The Orlando Sentinel from Orlando, Florida • C8

Orlando Sentinel: PRODUCT: OS DESK: SPT DATE: 11-06-2005 EDITION: FLA ZONE: FLA PAGE: C8.0 DEADLINE: 21.51 OP: rsimmons COMPOSETIME: 00.08 CMYK C8 Orlando Sentinel SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2005 UCF 31, HOUSTON 29 KNIGHTS ARE BOWL ELIGIBLE THE BUZZ CBS buying CSTV praised by commish Conference USA Commissioner Britton Banowskycan barely contain his excitement over news that CBS has agreed to buy College Sports Television, one of the league's key TV partners. CBS announced last week it is finalizing an acquisition of the 3-year-old network for $325 million, a deal expected to close in January. Banowsky is delighted for two reasons. First, CSTV's new owners have deep pockets. CBS is owned by media conglomerate Viacom.

Second, CBS might be able to leverage other assets such as MTV and Spike to get CSTV removed from the (higher-priced and lesser accessed) digital tier on cable systems across the country. "I think it's a win, win, win," Banowsky said. "A win for us, a win for CBS, a win for CSTV The viability issue is a non-issue now." Critics have said CSTV, which also has Internet assets, would not be able to sustain its TV business model because of the difficulty of getting games on basic cable. "Obviously, we already have a contract in place through 201 2, so we're looking for as much exposure for our schools as possible," Banowsky said. Ellis suspended CB Ron Ellis has been suspended indefinitely for a violation of team policy, UCF announced before the game.

The school did not disclose Ellis' violation. Ellis, a junior from Palm Bay, was at practice leading up to the game. Team spokesman Jason Baum was unsure whether Ellis would be permitted to practice during his suspension. Starting early Freshman OLB Cory Hogue made the first interception of his young career Saturday, and it extended UCF's streak of consecutive games with an interception to seven, second-longest in school history. Hogue's theft also snapped Houston QB Kevin Kolb's streak of passes without an interception at 1 23.

Final appearance? Thirteen seniors were introduced before their final scheduled home game: DE Paul Carrington, OLB James Cook, TE Darcy Johnson, DT Frisner Nelson, CB Anthony Willis, WR Brandon Marshall, Matt Prater, TE Antonio Eldemire, DE Glenroy Watkins, LB Mike Graham, John Brown, DB Mike Malatesta and RB Jeff Branham. Etc. Brown got his kicks in again when Prater missed two field-goal attempts (38 and 33 yards) in the first half. Brown then kicked extra points and 38-yard field goal at the end of the half Houston KTJ. Lawrence booted a career-long 50-yard field goal in the first quarter UCF QB Steven Moffett extended his streak of consecutive games with a touchdown pass to 1 2, tying for the second-longest streak in school history (with Vic Penn and Darin Hinshaw, who did it twice).

ALAN SCHMADTKE BOBBY COKERORLANDO SENTINEL UCF running back Kevin Smith is hoisted into the air by teammates after he scored the team's final touchdown Saturday night against Houston. Big crowd helps topple Cougars Hon UCF 20 26 27-138 54-220 313 275 19-30 21-30 1st downs Rush-Yds Passing C-A Int. Return Yds Punts Fumbles Pen-Yds Time 0 3-41 4-1 9-75 22:26 13 1-42 0-0 6-56 37:34 BOBBY COKERORLANDO SENTINEL UCF Coach George O'Leary signals for a timeout during the team's intense homecoming Conference USA game at the Florida Citrus Bowl on Saturday night. The Knights beat Houston 31-29. Second-guessing never felt so good for Knights FIRST QUARTER H0U FG Lawrence 50, 6:45.

Drive: 46 yards, 12 plays, 3:48. Key plays: Avery 1 3 pass from Kolb on third-and-10 from UCF's 21, Marshall 17 pass from Kolb to UCF's 27. UCF Marshall 5 pass from Moffett (Prater kick), :29. Drive: 77 yards, 3 plays, 6:16. Key plays: Smith 9 carries for 41 yards, Johnson 19 pass from Moffett to Houston's 21.

SECOND QUARTER UCF Walker2 pass from Moffett (Brown kick), 2:16. Drive: 58 yards, 10 plays, 4:09. Key plays: Moffett third-down completions for first down of 44 and 10 yards to Marshall. UCF FG Brown 38, :08. Drive: 40 yards, 7 plays, 1:26.

Key plays: Johnson 22 pass from Moffett, Marshall receptions of 14 and 12 from Moffett. THIRD QUARTER H0U Doty fumble recover in end zone (Bell kick), 12:34. Drive: 78 yards, 5 plays, 2:26. Key plays: Gilbert 42 run to UCF's 36, Koehl 23 pass from Moffett to UCF's 13. UCF Moffett 13 run (Brown kick), 8:40.

