O'Leary: UCF better despite errors

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The Knights need to make plays when they have opportunities to do so, the coach says.

In the days that led up to Tuesday night's Conference USA opener against Southern Miss, UCF Coach George O'Leary took a more hands-on approach in hopes of motivating a team coming off back-to-back losses.

O'Leary stayed after practice each day to give extra attention to multiple units. Though O'Leary's efforts still ended with a 19-14 loss to the Golden Eagles, O'Leary said he feels his team made a lot of progress Tuesday.

"I thought we played hard, but you can't just give a team points," O'Leary said, referencing UCF's mistakes that led to Southern Miss scores. "You can't do that. But the big thing is I did see progress, and I saw kids playing with their heart."

Kyle Hightower: Sentinel Staff Writer