enough to believe that they can. - Get to the Quarterback
K-State struggled against Iowa State’s Austin Arnaud last week as he was able to run around and break tackles the entire game. K-State cannot do the same thing against a QB with similar skills. The Wildcats must get Godfrey to the ground and keep him in the pocket. - Hit Open Receivers
Carson Coffman has not played as poorly as some fans have said, but he has missed a lot of open receivers which might have led to scores. If UCF’s defense is as good as advertised K-State will need to be able to move the ball through the air.
The Prediction
UCF is a very solid team and with Houston quarterback Case Keenum out for the rest of the year the Knights might be the favorites to win Conference USA this season. However, they will be coming to a stadium with 50,000 fans ready to explode this week. The biggest concern for K-State is that this game represents a very possible trap game. K-State fans—most likely players as well—have been looking forward to the Nebraska game since the Cornhuskers announced that they would be leaving for the Big Ten. Nevertheless, the Wildcats should be able to stop the Knights offense relatively well as long as they can pressure the quarterback and can avoid long runs.
K-State wins 24-13.
