UCF
did manage to extend Buffalo’s winless streak to 16 games as they climbed on the
shoulders of Alex Haynes, Luther Huggins and Tavaris Capers in the 19-10 win.
Haynes set career highs with his 30 carries and 165 yards with 105 of that
coming in the first 30 minutes. Haynes is now on a pace to finish the year with
his second consecutive 1,000-yard season.
Capers’ 52-yard punt return in the third quarter and Huggins’ 68-yard kickoff
return proved to be the difference in the game. It also solidified Joe Robinson’s special teams squad as the “Wild Knights.”
Kruczek admires the job Capers has done for his ball club. “He's an exciting
little guy now. He's been very consistent for the most part fielding the
football. We've just got to continue to try and get him the ball on the
offensive side,” Kruczek said.
In
practices before last week’s game, Kruczek admits putting the pressure on
Huggins for some output. “We challenged him. You know I wasn't real happy about
his performance the week before. I made a comment about sticking someone else in
there but I gave him a chance and he responded very favorably.” Kruczek said.
“It's
great to be 2-3. Regardless of how pretty it is, how blood and guts it is, it
makes no difference to me,” Kruczek said.
UCF
used the same line of attack to get their first MAC win as they did last season
vs. Ohio. This performance marked the first time since last November to see the
Knights return a punt for a touchdown. Alphonzo Hopkins returned a blocked punt
two yards for the score last season. The Bobcats will also greet back the only
rusher in the past 25 games to put up 150 yards against them. Haynes notched 151
yards with one touchdown in that affair.
"To
go out and try and do what we did against Buffalo against them is going to be
very, very difficult. We're going to have to rely on other means, something
periodically throughout the game,” Kruczek said. This is because Ohio held one
of the nation's top backs in the nation, Michael Turner, to just 43 yards on 15
carries last week against Northern Illinois. “Their defense is definitely better
than a 1-4 defense. They're crossing everybody's fades. They're slanting
linebackers. They limit you in what you can do and they do a real good job with
it.”
Central Florida quarterback
Jon Rivera
(13) pitches out to tailback
Alex Haynes
(4) as he is hit by
Buffalo linebacker Rodney Morris
during the first half in Orlando, Fla., Saturday, Oct. 4, 2003. (AP Photo/Kevin
Kolczynski)
This
will prove to be a bigger challenge than once expected because Ryan Schneider is
still questionable, according to Kruczek. “Right now he's in a strength
training mode, Kruczek said. “He's going through range of motion with rubber
band treatments and real light weights.”
Even
if Schneider’s progress does not thrust him into the top slot, Kruczek has not
counted out the possibility of having him on the sidelines for emergency
purposes. Only 60 players are allowed on the team plane but Kruczek believes it
is invaluable to have him wearing pads attached to that number 17. “People draw
confidence off of him. He is our vocal leader,” Kruczek said.
Schneider also plays a role as a coach. “He was seeing the things I was
seeing,” Kruczek said. At one point in the game Schneider even told Kruczek to
keep pounding the ball at Buffalo.
“Very
few people believed we would actually run it the way we did,” Kruczek
explained. On the other side, Ohio has a heightened motivation because of past
experiences. “They played Northern Illinois off their feet at home and now
they're coming back home in front of their people. They're upset about the way
they finished the season last year against us in the Citrus Bowl (42-32 UCF).”
Kruczek said. “Nonetheless, they're going to have to play for 60 minutes.”
KnightsNews.com quick links:
5 Days Free!
Sample KnightsNews.com Total Access Pass at no
risk for 5 days, then pay only $7.95 per month. If you want to save 2 months
off the monthly subscription price, simply choose the annual KnightsNews.com
Total Access Pass at $79.95. Along with your annual Total Access Pass,
TheInsiders.com will throw in a subscription of the ESPN magazine.
Click Here to
Start your FREE Trial
Message Boards
Join in on the largest UCF Golden Knights community on the web.
Messages are posted here and this is the best place to interact with other
fans. |