Central Florida at Ohio State
* Date, Time: Sat., Sept. 8, noon (Eastern)
* Location: Ohio Stadium
* TV: ESPN2 (announcers: Beth Mowins and Joey Galloway)
* 2012 Records: Ohio State, 1-0 overall; Central Florida, 1-0 overall.
* 2011 Records: Ohio State, 6-7 overall, 3-5 Big Ten (fourth in Leaders Division); Central Florida, 5-7 overall, 3-5 C-USA (fourth in Eastern Division).
* 2012 Rankings: Ohio State, 14th in Associated Press poll; Central Florida, unranked.
* Coaches: Ohio State, Urban Meyer (first year at OSU, 1-0; 11th year overall, 105-23; vs. UCF, 1-0); Central Florida, George O’Leary (ninth year at UCF, 51-51; 17th year overall, 103-84; vs. OSU, first meeting).
* Series History: This will be the first meeting ever between Ohio State and Central Florida.
* Central Florida Schedule: Aug. 30, at Akron, W 56-14; Sept. 8, at Ohio State; Sept. 15, Florida International; Sept. 29, Missouri; Oct. 4, East Carolina; Oct. 13, Southern Miss; Oct. 20, at Memphis; Oct. 27, at Marshall; Nov. 3, SMU; Nov. 10, at UTEP; Nov. 17, at Tulsa; Nov. 24, UAB.
* Central Florida Key Players (2012 Stats): QB Blake Bortles (13 of 16 passing, 168 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INTs), RB Latavius Murray (14 carries, 108 yards, 1 TD), RB Storm Johnson (12 carries, 34 yards, 2 TDs), WR Rannell Hall (4 catches, 94 yards, 2 TDs), WR Quincy McDuffie (3 catches, 47 yards), WR Jeff Godfrey (2 catches, 13 yards), FS Kemal Ishmael (9 tackles), MLB Terrance Plummer (7 tackles), CB Jordan Overities (6 tackles, 1 TFL), OLB Ray Shipman (6 tackles).
* Central Florida Fast Facts: Location: Orlando, Fla.; Enrollment, 58,698; Conference: Conference USA; Nickname, Knights; Colors, Black and Gold; Stadium, Bright House Networks Stadium (surface, Bermuda Grass; capacity, 45,323).
* Ohio State Schedule: Sept. 1, Miami (Ohio), W 56-10; Sept. 8, Central Florida; Sept. 15, California; Sept. 22, UAB; Sept. 29, at Michigan State; Oct. 6, Nebraska; Oct. 13, at Indiana; Oct. 20, Purdue; Oct. 27, at Penn State; Nov. 3, Illinois; Nov. 17, at Wisconsin; Nov. 24, Michigan.
* Ohio State Key Players (2012 Stats): QB Braxton Miller (14 of 24 passing, 207 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INTs; 17 carries, 161 yards, 1 TD), RB Carlos Hyde (17 carries, 82 yards, 2 TDs), RB Brionte Dunn (7 carries, 31 yards, 1 TD), TE Jake Stoneburner (2 catches, 28 yards), WR Philly Brown (7 catches, 87 yards, 1 TD), WR Devin Smith (2 catches, 31 yards, 1 TD), DB Christian Bryant (5 tackles), LB Etienne Sabino (5 tackles), LB Ryan Shazier (8 tackles), DE John Simon (3 tackles), CB Bradley Roby (6 tackles), CB Travis Howard (2 INTs).
Depth Charts
Ohio State Offense
LT 74 Jack Mewhort 6-6, 312, Jr.
76 Darryl Baldwin 6-5, 300, So.
LG 78 Andrew Norwell 6-6, 310, Jr.
73 Antonio Underwood 6-2, 306, So.
C 71 Corey Linsley 6-3, 295, Jr.
50 Jacoby Boren 6-2, 287, Fr.
RG 79 Marcus Hall 6-5, 315, Jr.
57 Chase Farris 6-4, 290, R-Fr.
RT 77 Reid Fragel 6-8, 310, Sr.
68 Taylor Decker 6-7, 313, Fr.
TE 81 Nick Vannett 6-6, 255, R-Fr.
OR 86 Jeff Heuerman 6-5, 250, So.
WR (H) 11 Jake Stoneburner 6-5, 245, Sr.
80 Chris Fields 6-0, 197, Jr.
QB 5 Braxton Miller 6-2, 220, So.
13 Kenny Guiton 6-3, 210, Jr.
RB 34 Carlos Hyde 6-0, 232, Jr.
25 Bri’onte Dunn 6-1, 210, Fr.
FB 44 Zach Boren 6-1, 245, Sr.
49 Adam Homan 6-3, 245, Sr.
WR (X) 15 Devin Smith 6-1, 200, So.
83 Michael Thomas 6-2, 198, Fr.
WR (Z) 10 Corey Brown 6-0, 187, Jr.
16 Evan Spencer 6-2, 205, So.
K 24 Drew Basil 6-1, 210, Jr.
39 Kyle Clinton 6-1, 215 So.
Ohio State Defense
LEO 54 John Simon 6-2, 263, Sr.
