Knights look to regain winning ways against Marshall

There will be no lack of wanting at Bright House Networks Stadiums on Saturday.

When the Marshall Thundering Herd (2-3, 1-0) visit the Knights (2-2) to open up Conference USA play for UCF, there shouldn't be an issue with either team sneaking up on the other.

With regards to the Knights, there's that whole two-game losing streak going on. UCF will find itself at a crossroads on Saturday, pertaining to which way this season is going to go.

"We took a tough one against BYU," center Jordan Rae said. "We really want to redeem ourselves so we've been putting in extra time on the things that we need to do to win. Everybody's anxious to go and play in conference."

Meanwhile, the Herd is all too aware of their six-game losing streak to the Knights. That lengthy skid means that no player on the current Marshall roster has beaten UCF, and they've made no secret of talking up how badly they want this win.

"It's conference play, you know, this is for everything," Rae said. "I haven't really read much but I'm sure they're like us; everybody's fired up."

Marshall: Last time out

For the second time this season UCF will be facing a program coming fresh off of a big win over Big East-foe Louisville.

On the road in Kentucky, the Herd took advantage of a late touchdown pass by quarterback Rakeem Cato to C.J. Crawford to go up 17-13 and hold on for the big victory.

The win for Marshall came in a contest where Cato, a freshman hailing from Miami Central High School, also known as the school that produced Knights star Jeff Godfrey, threw for 236 yards and two touchdowns.

Defensively, the Herd limited the Cardinals to only 60 rushing yards.

UCF: Last time out

The Knights are coming off a bye week that enabled the players to get some rest, recover from injury and turn their attention to detail following disappointing losses, most recently to BYU.

"We just don't want to go through what we went through and how we lost because we really beat ourselves," defensive back A.J. Bouye said.

By way of some special teams blunders and fumbles, UCF squandered a lead and an overall well-played game against the Cougars in Provo, Utah, and lost 24-17. The Knights controlled time of possession against BYU, outgained the Cougars by over 100 yards and had more first downs. But UCF also outdid BYU in one statistic they wouldn't like to have – turnovers – and that proved to be a big a part of the difference.

"You can't do the things that have cost us games – turn the ball over and poor decision making," head coach George O'Leary said.

When Marshall has the football

Marshall fans fancy Cato as their own version of Godfrey, and the Knights aren't taking him lightly.

"He is pretty similar to Jeff; he's a good quarterback," Bouye said of Cato. "I noticed that he doesn't really like to scramble [as much as Jeff] … He's got some ‘go-to' receivers."

Already nearing 1,000 passing yards on the season, Cato has tossed seven touchdown passes. He has also, however, tossed seven interceptions and been sacked 11 times. Those are some number UCF would like to build upon.

"Hopefully we'll be able to stop the pass and be able to get to him," Bouye said.

The Herd's running game hasn't been much to fear so far this season. Marshall ranks No. 110 in rushing yards, averaging only 94 yards per game on the ground.

When UCF has the football

The Knights are really going to be looking to return to form in a variety of ways on Saturday.

For starters, the UCF offensive line is anxious to reestablish the strength of its running game.

"That's our bread and butter," Rae said. "We like to play physical football … [Establishing the run] is a big part of everything."

Rae and the rest of the offensive line unit is also more than aware of how many times Godfrey has been sacked the past two games, and the players are anxious to beef up the protection.

With regards to some of Godfrey's struggles, the coaching staff is hoping to let the sophomore quarterback play within himself a little more and get him back into his comfort zone to be successful.

"We've got to be smarter as coaches; I think we're putting him in some situations we've got to look at [differently]," O'Leary said. "I'm very happy with Jeff but we've got to put him in situations that help him more."

The Herd ranks No. 81 in points against, giving up 28.2 points a game, and the Knights will be anxious to try and expose some of the flaws in the Marshall defense. Look for that to start with and rely on the strength of UCF's rushing attack.

The buzz

As mentioned, the Knights find themselves at a crossroads with regards to the direction of their season. But don't assume it's all doom and gloom within the program. This is still a confident bunch.

"There's always areas that you can improve on, but we're doing a lot of things well, too," O'Leary said.

Despite being a two-touchdown favorite, UCF has the lingering sting of its recent slide to keep the players focused against a Marshall team that, had the Knights been 4-0, they may well have overlooked.

Instead, for better or worse, this UCF team appears to be coming out of the bye week rested and restless. The Knights also appear focused and united, something that O'Leary said has to be the case from top to bottom within the program.

"I put it on myself as the head coach that we should have gotten things done better," O'Leary said. "And that's the way I addressed the kids when I talked with them … We're in this together. Coaches and myself and the players. Everybody has to be on the same page."