Latavius Murray rushed for 94 yards and scored two touchdowns Saturday to lead Central Florida to a 17-7 victory over Southern Methodist in the Conference USA championship game.

The Knights (10-3) won their second league title and a trip to the Liberty Bowl in their seventh season under George O’Leary, the former Georgia Tech coach who’s led a dramatic turnaround since taking over a struggling program and going 0-11 in his first year on the job.

Jeff Godfrey completed 15 of 19 passes for 167 yards, including a 5-yard TD throw to Murray to finish a long scoring drive in the opening quarter. Murray also scored his 10th rushing TD of the season, breaking a 36-yard run to make it 17-0 in the third quarter.

SMU (7-6), which was trying to win its first league championship since sharing the Southwest Conference crown, scored on Kyle Padron’s 22-yard pass to Aldrick Robinson early in the fourth quarter.

Padron was 18 of 34 for 220 yards passing, but he also was intercepted twice and sacked five times. He drove his team into UCF territory in the closing minutes, only to have the Knights stop the threat on downs with their final sack.

UCF won for the eighth time in nine games, including three in a row since a 31-21 loss to Southern Mississippi ended a brief stay in the Top 25.

The first national ranking in the program’s 30-year history lasted one week, yet accentuates just how far the Knights have come since going 0-11 in 2004 — O’Leary’s first season, and the year before UCF joined Conference USA.

SMU’s turnaround in three years under former NFL and Hawaii coach June Jones has been just as impressive. Finally showing signs of recovering from being hit with the NCAA death penalty for rules violations, the Mustangs are headed to bowl games in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1983 and 1984.

Fast Facts

UCF set the tone for a dominating performance, marching 73 yards in 13 plays following the opening kickoff to take a 7-0 lead on Godfrey’s short TD throw to Murray. Nick Cattoi’s 29-yard field goal made it 10-0 on the final play of the first half.

The Knights held the ball for more than 13 minutes of the first quarter, and the combined 10 points for the teams were the fewest scored in an opening half in the six-year history of the Conference USA championship game.

Murray’s second touchdown finished an eight-play, 85-yard drive that extended UCF’s lead to 17 heading into the fourth quarter.

The 6-foot-3, 221-pound running back was voted the game’s most valuable player. He carried 22 times while sharing the workload with Ronnie Weaver and Godfrey, one of the nation’s top dual-threat quarterbacks.

Darius Johnson had nine receptions for 105 yards for SMU. Zach Line rushed for 94 yards on 18 attempts for the Mustangs.

Source: ESPN,

UCF was able to survive some defensive difficulties against East Carolina (a 49-35 win) and Houston (a 40-33 victory), but the troubles spelled doom last Saturday against Southern Miss (a 31-21 defeat).

Up next for UCF (7-3 overall and 5-1 in C-USA) is a Tulane team that beat Rutgers earlier in the season and whipped Rice on Saturday by scoring 54 points. The Green Wave ranks 47th in the nation in passing yards (238.7) and 68th in scoring offense (26.2). And Huxtable is determined that his defense will solve its recent struggles.

“My job is to get this defense playing and it starts with me, not the kids,” Huxtable said. “I take total, absolute responsibility for what’s happened the last three weeks, but we have to pull it all together and go out and perform on Saturday and perform.”

Huxtable said that it’s almost been like a tale of two seasons defensively what with UCF facing mostly running, smash-mouth teams early in the season and hurry-up, pass-happy teams the past three weeks. UCF handled the former just fine, ranking atop Conference USA and in the nation’s top 15 early on. But it’s the latter that has challenged UCF’s conditioning, depth and play-making abilities of late.

To wit: In the first seven games of the season, UCF allowed just 97 points (13.8 points per game). But in the past three games, the Knights have yielded 99 points (33 points per game).

“It has been different (facing the run-and-shoot offenses), but it’s been different from our standpoint because we’re not doing the same things that we were doing early in the season,” UCF standout defensive end Bruce Miller said. “We were shutting people down and we were Top 10 in the country and we’ve gotten away from those things. We have to get back to doing that.”

UCF has to get back to doing that because it can’t afford to lose again if it still wants to accomplish its goals of winning the C-USA title. The Knights, who are ahead of East Carolina because of their head-to-head win, must beat Tulane and Memphis on the road to lock up the East Division and host the C-USA title game on Dec. 4. Their margin for error much smaller now, the Knights know that turning around their defensive issues must start Saturday against Tulane in the Louisiana Superdome.

