UCF defense tarnished

Click on Cory Hogue to read more

The Golden Knights are ranked among the nation's worst in 4 key statistical areas.

Practice had been over for at least 15 minutes, but several UCF defensive assistants still were at it.

After stopping briefly to grab a cup of water, linebackers coach Dave Huxtable made his way over to a group of players who were cooling down on a nearby bench. He made a few comments and later drew some imaginary X's and O's in the air. Not far away, defensive coordinator Lance Thompson corralled a few players from the secondary and drove home one last point from the day's session.

It might not seem like much, but any extra minutes spent on defense by the Golden Knights' coaching staff can't hurt.UCF has been outscored 177-67 -- an average score of 35-13 -- in its five losses this season, and ranks worse than 100th nationally in each of the four main statistical categories (total, rush, pass and scoring defense).

"Am I frustrated? Yeah, I am as discouraged as anybody," Coach George O'Leary said. "For whatever reason, we are playing really cautious and trying too much not to make mistakes. And what I see are guys going out on the field and coming back with bullets left in the gun. They should be leaving it out on the field."
Kyle Hightower :Sentinel Staff Writer