Thunderstorms during the morning hours, then skies turning partly cloudy during the afternoon. High around 85F. Winds SSE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 70%..
Tonight
A few clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 68F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph.
Central Florida running back RJ Harvey rushes for a 48-yard touchdown during the second half of the Knights’ season-opener against Kent State on Aug. 31, in Orlando, Fla. The Knights have one of the top offenses in the country and its led by their explosive run game.
Central Florida running back RJ Harvey rushes for a 48-yard touchdown during the second half of the Knights’ season-opener against Kent State on Aug. 31, in Orlando, Fla. The Knights have one of the top offenses in the country and its led by their explosive run game.
When Kansas State hosts Central Florida on Saturday, college football fans will be treated to a battle in the trenches as one of the country’s best rushing attacks collides into one of the stoutest run defenses in the nation.
Despite some defensive hiccups through the first three games of the season, the Wildcats have consistently shut their opponents rushing attack down, allowing just 50 rushing yards per game or 1.38 yards per carry. That per-game average is good for third overall in the country and is tops in the Big 12 through three games, while the per-attempt average is fifth-best and second-best in the Big 12.
If you take away the two longest runs of the season (a Troy 46-yarder and a 36-yarder by Missouri), the Wildcats have given up just 68 yards this season through three games, less than 23 yards per game or .85 yards per carry.
Combine that with the anger and disappointment from last week’s loss and the start of conference play, and the Wildcat defense is locked in and ready.
“I just feel like a lot of the guys have a pissed-off focus this week going into this preparation knowing that it is conference play,” senior safety Kobe Savage said. “Knowing that we have nothing to lose but everything to gain this week.”
However, K-State’s defense has its biggest test of the season so far as the Knights tout statistically the best offense in the country, led by the the second-best rushing attack in the nation and the best in the Big 12.
UCF is averaging 299.3 yards per game on the ground, which is good for 6.37 yards per rush.
More than a fifth (30) of the Knights’ 141 rushing attempts have gone for 10 or more yards. UCF’s commitment to the run goes back to last season as the Knights put up at least 200 rushing yards per game in nine of their 14 games in 2022.
“You have to establish the run,” UCF coach Gus Malzahn said. “We’re a run play-action team, so we have to be successful in running the football. Now, that’s a big challenge, but that’s what we have to do if we want to have a chance to win the game.”
Leading that attack is the one-two punch of RJ Harvey and Johnny Richardson. Harvey, a 5-foot-9, 205-pound senior is averaging 79.7 yards per game so far this season which ranks sixth in the conference. Richardson, a 5-foot-7, 170-pound senior, is averaging 71 yards per game this season which ranks ninth in the conference.
The Knights are the only team in the Big 12 to have two backs rank in the top 10 in yards per game.
“They want to run the football,” Klieman said. “It’s just going to be lightning fast. We’re going to play a lot of plays and we’ve got to be able to get off the field when we have the opportunity to get off the field … You can’t let them off the hook, because if you miss them, you’re probably going to pay for it at the end of the drive…. The big challenge is staying disciplined.”
Add in sophomore quarterback Timmy McClain, who is also a capable runner with 65 yards on 11 carries in two games this season, and UCF has a multitude of ways they can attack a defense on the ground.
He’s elusive,” junior safety Marques Sigle said. “He can get out the pocket ... and he’s effective in the run game.”
The UCF passing game can also be very potent, meaning the Wildcats won’t be able to stack the box to slow the Knights’ down.
Even with a back-up quarterback, UCF still ranks just outside of the top-15 in the country in passing yards per game with 318.3.
One could quibble with the level of competition that the Knights have played so far this season — Kent State, Boise State and Villanova have not fared well against other FBS competition so far this season — but the numbers that UCF has managed are impressive against any opponent.
