UCF football plays it's first home Big 12 game of the season tomorrow against Baylor. The Knights are set to kick off with the Bears at 3:30 at the Bounce House. Here are some stats and storylines to follow this week.
1) Battle of the Trenches
UCF finds themselves with the third most rushing yards in all of FBS football, averaging 260.2 rushing yards per game. That puts the Knights up there with Air Force numbers, which runs the ball nine plays out of ten on average this season. However, UCF was able to pad those rushing stats a tad against inferior opponents. 389 rushing yards against Kent St., 258 against Boise St., and 251 against Villanova. Kent St. ranks 118 out of 130 in rushing defense, Boise St. comes in at 118, and Villanova doesn't qualify because they aren't FBS.
Kansas St. on the other hand currently ranks 8th in the country in rushing defense, only allowing 73 yards on the ground on average this season. The Knights were able to push the Wildcats to 143 yards, but it wasn't enough to come out with the victory. The biggest difference between the AAC and the Big 12 in my eyes is the offensive line and defensive line matchups. The UCF O-Line has to clear space for playmakers such as R.J. Harvey and Johnny Richardson in order to make the magic happen. On the other side, you have to pressure the opposing quarterback. UCF only reach Kansas St. QB Will Howard for a sack one time last week. Big emphasis this week against a lesser Big 12 opponent.
2) Starters must elevate to assists McClain
UCF head coach Gus Malzahn explained how starters have to step up their game to help best assists second-string QB Timmy McClain when addressing the media earlier this week. That points to the O-line giving Timmy time in the pocket to avoid sacks and negative plays, running backs not fumbling the ball, and receivers finishing plays through the air. Timmy is a capable QB and "can throw the ball as far as anyone" according to Malzahn, but he needs to find that groove on offense. Lousy turnovers and dropped balls will be the death of the Knights hopes for a win. We saw it last weekend against Kansas State, and it's the main reason Boise St. came down to a game-winning Colton Boomer field goal despite 530 yards of total offense in the game.
3) These two coaches are fairly familiar
Jeff Grimes serves as offensive coordinator for the Baylor Bears, so he will be attempting to out-scheme Malzahn and the UCF defenses. Although these two will be enemies on the sideline this weekend, they used to work together to win. Malzahn and Grimes both joined the Auburn coaching staff before the 2009 season - Malzahn as offensive coordinator, and Grimes as offensive line coach. They worked together for a few seasons - even winning a National Championship in 2010. Surely they know information about each other's offenses even all of these years later and in a different system right? I guess we'll see.
Do with this info what you will. Enjoy the game, GKCO.