Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Knights expect to be tested
UCF prepares for showdown with rival USF in War on I-4 series
Perhaps the most difficult job on the USF football staff this week could be scouring media outlets for juicy bulletin board material heading into the annual War on I-4 rivalry game against UCF.
The No. 11 Knights (10-0, 7-0 AAC) are avoiding trash talk as they prepare for their regular season finale against the Bulls (7-4, 3-4) at Raymond James Stadium Friday afternoon.
UCF owns the nation’s longest win streak spanning 23 games, but the Knights said they expect to be challenged when they face rival USF during another chapter of the somewhat brief history between two schools separated by a little more than 100 miles.
“USF always plays tough, you know. Their guys want to knock our heads off. We want to knock theirs off. It’s just what it is,” UCF senior linebacker Pat Jasinski said. “So you know you’re going to get a hard, tough-fought game and as a player that’s everything you kind of want.”
UCF enters this week fresh off its impressive 38-13 win over No. 24 Cincinnati Saturday night in front of a nationally-televised audience. The victory gives the Knights their second consecutive East Division crown and a chance to defend their American Athletic Conference title in the championship game in two weeks.
USF, meanwhile, is riding a four-game losing streak after the Bulls saw their 17-point halftime lead quickly evaporate in the second half against Temple Saturday.
Bulls defensive back Ronnie Hoggins insists a win over UCF would go a long way in salvaging a disappointing season for the Bulls.
“Absolutely. I mean, one of our goals was to beat them because they are our rivalry, they are the team out East, so those were one of our goals coming into the season,” Hoggins told the Tampa Bay Times Monday.
Added USF defensive end Josh Black, “It would mean a lot, especially for this program, just to come mess up their season, put a nice little cap on our season.”
UCF coaches may be in their first season leading the Knights, but they understand the animosity between the two programs.
“You can throw out the records and all of the clichés,” UCF defensive line coach Shane Burnham said of this week’s challenge. “They know each other. There’s intimacy and they want to win it.”
USF leads the overall series 6-3, including two wins during the past three meetings. But it was last season’s 49-42 thrilling win by UCF at Spectrum Stadium to extend a perfect season that has bumped this matchup to the next level. The game featured 1,186 yards of offense and was a back-andforth affair until former defensive back Mike Hughes returned a kickoff 95 yards for the game-winning touchdown with under 1:30 left in the game.
Four of the nine meetings in the series have been decided by a touchdown or less, which is why many UCF players know this year’s meeting could be a tough one even though the Knights are two-touchdown favorites.
“You already know they’re going to give us their best shot — records out the window,” Jasinski said. “They’re playing good and we’re just going to have to show up with our best and get the job done.”