Home games helping Knights

There's no place like home.

Sure, it's a tired saying, but there's a lot of merit to it this season if you're taking UCF's record into account.

To this point, you could look at final scores to figure out the Knights' (3-4, 1-2) record. Or you could just check whether the games were home or away. UCF is undefeated at 3-0 at home and winless at 0-4 on the road.

"It's never really been like this since I've been here; we've always been a pretty solid road team," linebacker Josh Linam said. "I don't know if it's inexperience or what, but we definitely been doing well at home so we're ready to get back home and get back on a winning track."

The 2011 season has indeed been a tale of two teams, and the discrepancy is all in the numbers.

At home, the Knights are averaging 36 points per game as opposed to 17 on the road. Yards per game for the team isn't as dramatic a difference, however; UCF is averaging 456.3 yards per game at home and 372.3 on the road.

The key is that the Knights are turning yards into points at home. On the road, though, it's a different story. UCF's offense moves well "between the thirties," but simply isn't converting the drives into touchdowns and field goals.

"The key right now for us as compared to last year was that when we had the opportunity to make big plays, we made them," head coach George O'Leary said. "This year that's been a non-factor."

Defensively, the numbers are even more striking.

UCF has allowed only three points per game at home, as opposed to 26.3 on the road. Again, the yards per game differential is glaring. The Knights are limiting opponents to 130 yards per game at home, while allowing 359.8 on the road.

Statistics like that are what have the team looking forward to returning home on Saturday against Memphis (2-6, 1-3).

"Home field is definitely a great thing as far as team morale goes," running back Ronnie Weaver said. "It kind of came at the right time that we have these home games so we can try and do our best to get back on track."

That's not to say everybody buys into the away games themselves being the reason for UCF's struggles.

"I don't think playing away has anything to do with why we lost the last game or why we didn't play well at SMU," O'Leary said. "We didn't go out and get the job done."

It won't get any easier for the Knights to get that job done on the road, though, with dates with Southern Miss and East Carolina looming, back-to-back no less.

Still, at least as far as the Eastern Division of Conference USA is concerned, UCF is very much alive. The Knights can play for a conference championship by sweeping the rest of their games. That was the goal set at the beginning of the season, one the team's senior class takes very seriously.

"I always want to see [the seniors] leave with a great taste in their mouth as far as winning," O'Leary said. "We want to help them get the goal [of winning C-USA]."

To get that goal, the Knights will have to change their fortunes away from home.