Knights focus on penalty problems
UCF was flagged 19 times for 139 yards in rout against ECU
UCF scored 51 points, amassed 632 yards and forced four turnovers during its rout of East Carolina Saturday, but it’s the number 19 — as in 19 penalties for a loss of 139 yards — that stands out for Knights coach Josh Heupel.
“We’ve got to get that corrected,” Heupel said. “It’s a huge part of the football game, making the situations tougher for us offensively and defensively. The pre-snap, post-whistle penalties must stop.”
The Knights were hit with four consecutive false-start penalties during their opening drive. The trend continued throughout the first quarter, with the team flagged for 10 penalties — seven false starts, a pass interference, a defensive holding and a delay-of-game call intentionally taken to give UCF more room for a punt.
UCF had 13 penalties at halftime and six more in the second half.
“Occasionally, there’s going to be a playing penalty when you’re trying to play hard and play aggressive. We can live with those,” Heupel said. “The other things have to be eliminated and we have to find a way to do that before we get to Saturday night.”
The eight false-start penalties were particularly frustrating when you consider the game was played in mostly empty Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium after the school banned fans due to COVID-19 safety concerns.
Heupel said it comes down to his players being focused.
“Up front, our guys have to be dialed in and pay attention and listen to [quarterback] Dillon [Gabriel] in the cadence,” he said. “Out in the perimeter, our guys should be watching the football.
“At the end of the day, we just didn’t start very fast and weren’t dialed into our assignments early. We’ve got to find a way to do that — start fast on the offensive side of it and put ourselves in positive situations.”
Obarski shining in his special teams
Daniel Obarski spent last season as UCF’s kickoff specialist, averaging more than 61 yards per kickoff with a 52% touchback rate. His role expanded this season and he became the team’s primary placekicker.
Obarski connected on field goal attempts of 26, 33 and 31 yards during the win over the Pirates Saturday. He also is a perfect 13-of-13 on extra points so far this season.
The sophomore ranks among the top-25 players in the nation in kickoffs, averaging 64.7 yards on 18 kickoffs this season with 10 of those called touchbacks. He averaged 61.5 yards on 10 kickoffs with four touchbacks Saturday. The performance earned him American Athletic Conference Special Teams Player of the Week honors.
“He’s had a big leg since he showed up on campus,” Heupel said. “That was evident during the recruiting process. I thought last year as the season went on, he became much more consistent in his kickoffs and more confident and comfortable in what he’s doing.
“… Heading into this season with limited opportunities in spring ball, I thought he was off to a great start. Since he’s gotten back [to campus], he continues to grow and refine his technique and become more consistent. Our football team has the utmost confidence in him.”
Credle, O’Keefe step up
True freshman receiver Ja’Cyais Credle saw his first college action Saturday, catching two balls for nine yards. Sophomore Ryan O’Keefe also had two catches for 37 yards during his first career start as a Knight.
“We have a ton of confidence in Stretch as we do in Ryan,” Heupel said of the duo. “I think you’ve seen in the first couple of weeks that there’s a lot of guys at the wide receiver position that we’re comfortable with and bringing them into the game and targeting.
“We wanted to give Stretch an opportunity in the game because he earned that during the course of practice, and I thought Ryan played extremely well when given the opportunity.”
The 6-foot-4, 195-pound Credle was a three-star prospect and UCF’s highest-rated signee in its 2020 recruiting class, according to 247Sports.com. O’Keefe also was a three-star cornerback prospect in the 2019 class.
Heupel said the Knights plan to use more four-receiver sets in their offense this fall, potentially giving Credle and O’Keefe more opportunities to see the field.