2008 UCF Knights football team

2008 UCF Knights football

Conference	Conference USA
Division	East
2008 record	4–8 (3–5 C-USA)
Head coach	George O'Leary
Offensive coordinator	Tim Salem
Defensive coordinator	Dave Huxtable
Home stadium	Bright House Networks Stadium (Capacity: 45,323)

2008 Conference USA football standings
	Conf				Overall
Team		W		L		W		L
East Division
East Carolina x$		6	–	2		9	–	5
Memphis		4	–	4		6	–	7
Southern Miss		4	–	4		7	–	6
UAB		3	–	5		4	–	8
UCF		3	–	5		4	–	8
Marshall		3	–	5		4	–	8
West Division
Tulsa xy		7	–	1		11	–	3
Rice x		7	–	1		10	–	3
Houston		6	–	2		8	–	5
UTEP		4	–	4		5	–	7
Tulane		1	–	7		2	–	10
SMU		0	–	8		1	–	11
Championship: East Carolina 27, Tulsa 24
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll

The 2008 UCF Knights football team represented the University of Central Florida in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Their head coach was George O'Leary, in his fifth season with the team. For the second season, the UCF Knights played all of their home games at Bright House Networks Stadium on the school's main campus in Orlando, Florida. The Knights sought unsuccessfully to defend their Conference USA football championship.

Personnel

Recruiting class

Coach O'Leary and his coaching staff announced these people to the 2008 UCF Knights Football Team on Wednesday February 6, 2008; as it was the National Football Signing Day:
-- --- -- --- -- --- -- --- -- --- --

Athlete
Marquee Williams (Vanguard – Ocala, Florida)

Defensive Backs
Chad Keys (St. Paul's School – Covington, Louisiana)

Defensive Ends
Jarvis Gathers (Feather River C.C. – Andrews, South Carolina)
Robert Pritchard (North Gwinnett – Suwanee, Georgia)

Defensive Tackle
Theo Goins (Hightower – Fort Bend, Texas)
Chris Martin (Choctawhatchee – Fort Walton Beach, Florida)

Linebackers
Josh Linam (Tavares – Tavares, Florida)
Loren Robinson (Lyman – Longwood, Florida)
David Williams (Cardinal Gibbons – Ft. Lauderdale)

Offensive Lineman
Chad Hounshell (Lake Catholic – Mentor, Ohio)
Jarien Moreland (Glade Central Community – Belle Glade, Florida)
John Oliver (Troup – LaGrange, Georgia)
Steven Robinson (Lincoln – Tallahassee, Florida)

Running Backs
Brandon Davis (Peachtree Ridge – Suwanee, Georgia)
Brynn Harvey (Largo – Largo, Florida)
Vance King (Stockbridge – Stockbridge, Georgia)
Latavius Murray (Onondaga Central – Nedrow, New York)

Tight Ends / Hybrid Back
Brendan Kelly (Shoreham-Wading River – Shoreham, New York)
Kyle Madden (Harrison – Kennesaw, Georgia)

Quarterback
Rob Calabrese (East Islip – Islip Terrace, New York)

Offseason

On August 22, 2008, wide receiver Richard Jackson announced that he had completed his enrollment at UCF, completing a transfer from the University of Notre Dame. Jackson was a star prospect from East Ridge High School in nearby Clermont, Florida.^[1] He received a hardship waiver from the NCAA on September 5, giving him immediate eligibility.^[2]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 30	6:00 PM	S.C. State*	Bright House Networks Stadium • Orlando, Florida		W 17-0	42,126
September 6	7:00 PM	No. 17 South Florida*	Bright House Networks Stadium • Orlando, Florida (UCF–USF football rivalry)	ESPN2	L 24-31	46,805
September 20	1:00 PM	at Boston College*	Alumni Stadium • Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts	ESPNU	L 7-34	41,267
September 27	8:00 PM	at UTEP	Sun Bowl Stadium • El Paso, Texas	CBSCS	L 13-58	33,339
October 4	3:30 PM	SMU	Bright House Networks Stadium • Orlando, Florida	CBSCS	W 31-17	43,147
October 11	3:45 PM	at Miami*	Dolphin Stadium • Miami Gardens, Florida	ESPNU	L 14-20	40,011
October 26	8:00 PM	at No. 22 Tulsa	Chapman Stadium • Tulsa, Oklahoma	ESPN	L 49-19	30,000
November 2	8:15 PM	East Carolina	Bright House Networks Stadium • Orlando, Florida (Rivalry)	ESPN	L 10-13	40,202
November 8	3:30 PM	Southern Miss	Bright House Networks Stadium • Orlando, Florida		L 17-6	41,652
November 15	4:30 PM	at Marshall	Joan C. Edwards Stadium • Huntington, West Virginia	CSS	W 30-14	24,059
November 22	2:00 PM	at Memphis	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium • Memphis, Tennessee		W 28-21	18,836
November 29	1:00 PM	UAB	Bright House Networks Stadium • Orlando, Florida		L 0-15	23,644
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. ^#Rankings from Associated Press. All times are in Eastern Time.

