10-14-2010, 09:11 AM
UCF soaks the Herd, 35-14
Mark Webb/The Herald-Dispatch
Marshall Universityâs football âWhite Outâ turned into a whitewash in several different areas Wednesday night as UCF walked away with a 35-14 win over the Thundering Herd in front of 23,601 rain-soaked fans at Joan C. Edwards Stadium.
Marshall wore white uniforms at home and encouraged its fans to wear something white for the national show on ESPN.
âWe didnât play well enough to win and you have to give Central Florida credit,â Marshall head coach Doc Holliday said. âGeorge (OâLeary) is a great coach, heâs been there seven years, heâs got his program in place and thereâs a reason they are No. 1 defense in the conference. They have some players.â
It was UCFâs sixth straight over the Herd. UCF moved to 4-2 for the season and 2-0 in C-USA. Marshall skidded to 1-5 overall and 0-2 in the conference.
The game featured a 68-minute lightning delay in the second quarter that caused the second half to run concurrent to the first half. There was no halftime break.
While the players said delay was not an issue, statistics showed that it certainly factored into the contest.
Prior to the delay, UCF had just more than a two-minute time of possession advantage (13:18 to 10:30).
Following the delay, the Knights had possession of the football for 26:51 of the final 36:06 of action.
The gameâs biggest momentum switch came on the switch from the first half to the second half.
UCFâs Jamar Newsome returned the second-half kickoff 70 yards to set the Knights up at Marshallâs 18, and quarterback Jeff Godfrey scored on a 5-yard run just five plays later to push the lead to two scores.
The Knightsâ defense followed by scoring on a 42-yard interception return by A.J. Bouye to push the lead to 28-7 and trigger a quarterback change for the Herd.
âThe kickoff return didnât help â that gave them great field position â and of course the interception gave them seven also,â Holliday said.
Eddie Sullivan relieved Brian Anderson, who had a fourth interception returned for a touchdown this season.
On Sullivanâs first play, he hit Aaron Dobson on the outside and Dobson made a defender miss then raced 86 yards for a score to cut the deficit to 14.
Aside from the touchdown pass to Dobson, Sullivan and Anderson alternated snaps, but were both ineffective, going just 3-of-13 in the second half.
Part of the offensive ineptitude was because of the the lack of a rushing attack. The Herd finished with just 37 yards on 20 attempts.
âWe havenât done that all year,â Holliday said. âI keep repeating myself but when we become one-dimensional, we struggle. We have to continue to work and find a way to run the football.â
Anderson finished the game 15-of-30 for 129 yards while Sullivan was 2-of-7. For the season, Sullivan is 3-of-17 for 117 yards and a touchdown.
UCF led from start to finish as Marshall let an opponent jump out to a 14-0 lead for the fourth time in six games this season.
After spotting the Knights a two-score lead, Marshall got a defensive stop and put together a balanced offensive drive, going 48 yards in seven plays, capped by Dobsonâs 12-yard scoring reception from Anderson.
The play was reviewed because as Dobson went up for the pass, his right foot hit the pylon which would normally make him out of bounds. However, it was determined that he was forced out by contact and was able to get his foot back in, resulting in a ruling of a touchdown.
âI wasnât 100 percent sure, but I thought I got it down,â Dobson said.
Dobson proved to be one of few highlights for the Herd, finishing with 119 yards and two scores on five receptions.
Other than that, there wasnât much for the Herd to cheer about.
Marshallâs first-quarter struggles continued as UCF held the Herd to one first down then took the opening drive 79 yards in 12 plays, capped by a 2-yard touchdown run by Rob Calabrese with 6:09 left in the first quarter.
The next set of drives for each team were nearly a replica as the Knights built a 14-0 lead less than two minutes into the second quarter.
Marshall got a first down, but could not sustain a drive and the Knights took over and drove straight down the Herdâs throat, marching 80 yards in 11 plays with Godfreyâs 11-yard keeper pushing the lead to two scores.
UCFâs first two drives went for 23 plays, 159 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Most of that was predicated on a strong rushing attack that pushed the Herd around for 248 yards on 53 carries.
Leading the way was junior back Ronnie Weaver, who finished with career-highs in carries (30) and yards (150). Godfrey also finished with 27 yards and two rushing scores for UCF (4-2, 2-0).
Marshall has nine days to get ready before traveling to Greenville, N.C. for an Oct. 23 matchup with East Carolina.
