2008 UCF Knights football team

The 2008 UCF Knights football team represented the University of Central Florida in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Their head coach was George O'Leary, in his fifth season with the team. For the second season, the UCF Knights played all of their home games at Bright House Networks Stadium on the school's main campus in Orlando, Florida. The Knights sought unsuccessfully to defend their Conference USA football championship.

2008 UCF Knights football
Conference	Conference USA
Division	East
Record	4–8 (3–5 C-USA)
Head coach	George O'Leary (5th season)
Offensive coordinator	Tim Salem (5th season)
Defensive coordinator	Dave Huxtable (1st as DC, 5th overall season)
Home stadium	Bright House Networks Stadium (Capacity: 45,323)

2008 Conference USA football standings

	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
East Division
East Carolina x$		6	–	2					9	–	5
Memphis		4	–	4					6	–	7
Southern Miss		4	–	4					7	–	6
UAB		3	–	5					4	–	8
UCF		3	–	5					4	–	8
Marshall		3	–	5					4	–	8
West Division
Tulsa xy		7	–	1					11	–	3
Rice x		7	–	1					10	–	3
Houston		6	–	2					8	–	5
UTEP		4	–	4					5	–	7
Tulane		1	–	7					2	–	10
SMU		0	–	8					1	–	11
Championship: East Carolina 27, Tulsa 24
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll

Personnel

Recruiting class

Coach O'Leary and his coaching staff announced these people to the 2008 UCF Knights Football Team on Wednesday February 6, 2008; as it was the National Football Signing Day:
-- --- -- --- -- --- -- --- -- --- --

Athlete
Marquee Williams (Vanguard – Ocala, Florida)

Defensive Backs
Chad Keys (St. Paul's School – Covington, Louisiana)

Defensive Ends
Jarvis Gathers (Feather River C.C. – Andrews, South Carolina)
Robert Pritchard (North Gwinnett – Suwanee, Georgia)

Defensive Tackle
Theo Goins (Hightower – Fort Bend, Texas)
Chris Martin (Choctawhatchee – Fort Walton Beach, Florida)

Linebackers
Josh Linam (Tavares – Tavares, Florida)
Loren Robinson (Lyman – Longwood, Florida)
David Williams (Cardinal Gibbons – Ft. Lauderdale)

Offensive Lineman
Chad Hounshell (Lake Catholic – Mentor, Ohio)
Jarien Moreland (Glade Central Community – Belle Glade, Florida)
John Oliver (Troup – LaGrange, Georgia)
Steven Robinson (Lincoln – Tallahassee, Florida)

Running Backs
Brandon Davis (Peachtree Ridge – Suwanee, Georgia)
Brynn Harvey (Largo – Largo, Florida)
Vance King (Stockbridge – Stockbridge, Georgia)
Latavius Murray (Onondaga Central – Nedrow, New York)

Tight Ends / Hybrid Back
Brendan Kelly (Shoreham-Wading River – Shoreham, New York)
Kyle Madden (Harrison – Kennesaw, Georgia)

Quarterback
Rob Calabrese (East Islip – Islip Terrace, New York)

Offseason

On August 22, 2008, wide receiver Richard Jackson announced that he had completed his enrollment at UCF, completing a transfer from the University of Notre Dame. Jackson was a star prospect from East Ridge High School in nearby Clermont, Florida. He received a hardship waiver from the NCAA on September 5, giving him immediate eligibility.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 30	6:00 pm	South Carolina State (FCS)*	Bright House Networks Stadium Orlando, FL		W 17–0	42,126
September 6	7:00 pm	No. 17 South Florida*	Bright House Networks Stadium Orlando, FL (War on I–4)	ESPN2	L 24–31	46,805
September 20	1:00 pm	at Boston College*	Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA	ESPNU	L 7–34	41,267
September 27	8:00 pm	at UTEP	Sun Bowl Stadium El Paso, TX	CBSCS	L 13–58	33,339
October 4	3:30 pm	SMU	Bright House Networks Stadium Orlando, FL	CBSCS	W 31–17	43,147
October 11	3:45 pm	at Miami (FL)*	Dolphin Stadium Miami Gardens, FL	ESPNU	L 14–20	40,011
October 26	8:00 pm	at No. 22 Tulsa	Chapman Stadium Tulsa, OK	ESPN	L 19–49	30,000
November 2	8:15 pm	East Carolina	Bright House Networks Stadium Orlando, FL	ESPN	L 10–13 OT	40,202
November 8	3:30 pm	Southern Miss	Bright House Networks Stadium Orlando, FL		L 6–17	41,652
November 15	4:30 pm	at Marshall	Joan C. Edwards Stadium Huntington, WV	CSS	W 30–14	24,059
November 22	2:00 pm	at Memphis	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Memphis, TN		W 28–21	18,836
November 29	1:00 pm	UAB	Bright House Networks Stadium Orlando, FL		L 0–15	23,644
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Game summaries

