 "Photo: Photo courtesy of the Central Florida Future")
George O'Leary is probably hoping the 2005 football season treats him better than his initial campaign at the helm of the Golden Knights football program. The second-year UCF head coach is looking to wash out the bitter aftertaste of an 0-11 season with a major upset - in front of a national audience, no less - against USC.
"I think it's a great opportunity for the program. It's a national game against an SEC team with obviously a coach who has had a lot of success. We are looking forward to the game and the opening of the fall season. I think it's a great way to open up the season against an SEC opponent on national TV," O'Leary said in a Monday teleconference.
Last season was an aberration on O'Leary's otherwise impressive head coaching resume. The coach has, like new Gamecock head coach Steve Spurrier, had success in the ranks of major college football. O'Leary went 52-33 at Georgia Tech during seven-plus seasons and guided the Yellow Jackets to an ACC co-championship in 1998. Still, O'Leary's success, again like Spurrier's, was achieved at a different Southeastern school in a different decade. His Golden Knights return only 12 total starters from last season's dismal showing, allowing O'Leary the opportunity to remake the team he inherited from former coach Mike Kruczek.
Leading the way for UCF's inaugural season in Conference USA is junior returning starting quarterback Steven Moffett. The Winter Park, Fla., native threw for 1,721 yards and nine touchdowns last season, garnering him a completion percentage of 64.2 percent. His first-year statistics are comparable to those of another athletic UCF quarterback, NFL All-Pro Daunte Culpepper. Moffett's chief weapon will be explosive junior wideout Mike Walker of Orlando. Arguably the most athletic player on the team, Walker pulled double duty last season, starting at cornerback and eventually finding his way back to his natural position on the other side of the ball. Trying to fill the void left by four-year starter and UCF's all-time leading rusher, Alex Haynes, is certainly going to be an issue for the Golden Knight offense. UCF plans to run the ball by committee, with junior Dontavius Wilcox set to split time with the explosive freshman Kevin Smith.
While the 2004 season riddled the UCF defensive corps with nagging injuries, the Golden Knights look for the 2005 unit to stay healthy. The defense returns only five starters from last season, including junior cornerback Ron Ellis. The Palm Bay, Fla., product has played 18 games in two years with the program, most recently recording a career-high nine tackles against Kent State in the final game of the year. On the interior defensive line is Canadian tackle Keith Shologan. As a true freshman for the Golden Knights last year, Shologan started all 11 games and looks to create a presence on the inside for UCF's defense. The linebacking corps, however, is mostly young and loaded with freshmen.
"We signed eight linebackers (in the spring) for a reason because I thought probably as a unit and a position that's where we need the most help," O'Leary said.
The two teams are set to take the field at Williams-Brice Stadium on Thursday night at 7:45 p.m. If the game holds similar to the last time these two teams met in Columbia, ESPN should get their money's worth, as Carolina narrowly defeated UCF 33-31 in 1997. The Golden Knights have traditionally played SEC opponents relatively tough, going 1-9 in all-time play but with four of those losses being by 5 or less.
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