Mark Webb/The Herald-Dispatch
Marshall Universityâs football âWhite Outâ turned into a whitewash in several different areas Wednesday night as UCF walked away with a 35-14 win over the Thundering Herd in front of 23,601 rain-soaked fans at Joan C. Edwards Stadium.
Marshall wore white uniforms at home and encouraged its fans to wear something white for the national show on ESPN.
âWe didnât play well enough to win and you have to give Central Florida credit,â Marshall head coach Doc Holliday said. âGeorge (OâLeary) is a great coach, heâs been there seven years, heâs got his program in place and thereâs a reason they are No. 1 defense in the conference. They have some players.â
It was UCFâs sixth straight over the Herd. UCF moved to 4-2 for the season and 2-0 in C-USA. Marshall skidded to 1-5 overall and 0-2 in the conference.
The game featured a 68-minute lightning delay in the second quarter that caused the second half to run concurrent to the first half. There was no halftime break.
While the players said delay was not an issue, statistics showed that it certainly factored into the contest.
Prior to the delay, UCF had just more than a two-minute time of possession advantage (13:18 to 10:30).
Following the delay, the Knights had possession of the football for 26:51 of the final 36:06 of action.
The gameâs biggest momentum switch came on the switch from the first half to the second half.
UCFâs Jamar Newsome returned the second-half kickoff 70 yards to set the Knights up at Marshallâs 18, and quarterback Jeff Godfrey scored on a 5-yard run just five plays later to push the lead to two scores.
The Knightsâ defense followed by scoring on a 42-yard interception return by A.J. Bouye to push the lead to 28-7 and trigger a quarterback change for the Herd.
âThe kickoff return didnât help â that gave them great field position â and of course the interception gave them seven also,â Holliday said.
Eddie Sullivan relieved Brian Anderson, who had a fourth interception returned for a touchdown this season.
On Sullivanâs first play, he hit Aaron Dobson on the outside and Dobson made a defender miss then raced 86 yards for a score to cut the deficit to 14.
Aside from the touchdown pass to Dobson, Sullivan and Anderson alternated snaps, but were both ineffective, going just 3-of-13 in the second half.
Part of the offensive ineptitude was because of the the lack of a rushing attack. The Herd finished with just 37 yards on 20 attempts.
âWe havenât done that all year,â Holliday said. âI keep repeating myself but when we become one-dimensional, we struggle. We have to continue to work and find a way to run the football.â
Anderson finished the game 15-of-30 for 129 yards while Sullivan was 2-of-7. For the season, Sullivan is 3-of-17 for 117 yards and a touchdown.
UCF led from start to finish as Marshall let an opponent jump out to a 14-0 lead for the fourth time in six games this season.
After spotting the Knights a two-score lead, Marshall got a defensive stop and put together a balanced offensive drive, going 48 yards in seven plays, capped by Dobsonâs 12-yard scoring reception from Anderson.
The play was reviewed because as Dobson went up for the pass, his right foot hit the pylon which would normally make him out of bounds. However, it was determined that he was forced out by contact and was able to get his foot back in, resulting in a ruling of a touchdown.
âI wasnât 100 percent sure, but I thought I got it down,â Dobson said.
Dobson proved to be one of few highlights for the Herd, finishing with 119 yards and two scores on five receptions.
Other than that, there wasnât much for the Herd to cheer about.
Marshallâs first-quarter struggles continued as UCF held the Herd to one first down then took the opening drive 79 yards in 12 plays, capped by a 2-yard touchdown run by Rob Calabrese with 6:09 left in the first quarter.
The next set of drives for each team were nearly a replica as the Knights built a 14-0 lead less than two minutes into the second quarter.
Marshall got a first down, but could not sustain a drive and the Knights took over and drove straight down the Herdâs throat, marching 80 yards in 11 plays with Godfreyâs 11-yard keeper pushing the lead to two scores.
UCFâs first two drives went for 23 plays, 159 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Most of that was predicated on a strong rushing attack that pushed the Herd around for 248 yards on 53 carries.
Leading the way was junior back Ronnie Weaver, who finished with career-highs in carries (30) and yards (150). Godfrey also finished with 27 yards and two rushing scores for UCF (4-2, 2-0).
Marshall has nine days to get ready before traveling to Greenville, N.C. for an Oct. 23 matchup with East Carolina.