Game notes

South Carolina State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bulldogs	0	0	0	0	0
Knights	0	7	0	10	17

The Knights began their season at home against South Carolina State. Making his first start at quarterback, Michael Greco had a difficult time trying to find his groove, completing 9-of-16 passing for 90 yards, and running 13 times for 57 yards. But the defense remained strong and carried the team, holding the Bulldog offense to less than 22 minutes of play time, with Jason Venson catching an interception.

South Florida

	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
#17 Bulls	10	0	14	0	7	31
Knights	7	3	0	14	0	24

Greco's struggles continued when the Knights hosted South Florida for the last match in their "War on I-4" rivalry. While the Bulls scored first, Joe Burnett answered back with a 91-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. The Knights defense held as well as they could, holding the Bulls to 10 points in the first half and allowing the Knights to tie the game going into halftime. However, the Knights had difficulty maintaining their discipline, and it cost them in penalties. The Knights had 12 penalties for 148 yards, one of which negated a touchdown on an interception in the second quarter.

Although it appeared the Bulls would begin to run away with the game, scoring two touchdowns in the third quarter, Michael Greco finally awoke toward the end of the fourth quarter, leading two touchdown drives in the final minutes of regulation to force overtime. However, they came up short on a fourth-down run on their turn, failing to answer a quick South Florida touchdown.

Although sluggish for most of the game, the Knights offense did not turn the ball over. After their first two games, UCF has a +3 turnover ratio.

The unanticipated struggles for the Bulls dropped them back to their preseason #19 ranking in the AP poll despite the win.

Boston College

	1	2	3	4	Total
Knights	0	7	0	0	7
Eagles	0	3	14	17	34

UTEP

	1	2	3	4	Total
Knights	0	7	6	0	13
Miners	10	17	14	17	58

SMU

	1	2	3	4	Total
Mustangs	10	0	0	7	17
Knights	3	7	14	7	31

Miami (FL)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Knights	0	7	0	7	14
Hurricanes	10	0	0	10	20

Tulsa

	1	2	3	4	Total
Knights	0	19	0	0	19
Golden Hurricane	7	7	21	14	49

East Carolina

	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Pirates	0	0	3	7	3	13
Knights	3	7	0	0	0	10

Southern Miss

	1	2	3	4	Total
Golden Eagles	0	7	7	3	17
Knights	6	0	0	0	6

Marshall

	1	2	3	4	Total
'Knights	10	10	3	7	30
Thundering Herd	0	7	7	0	14

See also: 2008 Marshall Thundering Herd football team and Marshall–UCF football rivalry

Memphis

	1	2	3	4	Total
Knights	14	7	7	0	28
Tigers	7	0	7	7	21

UAB

	1	2	3	4	Total
Blazers	3	6	3	3	15
Knights	0	0	0	0	0

References

↑ Brandon Helwig (August 22, 2008). "Jackson transferring to UCF". UCFSports.com via Rivals.com. Archived from the original on September 19, 2008. Retrieved August 25, 2008.
↑ "Football's Richard Jackson Cleared By NCAA". UCFAthletics.com. 2008-09-05. Retrieved 2008-09-08.

UCF Knights football

Venues	Citrus Bowl (1979–2006) Bright House Networks Stadium (2007–present)

Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Rivalries: Connecticut East Carolina South Florida

Culture & lore	Knightro "Charge On" Marching Knights

People	Head coaches NFL draftees Alumni Statistical leaders

Seasons	1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

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