Drive: 80 yards, 9 plays, 3:54. Key plays: Marshall 27 catch-and-run on third- H0UST0N INDIVIDUALS WHITLEY FROM CI and-6 from UCF's 35, roughing the passer penalty on Rideau to move the ballto Houston's 14. HOU Alridge 54 pass from Kolb (kick failed), 2:07. Drive: 74 yards, 6 plays, 2:54. Key plays: Marshall 21 pass from Kolb, Kolb 8 scramble for first down on third-and-7.

FOURTH QUARTER HOU Gilbert 2 run (run failed), 10:20. Drive: 80 yards, 10 plays, 4:35. Key plays: Gilbert 38 yards on 5 carries, Briles 23 pass from Kolb, Avery 22 pass from Kolb. UCF Smith 2 run (Brown kick), 6:29. Drive: 18yards, 4 plays, 1:50.

Key play: Francis recovers punt muff from Marshall, Smith 14 run to 1 HOU Avery 76 pass from Kolb (Bell kick), 6:12. Drive: 80 yards, 2 plays, :17. Key play: None. UCF INDIVIDUALS "You know what? I didn't mind that. I wanted the chance to stop them because I thought we could do it," said defensive end Glenroy Watkins, one of 13 seniors playing his last home game.

They did. And they had help. Houston (4-4, 2-3 C-USA West) went backward for the first time in the second half, taking a sack and throwing three incompletions. Defensive coordinator Lance Thompson made a last-minute adjustment, moving Carrington to tackle for added speed. Some throats from above wereabonus.

"Honestly, it was crowd noise," Houston Coach Art Briles said of the Cougars' final-drive problems. "We changed the play at the line, and crowd noise made it to where some guys were running one play and some guys were running another." It was that kind of night. UCF's strange script fit the profile of five wirining ones that preceded it. The Knights came out fast at first, got run ragged in the second half and did just enough to hold on. They missed three field goals, kicking away a chance to blow the Cougars away in the first half.

They intercepted one pass in the first half after the ball bounced on cornerback Joe Burnett's back four times before linebacker Cory Hogue scooped it up. In the end, Steven Moffett (275 yards and two touchdowns passing) and UCF's ground game (220 yards) outgained C-USA's best offense (495 yards to 45 1) Curtis Francis made perhaps the biggest play by being in the right place at the right time. He raced to cover a punt inside the seven-minute mark. Houston's Vincent Marshall bobbled it right into Francis' hands at the Cougars' 18. The turnover led to Kevin Smith's 2-yard plunge for a 31-22 lead.

"You know, a game like this is exactly one we lost last year," Moffett said. "Last year we gave the ball back to Northern Illinois, and they drove down and beat us on the last play a field goal in UCF's 30-28 loss. It feels nice to have some proof we're getting somewhere." Alan Schmadtke can be reached at aschmadtkeorlandosentinel.com. By ALAN SCHMADTKE SENTINEL STAFF WRITER Someday even George O'Leary will forget the fake punt. He and everybody else in UCF's Golden Knights Nation can laugh about it and debate it with a sense of wonder, because UCF's defense did just enough right Saturday night to clinch something strange.

A wirining season. The Knights turned a muffed punt into a late touchdown, then finally found a way to stymie Conference USA's best offense at the end, escaping with a 31-29 homecoming triumph against Houston at the Florida Citrus Bowl. 'To go out this way in my final home game, man, this is really special," said senior defensive end Paul Carrington, who sacked Kevin Kolb on Houston's final possession. 'We've got a wirining season; we're bowl eligible. This is what we've been working toward doing." We'll leave the bowl speculation for another day.

Although six victories indeed make the Knights (6-3, 5-1 C-USAEast) eligible for postseason, there are no guarantees. Six other C-USA teams can become bowl eligible as well, and the only way UCF can assure itself of a bowl berth is by wirining the East. For now, the Knights wish they could bottle up Saturday night's atmosphere and take it on the road with them to UAB and Rice the next two weeks. An announced crowd of 32,635, the biggest home contingent in five seasons, made an impact. But only after being stunned by its coach.

Clinging to a 31-29 lead, UCF ground away most of the final 6 minutes, 5 seconds. After no gain third-and-1, it found itself facing fourth-and-1 at Houston's 44-yard line with 1 :29 to go. O'Leary had watched Kolb carve up UCF's defense for 313 yards passing and 26 second-half points, and he didn't want the third-year starter to have the ball in his hands. So knowing a field goal beats his team, he called a fake punt. The ball was snapped to the up-back, James Cook.

Cook was stuffed for no gain. RECAP After not stopping Houston at all in the second half, UCF's defense forced three incomplete passes and recorded a sack on the Cougars' final series, securing the Golden Knights' 31-29 victory Saturday at the Florida Citrus Bowl. The defensive stand got rid of any second-guessing of UCF Coach George O'Leary, who called a fake punt at Houston's 44-yard line with 1:29 to play. UCF (6-3, 5-1 Conference USA East) landed bowl eligibility with the victory and seized the lead in the division just ahead of Southern Miss. The turning point UCF's Curtis Francis recovered a muffed punt for the second time in two weeks.