“We can’t have any more letdowns because East Carolina is right there,” outside linebacker Derrick Hallman said. “We lose a game and they are in the championship and we’re not. So we can’t lose any more games and we know how big this week is and next week,too.”

UCF can take a major step toward clearing up its defensive issues by making improvements on third down. Southern Miss was able to wear down UCF’s defense by converting time and again on third down to keep long drives going. The Golden Eagles converted 11 of 16 times on third down, including three times on what proved to be the go-ahead scoring drive. The third down woes kept the Knights on the field for 72 plays.

“We have third-and-seven, we’re about to get off the field and we get a pass interference call. We’ve got a third-and-10 and we have the coverage that we want and we don’t keep our eyes on the quarterback and he escapes for the first down,” Huxtable recalled. “There were so many third downs where it’s just us shooting ourselves in the foot and not letting us get off the field on third down. It’s frustrating right now for me and everybody else and we’re putting a big emphasis on third downs. I know these guys want to do right and we’re working hard to get it corrected.”

Again, the third-down problems is a relatively new issue for the Knights’ defense. In the first seven weeks of the season, UCF foes converted on third down just 37 percent of the time (37 of 100). In the past three weeks, East Carolina (12 of 17), Houston (eight of 16) and Southern Miss (11 of 16) have converted 63.2 percent of the time (31 of 49).

“Third down that’s the money down. That’s when you have to get off the field,” senior safety Reggie Weems said. “It’s the most important play of the series. The coaches have been stressing it. We have to get off the field and the quicker that we can get the ball back to the offense, the quicker they can score points.”

The Knights could use another defensive gem like the one they put up last season against Tulane at Bright House Networks Stadium. In that game, UCF won 49-0 in the most-lopsided shutout in C-USA history. Also, UCF limited Tulane to -30 yards rushing and surrendered 50 yards in 51 plays, the fewest yards ever allowed in a C-USA game.

Dominating like that again will be very difficult because of Tulane’s growth, Huxtable said.

“They’re a no-huddle offense again, but not quite as fast a tempo (as Southern Miss),” he said. “They’re much improved from last year and a totally different from last year. They have a lot of gadget plays, so we’ll have to be on target.’

John Denton’s Knights Insider appears on UCFAthletics.com several times a week. E-mail John at jdenton@athletics.ucf.edu.

Facing a 海角直播 of Houston program that knows a thing or two about passing the football, Godfrey passed for 294 yards, accounted for three touchdowns and converted big third and fourth down plays again and again as UCF throttled past Houston 40-33 at Robertson Stadium.

Once down 24-23, UCF responded with three scores to surge into the lead. The Knights had to hold on in the final minute as Houston tried driving for a tying score. But the Knights got a big pass break-up from starting cornerback聽Emery Allen to hang on for the win.

“That was a great, great win for our football program. It wasn’t always pretty, but we made enough big plays,” O’Leary said. “The defense came through and made some plays when we had to have them. This win really cements some stuff for us as far as the conference is concerned.”

Playing before a nationally televised audience on ESPN2, Godfrey showed why he is one of the most dynamic freshmen in the country. The Miami product completed 15-of-19 passes, ran for another 105 yards and routinely riddled Houston’s defense with his escapability against blitzes. Godfrey became just the second quarterback in school history to run for at least 100 yards, joining Vic Penn in 1999.

“Coming back how we did says a lot about us,” said Godfrey, who broke聽Daunte Culpepper’s freshman touchdown rushing record with his sixth score. “I kept telling our offensive line that we’ve been in this situation before and they did a great job of giving me time to throw.”

Just as it was a week ago in the convincing 49-35 whipping of East Carolina, UCF was virtually unstoppable on the ground and through the air. The Knights rolled up 522 yards of total offense, picked up 26 first downs and basically did as it pleased on a cold and windy night.

How dominant has UCF’s offense been of late with Godfrey running the controls? The Knights have punted just twice in the past eight quarters. The Knights scored on seven of their first 11 drives on Friday, a week after scoring on seven of eight drives in which they didn’t down the ball to stop the clock.

UCF put itself in position to earn a national ranking for the first time in school history. The Knights were ranked 29th and 32nd in the two polls this week and have never been ranked higher than 27th in school history.

“We want that ranking so bad. It would be beautiful for our school and our team,” senior wide receiver聽Jamar Newsome said. “(A ranking) is something that we’ve never had, but it would be glorious.”

