What We Learned Against Buffalo

The Knights improved their home record to 2-0 with a 23-17 victory over the defending MAC Champion Buffalo Bulls. Let's see how our keys to the game played out.

Keys to the game for the Knights:

1. Pressure the quarterback. Jarvis Geathers accounted for three sacks and two forced fumbles, as he single-handedly supplied a much needed pass rush for the Knights.

2. Run the ball. UCF pounded the football on the ground in the second half as they gained 170 yards on the ground on 42 attempts. Brynn Harvey gained 98 yards on 25 carries and added two touchdowns, while quarterback Brett Hodges gained 71 yards on 13 attempts.

3. Hold Roosevelt in check. Naaman Roosevelt led the Bulls in receiving (and QB rating), but he wasn't too much of a factor as the Knights did a solid job of holding him to short gains. Roosevelt caught nine passes for just 77 yards.

4. Play the same brand of football. The offense clearly looks more under control with Brett Hodges behind center as he simply finds the open man and plays smart football. Hodges completed 15 of 20 passes for 141 yards and was a perfect 10 for 10 in the second half.

5. Win the turnover battle. The Knights won the turnover battle, 4-2, and that ultimately led to their 23-17 victory.

What to look for:

1. Look for the Knights to open it up a bit more. UCF had one long pass downfield (39 yards to Aiken), and they kept Buffalo guessing with play-action rollouts.

2. Look for Hodges for the entire game. There was never a thought about taking Brett Hodges out.

3. Look for some turnovers. There were six turnovers combined, four of which were forced by the Knights.

4. A mostly "white" crowd. The UCF faithful that were in attendance were clad in white, and it made for a sense of unity throughout "the cable box."

Predictions:

Naaman Roosevelt will have over 100 yards and a touchdown. Roosevelt fell short of that number with 77 yards receiving, but he did have a touchdown pass on a perfectly executed triple reverse wide receiver option.

The Knights will win. That happened as they scored 16 unanswered in the second half.

Kamar Aiken will have a big week. We're not sure about what he did from Sunday through Friday, but he came to play on Saturday. Aiken caught three passes for 53 yards, including a big 39-yard over the shoulder catch.

The Knights will hold Buffalo under 21 points. Check. That 21-point number seemed in jeopardy at halftime, but the Knights defense came to play in the second half and forced four turnovers in five possessions.