This one came on Vincent Marshall's muff at Houston's 1 8 and set up the Knights' final touchdown with 6 minutes, 29 seconds to play. Unsung heroes OLB Cory Hogue led UCF with eight tackles and picked off the first pass of his career in the first half. Key injuries WR Brandon Marshall limped off with an unspecified left-leg injury. He returned but clearly favored the leg. CB Johnell Neal has a mildly sprained right ankle.

Looking ahead UCF finishes the season on the road with consecutive trips to Birmingham, Ala. (vs. UAB this week) and Houston (vs. Rice next week). Final word "It was a good win and they've reached their goal.

Now we go out and set another goal." O'Leary, sideline thinking? "Oh my god," defensive end Paul Carrington said. He wasn't second-guessing his coach, but there was reason to be concerned. For one thing, the fake called for center Michael Buscemi to snap it to up-man James Cook. "Our snapper weighs about a Buck-80," Cook said. "Number 99 weighed about 340." Actually, Marquay Love is only 320.

But he overpowered Buscemi and led the charge that threw Cook back for a 1 -yard loss. On came the Cougars. "Those were probably the four scariest plays of my life," Carrington said. He made them much less frightening for UCF by sacking Kevin Kolb on first down. Three incompletions later, we all could turn our vengeful eyes to O'Leary and the fake punt.

"If you make it, you're a hero," he said. "If you miss it, you're a goat." O'Leary's a goat for calling the play. He's a hero for finally giving us something worth second-guessing. David Whitley can be reached at dwhitleyorlandosentinel.com. Hawaii, one more victory, and UCF should be a sure thing for a holiday trip.

If there were any bowl reps from Honolulu at the Florida Citrus Bowl on Saturday night, they had to be impressed. Houston isn't Texas, but the Cougars have one of the more perplexing offenses you'll ever want to defend. It's not often you see a 305-pound tackle named SirVincent Rogers line up at wideout. That kind of kookiness made the game so entertaining. That, and UCF's stunning metamorphosis from dump truck to Ferrari on offense.

OK, that might be overstating it a bit. But it's been so long since you didn't need a pot of coffee to make it through a Golden Knights game, hyperbole happens. That said, just what was O'Leary thinking? "Did you see their last two scores?" he asked. Yes, one was an 80-yard drive that took 4 minutes, 35 seconds. The other was an 80-yard drive that took 17 seconds.

That's why O'Leary was determined not to let Houston get the ball again. So what were other people on the UCF Player Atl Yds Avg Smith 28 99 3.3 Peters 14 49 3.5 Wilcox 5 54 10.4 Moffett 5 28 5.6 Cook 1 -1 -1 PASSING Player A I Yd Moffett 21 30 1 275 RECEIVING Player Atl Yds Avg Marshall 7 124 17.7 Johnson 6 91 15.2 Walker 4 37 9.3 Ross 3 21 7 Eldemire 1 6 6 DEFENSIVE STATISTICS Player UT TT Int. Sck Hogue 8 8 10 Ashley 4 4 0 0 Venson 3 4 0 0 Sandy 3 3 0 0 Reid 2 3 0 0 Carrington 2 3 0 2 Nelson 13 0 1 Richards 2 2 0 0 Cook 2 2 0 0 Douzable 12 0 1 Watkins 110 1 1 tackle: Neal, Johnson, Okammor, Williams, Welsh, Player All Yds Avg Kolb 11 59 3.1 Gilbert 8 82 10.2 Battle 6 18 3 Evans 2 6 3 PASSING Player A I Yd Kolb 19 30 1 313 RECEIVING Player All Yds Avg Marshall 6 73 12.2 Briles 4 36 9 Avery 3 111 37 Alridge 2 47 23.5 Harvey 2 40 20 Battle 1 5 5 Taylor 1 1 1 DEFENSIVE STATISTICS Player UT TT Int. Sck Schwartz 11 13 0 0 Lubojasky 7 8 0 0 Allen 6 8 0 0 Fontenette 6 6 10 Pope 4 6 0 0 Rideau 4 6 0 0 Koehl 4 4 0 0 Gaston 4 4 0 0 Pahulu 3 4 0 0 Love 3 4 0 0 Gonzales 2 4 0 0 Pree 3 3 0 0 Williams 2 2 0 0 Lee 2 2 0 0 Bassler 12 0 0 Wilson 12 0 0 1 tackle: Johnson, Lane, Everson, Hunt, Stewart, Burnett, Malatesta, Francis on UCF becoming bowl eligible ALAN SCHMADTKE 1 Sterling, Miller The Bottom Line: Next question: Can UCF get some help and win its division of C-USA?.