With its fifth-straight win, UCF improved to 7-2 overall and 5-0 in Conference USA play, putting it firmly in control in the East Division. The Knights have now won 11-consecutive conference games over the past two seasons and have beaten Houston each of the past two seasons.

UCF hosts East Division rival Southern Miss (5-2, 2-2) next Saturday at noon in the final regular-season home game at Bright House Networks Stadium. The Knights could very well play at home again in the Conference USA title game on Dec. 4 – likely against either Houston or SMU.

“This was another big step toward our goal of winning the conference championship,” said linebacker聽Josh Linam, who had 17 tackles and picked up the slack when fellow linebackers聽Derrick Hallman and聽Lawrence Young went down with injuries.

Godfrey’s passing day proved to be the second-most efficient passing day in school history, trailing only a Culpepper masterpiece in October of 1995 against Sanford. Eleven of his 15 completions went for double-digit yards and three of the passes were for more than 40 yards.

“We’ve taken the training wheels off of him and he’s riding on the high bicycle right now,” O’Leary said. “He made so many plays out there for us and he’s playing with great poise. … Some of the stuff that he’s doing is starting to rub off on other players. He’s such a contagious player.”

Newsome, a rising star in the eyes of NFL scouts, caught five passes for 123 yards. Reserve tailback聽Latavius Murray ran for a score and kicker聽Nick Cattoi booted two field goals for the Knights.

Houston scored two touchdowns just after halftime to briefly storm ahead 24-23, but UCF responded immediately behind their charismatic freshman leader. He ran for seven yards on a third down, passed for seven more yards on fourth down and remarkably escaped the blitz to get free for a 25-yard pass to Newsome. Two plays, later Godfrey recovered his own fumble on a sneak play and scored to put UCF up 30-24. The 12-play, 76-yard response was easily one of UCF’s best drives of the season.

Said senior tackle聽Jah Reid: “That’s the tone of a good team – coming back and finding a way to win. It says a lot about this team.”

UCF entered the game ranked 13th in the nation defensively against the run, but had trouble all night stopping Houston’s quick backs from spread formations. Houston ran for 198 yards, and had 532 total yards and 27 first downs in the game. Houston back Michael Hayes ran for 110 yards, while Piland – Houston’s third-string quarterback entering the season — passed for 334 yards and four touchdowns.

Playing with the poise of a player well beyond his years, Godfrey went to work in the second quarter on picking apart Houston’s defense through the air. Facing a critical third-and-six, Godfrey found H-back聽Ricky Kay on a drag route for an 11-yard touchdown. However, Houston’s Wesley Scourten blocked the seventh kick of his career, leaving UCF ahead 13-3.

It wouldn’t stay that way long as UCF’s defense got a three-and-out and speedster聽Josh Robinson returned a Houston punt 35 yards. One play later, Godfrey settled into the pocket and found聽A.J. Guyton streaking down the middle of the field for a 44-yard touchdown. Cattoi’s kick put the Knights up 20-3.

Houston got back within 20-10 when freshman quarterback David Piland hit Patrick Edwards for 33-yard touchdown pass. Edwards would later catch a 32-yard touchdown that put Houston up 24-23. Edwards has 20 career TD catches and six in the past five games.

But UCF did not sit on its lead just before the half, perfectly moving the ball 80 yards in 14 plays to the 1-yard line. Godfrey had a 41-yard strike to聽Brian Watters on the drive, and he ran for five yards for a critical first down with five seconds to play in the half. A spike to stop the clock left just enough time for Cattoi to boot an 18-yard field goal that put the Knights up 23-10 at the half.

Godfrey was nearly flawless in the first half, hitting on 11 of his 14 passes for 210 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran eight times for 50 yards and his calmness helped the Knights convert five of seven third downs in the first two quarters.

UCF moved the ball at will early in the game, driving to the 15-yard line and the 4-yard line on its first two possessions. But the Knights failed to get points out of either drive when they went for it on fourth-and-three from the 15-yard line and failed and later standout tailback聽Ronnie Weaver fumbled the ball at the 2-yard line.

UCF instead relied on its defense to strike first. Miller made a phenomenal play when he rushed off the left edge, ducked back inside and picked off Piland’s short pass. But Miller was just getting started as he stiff-armed a Houston offensive lineman, tight-roped the sideline and ran over a would-be Houston tackler at the goal line for a touchdown that put UCF up 7-0. Miller also returned an interception for a touchdown against Buffalo, making him the only player in UCF history to return two interceptions for touchdowns in the same season.

