UCF prepares for big game versus BYU

Two big moments happened in the past week that could make UCF’s season more optimistic, especially against BYU. Now a big win and a sudden injury of a key opponent could help UCF’s fortunes.

The moment Brandon Alexander punched the ball out of Houston quarterback Greg Ward Jr.’s hands to seal a 17-12 win, Knights fans contracted a case of déjà vu. The Knights’ how-did-he-do-that hero of the night had just struck again.

In two games, in two seasons, against the same team, the game came down to a five-point gap, less than 30 seconds to go, Houston driving toward a go-ahead touchdown attempt in the end zone, and Alexander leaping in to save the day.

As the horizontal Ward’s ball hand reached toward the goal line, Alexander punched the ball, causing a fumble that bounced into the end zone and out of the sideline. In an instant a play that seemed like a sure touchdown became a nightmare for Houston and jubilation for the Knights. They got the ball and, a few seconds later, the win.

It had been hard fought, with the Knights struggling to find yards and coming up with 127 on the ground and only 101 in the air. Houston had responded with 117 on the ground and 214 passing. Both teams had unusually bad third down conversion rates, with the Knights only converting 36 percent of theirs.

But the Knights’ big story could be their shutdown defense, which didn’t let Houston into the end zone once, despite all of that yardage. Houston QB John O’Korn’s two interceptions helped. Jaryl Mamea’s four quarterback hurries and three tackles for losses that set Houston back 29 yards helped too.

"I thought, except for a couple series, the back end played very well today and tackled well," UCF Head Coach George O’Leary told UCFKnights.com after the game in Houston.

The win heralded the return of the heart-attack kids from last season who escaped from half of their games only by late-game heroics to pull out unlikely wins in the final minutes.

It also put the Knights closer to the driver’s seat in the American Athletic Conference as one of the season’s first conference game winners. They’re now at No. 4 in the AAC with their combined 2-2 overall and 1-0 conference records.

They’ll play their final non-conference game of the season tonight, Oct. 9, and one of the most anticipated games of the season, when BYU comes to town. The Cougars are 4-1 coming off a 35-20 upset loss to Utah State last week.

That loss may have largely been due to the injury of BYU’s star quarterback Taysom Hill, who had thrown for more than 300 yards and three touchdowns per game leading into the USU contest, in which the Cougars were three-touchdown favorites.

Hill suffered a broken leg in the second quarter, which is expected to sideline the Heisman Trophy contender for the rest of the season.

The Cougars had scored more than five touchdowns per game under Hill. After he left the USU game with the Cougars leading 14-7, they never entered the end zone again.

BYU’s backup quarterback Christian Stewart came into the game having thrown only two passes in his college career. He would go 10-for-29 with three interceptions, finishing the game with a passer efficiency rating roughly one-third of Hill’s 178. One of those interception returns would be the second longest play Stewart was involved in that day.

Stewart is expected to lead the Cougars against the Knights, giving the Knights a big shot at defeating the recently ranked No. 18/19 Cougars, who were dropped from the rankings after the USU loss.

For the Knights, who haven’t been ranked all season, a win could be a big boost. Coming off two straight victories, the Knights have the momentum in their favor, even if they’ve never beaten BYU.

The game kicks off at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 9 at Bright House Networks Stadium, televised on ESPN.