88 Steve Miller 6-3, 255, So.
OR 8 Noah Spence 6-3, 240, Fr.
DT 52 Johnathan Hankins 6-3, 322, Jr.
92 Adolphus Washington 6-3, 289, Fr.
OR 90 Tommy Schutt 6-2, 295, Fr.
NT 53 Garrett Goebel 6-4, 290, Sr.
51 Joel Hale 6-4, 295, So.
72 Chris Carter 6-4, 340, R-Fr.
DE 50 J.T. Moore 6-3, 260, So.
43 Nathan Williams, 6-3, 249, Sr.
63 Michael Bennett 6-3, 285, So.
OLB 10 Ryan Shazier 6-2, 230, So.
36 Conner Crowell 6-1, 235, R-Fr.
25 David Perkins 6-2, 220, Fr.
MLB 14 Curtis Grant 6-3, 235, So.
5 Camren Williams 6-1, 225, Fr.
OLB 6 Etienne Sabino 6-3, 237, Sr.
15 Joshua Perry 6-4, 238, Fr.
CB 1 Bradley Roby 5-11, 190, So.
12 Doran Grant 5-11, 188, So.
SAF 2 Christian Bryant 5-10, 192, Jr.
19 Orhian Johnson 6-3, 210, Sr.
SAF 4 C.J. Barnett 6-1, 202, Jr.
3 Corey Brown 6-1, 198, Jr.
CB 7 Travis Howard 6-1, 200, Sr.
9 Adam Griffi n 5-8, 180, So.
P 17 Ben Buchanan 5-11, 192, Sr.
24 Drew Basil 6-1, 210, Jr.
LS 41 Bryce Haynes 6-4, 220, R-Fr.
56 George Makridis 6-2, 230, Jr.
Central Florida Offense
WR 9 J.J. Worton, 6-2, 201, So.
2 Jeff Godfrey, 5-11, 182, Jr.
WR 14 Quincy McDuffie, 5-10, 178, Sr.
6 Rannell Hill, 6-2, 191, So.
LT 72 Torrian Wilson, 6-4, 306, So.
79 Tony Jacob, 6-8, 342, So.
LG 68 Theo Goins, 6-4, 317, Sr.
77 Kelly Davison, 6-5, 290, Jr.
C 73 Jordan Rae, 6-2, 275, Sr.
62 Rey Cunha, 6-3, 286, Jr.
RG 63 Jordan McCray, 6-4, 310, Jr.
61 Tarik Cook, 6-3, 280, Fr.
RT 64 Justin McCray, 6-4, 309, Jr.
75 Phil Smith, 6-5, 292, Sr.
TE 84 Justin Tukes, 6-5, 246, So.
88 Chris Martin, 6-5, 294, Jr.
HB 13 Dontravius Floyd, 6-2, 237, Jr.
40 Brendan Kelly, 6-3, 235, Sr.
FB 32 Billy Giovanetti, 5-11, 230, Sr.
QB 5 Blake Bortles, 6-4, 221, So.
3 Tyler Gabbert, 6-0, 190, So.
RB 28 Latavius Murray, 6-3, 222, Sr.
8 Storm Johnson, 6-1, 216, So.
K 83 Shawn Moffitt, 6-0, 176, So.
Central Florida Defense
DE 91 Victor Gray, 6-4, 267, Jr.
47 Deion Green, 6-3, 239, Fr.
DT 99 Jose Jose, 6-3, 327, Jr.
69 Thomas Niles, 6-2, 266, Fr.
DT 95 E.J. Dunston, 6-2, 302, So.
93 Josh Wofford, 6-1, 311, So.
DE 58 Troy Davis, 6-2, 249, Sr.
49 Cam Henderson, 6-5, 245, Sr.
OLB 11 Jonathan Davis, 5-9, 202, Sr.
57 Troy Gray, 6-1, 207, Sr.
MLB 41 Terrance Plummer, 6-1, 228, So.
23 Willie Mitchell, 6-1, 233, So.
OLB 46 Ray Shipman, 6-5, 242, Sr.
16 Mark Rucker, 5-10, 200, Fr.
CB 21 A.J. Bouye, 6-0, 186, Sr.
12 Jacoby Glenn, 6-1, 170, Fr.
SS 26 Clayton Geathers, 6-3, 204, So.
22 Jared Henry, 6-1, 200, Fr.
FS 18 Kemal Ishmael, 5-11, 206, Sr.
29 Lyle Dankenbring, 5-10, 202, So.
CB 10 Jordan Ozerities, 5-10, 191, So.
37 Brandon Alexander, 6-1, 183, So.
P 43 Jamie Boyle, 5-10, 194, Sr.
Also Notable
* The University of Central Florida was created in 1968 as a research institute to serve the Cape Kennedy Space Center nearby on the Atlantic coast.
UCF first fielded a football team in 1979 at the Division III level. As a Division I-AA program, the Knights made the 1990 and 1993 playoffs. UCF made the move to the I-A level in 1996. Quarterback Daunte Culpepper helped put UCF on the map in the late-1990s.