South Carolina State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bulldogs	0	0	0	0	0
Knights	0	7	0	10	17

The Knights began their season at home against South Carolina State. Making his first start at quarterback, Michael Greco had a difficult time trying to find his groove, completing 9-of-16 passing for 90 yards, and running 13 times for 57 yards. But the defense remained strong and carried the team, holding the Bulldog offense to less than 22 minutes of play time, with Jason Venson catching an interception.

South Florida

	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
#17 Bulls	10	0	14	0	7	31
Knights	7	3	0	14	0	24

See also: 2008 South Florida Bulls football team and UCF–USF football rivalry

Greco's struggles continued when the Knights hosted South Florida for the last match in their "War on I-4" rivalry. While the Bulls scored first, Joe Burnett answered back with a 91-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. The Knights defense held as well as they could, holding the Bulls to 10 points in the first half and allowing the Knights to tie the game going into halftime. However, the Knights had difficulty maintaining their discipline, and it cost them in penalties. The Knights had 12 penalties for 148 yards, one of which negated a touchdown on an interception in the second quarter.

Although it appeared the Bulls would begin to run away with the game, scoring two touchdowns in the third quarter, Michael Greco finally awoke toward the end of the fourth quarter, leading two touchdown drives in the final minutes of regulation to force overtime. However, they came up short on a fourth-down run on their turn, failing to answer a quick South Florida touchdown.

Although sluggish for most of the game, the Knights offense did not turn the ball over. After their first two games, UCF has a +3 turnover ratio.

The unanticipated struggles for the Bulls dropped them back to their preseason #19 ranking in the AP poll despite the win.

Boston College

	1	2	3	4	Total
Knights	0	7	0	0	7
Eagles	0	3	14	17	34

See also: 2008 Boston College Eagles football team

UTEP

	1	2	3	4	Total
Knights	0	7	6	0	13
Miners	10	17	14	17	58

See also: 2008 UTEP Miners football team

SMU

	1	2	3	4	Total
Mustangs	10	0	0	7	17
Knights	3	7	14	7	31

See also: 2008 SMU Mustangs football team

Miami (FL)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Knights	0	7	0	7	14
Hurricanes	10	0	0	10	20

See also: 2008 Miami Hurricanes football team

Tulsa

	1	2	3	4	Total
Knights	0	19	0	0	19
Golden Hurricane	7	7	21	14	49

See also: 2008 Tulsa Golden Hurricane football team

East Carolina

	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Pirates	0	0	3	7	3	13
Knights	3	7	0	0	0	10

See also: 2008 East Carolina Pirates football team

Southern Miss

	1	2	3	4	Total
Golden Eagles	0	7	7	3	17
Knights	6	0	0	0	6

See also: 2008 Southern Miss Golden Eagles football team

Marshall

	1	2	3	4	Total
'Knights	10	10	3	7	30
Thundering Herd	0	7	7	0	14

See also: 2008 Marshall Thundering Herd football team and Marshall–UCF football rivalry

Memphis

	1	2	3	4	Total
Knights	14	7	7	0	28
Tigers	7	0	7	7	21

See also: 2008 Memphis Tigers football team

UAB

	1	2	3	4	Total
Blazers	3	6	3	3	15
Knights	0	0	0	0	0

See also: 2008 UAB Blazers football team