“That just came from watching film, recognizing the play and making a play for our defense,” Miller said. “Coach (Dave Huxtable) always has us prepared, and I recognized the play from watching film.”

John Denton’s Knights Insider appears on UCFAthletics.com several times a week. E-mail John at jdenton@athletics.ucf.edu.

Coach Huxtable: Number one, they are playing hard and giving us a full 60 minutes. They work so hard in practice and then they go out on Saturday and give us everything they have. We haven’t always been perfect or right, but we work hard. Those young kids back in the secondary have six games under their belts and I’m seeing some improvement in them. I’m most proud of the effort they all have given and have played 60 minutes every night.

Knights Insider: When the defensive line and the linebackers get after the quarterback the way they did Saturday against Miami, how cool was that for you to watch?

Coach Huxtable: That was really cool. I really challenged our defensive line and linebackers to really get after their offense and they really accepted the challenge. Our defensive line did a great job and they really had a lot of effort when we did blitz. They had their best effort all season in terms of just bringing it. They were relentless in their effort.

Knights Insider: The pressure of your defensive ends, in particular, seem to dictate just how much pressure you get on the quarterback. How has the growth of Bruce Miller, Jarvis Geathers and Darius Nall as rushers helped formulate how you attack defensively?

Coach Huxtable: Bruce, Jarvis and Darius have been real warriors for us, especially Bruce. He plays outside and plays inside on the nickel package. We’ve moved him around and feel like we can play him anywhere. He’s a bulldog and he just goes, goes and goes.

Darius and Jarvis give us that speed off the edge. They’re not the biggest guys out there, but they are going against those 6-6, 315-pound tackles and their edge is their speed and quickness. They have done such a good job and they have helped our coverage.

This past week, our coverage was tighter. We gave up some plays, but we were where we needed to be and just have to make plays better. But some of those sacks were the result of some good coverage.

Knights Insider: You have an experienced, fifth-year senior like Cory Hogue in the middle making a lot of the calls. How much peace of mind does that give a defensive coordinator when you have a player of his ilk running the show on the field?

Coach Huxtable: He makes all the calls. Cory is such a valuable player to our defense. I teased him the other day that he’s been playing here for eight years and he gave me a look. He’s so smart and knows the defense so well. I feel like I can do just about anything, put it on Cory and he’ll make the adjustments and make the calls.

That’s what happened in the Miami game. He really took charge of the defense, the adjustment and the checks, and I told him after the game just how proud I was of him. We’re very fortunate to have Cory Hogue.

Knights Insider: This transition from linebackers coach to defensive coordinator, how challenging has it been for you?

Coach Huxtable: I’m coaching football, so I love it. I miss coaching a position, but being a walk-around coordinator I get to be involved with all of the positions. I get to stick my nose in over here and over here and I get to be around all of them instead of just coaching one position.

I’m enjoying it. The fun of football is winning, but really the fun for me is being with a group of guys like this who have a coach-me-coach attitude. It’s been so much fun for me.

Knights Insider: A lot of your players say the thing that they like most about you is that you are an old-school, no-nonsense type of coach who stresses that you have to produce to play. Do you think your mentality has rubbed off on your players?

Coach Huxtable: We’re in the performance business and if you’re not performing you’re not getting your job done. People are coming to watch us play on Saturday, so Monday through Friday we have to take care of our business. Then when we put our cleats in that grass on Saturday it’s time to perform. We have to make things happen and do our jobs.

I’m tough on them. I talk to them all the time about tough love. I’m going to be tough and get after their butts, but when they do a great job I’ll have fun with them. They know we have a job to do and I expect them to perform well.

Knights Insider: The Miami game was a tough loss, but do you as a coach have a job to do now to remind the team there is still plenty to play for?

Coach Huxtable: There is so much left to play for. We’re just halfway through the season. Miami was a game that we wanted to win, but we can’t sit there and look in the rear-view mirror. We’ve got so much ahead of us to play for. That’s what I talked to the defense about. The schedule didn’t say play Miami and then end of schedule. We have a bunch of Conference USA games left to play and we’re still in the hunt with some things. We have a lot out there ahead of us to play for and we’re going to keep playing hard.

John Denton’s Knights Insider appears every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. E-mail John at jdenton@athletics.ucf.edu.