The Knights played as an independent until 2002, when they joined the MAC for a three year stay. UCF has been a fixture in Conference USA since 2005, winning conference titles in 2007 and 2010. UCF will join other schools (including Houston, SMU, Boise State, Memphis and San Diego State) in joining the Big East next year.
* UCF coach George O’Leary has a colorful history. O’Leary, a Central Islip, N.Y., native, was a high school coach in his home state until jumping to the college ranks as an assistant at Syracuse in 1980. He later served as the defensive coordinator at Georgia Tech and as the defensive line assistant for the NFL’s San Diego Chargers before becoming the head coach at Georgia Tech in 1994.
O’Leary won an ACC title at Georgia Tech in 1998 and the Yellow Jackets also took a bowl win over Notre Dame in his tenure. In 2001, he was selected to replace Bob Davie as the head coach at Notre Dame. But within five days of his hiring, it was determined there were some irregularities with his resume and he was fired.
O’Leary returned to football in 2002 as an assistant for the Minnesota Vikings before becoming the head coach at UCF in 2004. He has two C-USA titles to his credit and oversaw the team’s move from the Citrus Bowl to the on-campus Bright House Networks Stadium as its home field in 2007.
* Since moving to the I-A level in 1996, UCF is a combined 4-45 against teams from BCS conferences. Those four wins came over Alabama in 2000, N.C. State in 2007, Georgia in the 2010 Liberty Bowl and Boston College last year (30-3).
UCF is 0-6 all-time against teams currently in the Big Ten. That includes two losses to Penn State and Purdue and one loss each to Nebraska and Wisconsin.
* Ohio State is 12-1-1 all-time against teams currently in C-USA. The Buckeyes have posted a 7-1-1 record against SMU, two wins each over Marshall and Rice and one win over Houston.
OSU has never played UCF, Southern Miss, East Carolina, UAB, Memphis, Tulsa, UTEP and Tulane. OSU will play UAB on Sept. 22 and is scheduled to face Tulsa for the first time in 2016.
* Meyer is 1-0 all-time against Central Florida as a head coach. His 2006 Florida team defeated UCF 42-0 in Gainesville.
* OSU has won 61 straight regular season nonconference home games against unranked teams. That string dates to a 1982 loss to Florida State.
Breaking It Down
* When Ohio State Has The Ball: It took one quarter to work out the kinks, but when the Ohio State offense showed up last week against Miami (Ohio) it definitely showed up. The Buckeyes rolled up 56 points and 538 yards total offense against the RedHawks. QB Braxton Miller shrugged off a slow start and ended up accounting for 368 yards total offense and three touchdowns.
The Buckeyes found some playmakers with RB Carlos Hyde and WRs Philly Brown and Devin Smith all stepping up against Miami. Although the offense is labeled a spread, it is obvious that Urban Meyer intends to pound the bullish Hyde between the tackles. But Miller, with 17 carries last week, probably ran it a bit too much. (Paging Jordan Hall, paging Jordan Hall.)
UCF has eight starters back on its defense from last year. The Knights were rugged against the run against Akron, allowing just 69 yards in 27 attempts last week. Akron did get 256 yards through the air against UCF, although it took 54 attempts to do it. My guess is OSU will start to take some of the wraps off of Miller and test the waters a bit here.
* When Central Florida Has The Ball: UCF matched Ohio State with 56 points last week, although that came at the expense of a hapless Akron team that turned it over four times – including twice inside its own 10-yard line.
QB Blake Bortles is a good-sized passer who looked good in the pocket even if he hasn’t had much experience. RB Latavius Murray is a workhorse back, although it appears he may not play due to injury. Look for Storm Johnson and Brynn Harvey to get some carries against the Buckeyes. They also have experience.
While the spread has become all the rage in college football, UCF is still a power running team – which may be their niche as one of the “big boys” in Conference USA. But Ohio State’s defense is still built to contain the run, so UCF’s offense may play to Ohio State’s strength. Very few teams over the last decade have netted as much as 100 yards on the ground against the Buckeyes. (UCF got 206 of its 386 yards last week via the run.)
The OSU defense had some coverage breaks early last week against Miami before settling down. The Knights have some guys who can make possession plays and they may give the Buckeyes a test if OSU is slow getting to Bortles to rattle him.
* How It Will Go: Central Florida, honestly, does not have a pedigree as a program that is going to upset a team from a BCS conference in their stadium. Yes, UCF beat Alabama in 2000 and Boston College last year, but neither of those teams were in the same caliber of Ohio State right now.
Still, UCF is no pushover. George O’Leary has done well with recruiting players the Florida “big three” have passed over as well as transfers from BCS schools.
The Buckeyes will want to get off to a faster start than they had last week against Miami. My guess is, like last week, OSU will stay the course and eventually put a nice cushion between itself and UCF. But UCF has good size on both lines, so I’m not sure the Buckeyes will be able to wear down the Knights so easily. It should definitely be an entertaining game.
I’ve got it Ohio State 42-17
* For The Record: I am 1-0 straight-up and 1-0 against-the-spread with Ohio State. (The Buckeyes are a 18-point favorite over the Knights.)
- Steve Helwagen
- National Reporter - Bucknuts