With upset over Houston, Rice not to be underestimated

Rice might be 2-5, but UCF isn't taking Saturday's game against the Owls lightly.

The 3:30 p.m. contest will pit the Knights, fresh off a dominating win against rival Marshall, against the Owls (1-2 in C-USA), who topped Houston 34-31 last week.

"Obviously, Rice beating Houston … was legit, and watching the tape on it, I think they went out and ran the ball against [the Cougars]. [Rice] played a great game in all phases — offense, defense and the kicking game," head coach George O'Leary said. "Our players are aware of that, and they watch the tape as well as the coaches do, and they see that they made a lot of good plays and played extremely well."

UCF's defense, ranked in the top 10 nationally in passing efficiency defense, total defense, scoring defense and passing defense, will have to contain Michigan-transfer Sam McGuffie. The versatile player and YouTube superstar has racked up 399 rushing yards and two touchdowns this season, along with 254 receiving yards and one touchdown through the air.

They'll also look to keep quarterback Nick Fanuzzi in check. He threw for 206 yards and three touchdowns against Houston.

The Owls have been successful at protecting the football; they've gone two consecutive weeks without a turnover. The Knights (4-2, 2-0 in C-USA) have forced just eight turnovers this season.

"They're a relentless team, and they don't quit," tight end Adam Nissley said. "... Their record doesn't show what kind of football team they are. … So, like I said, we're not going to take them lightly."

Offensively, the Knights will, once again, be making an adjustment at quarterback. Junior QB Rob Calabrese has been ruled out for the season with a torn ACL he suffered against Marshall last week. L.D. Crow, the transfer from Stanford, will move into the backup quarterback spot.

Calabrese's injury did not occur on his touchdown run in the first quarter, but rather when he turned to hand the ball to a referee after the score.

"My instructions to Charlie [Taaffe] were to use both of them," O'Leary said. "I don't want to get into a game now where my only concern is the second quarterback has never played for us. I want to get him in the game and what we're calling and how we're calling it, I think we need to do that. I don't think you'll see him as much as you probably would have seen Calabrese in the game, swinging the quarterbacks a little bit, but you'll see him in the game."

Rice's pass efficiency defense ranks 11th in C-USA, while their rushing defense ranks sixth.

Despite the emergence of freshman signal-caller Jeff Godfrey, the Knights have shown they are sticking with a run-based attack. Knight QBs have thrown just three touchdowns.

Ronnie Weaver leads the team in rushing yards (405) and touchdowns (5), while freshman quarterback Jeff Godfrey had added four scores and 310 yards on the ground.

Wide receivers Brian Watters, A.J. Guyton and Quincy McDuffie have each caught touchdowns.

The Knights have a 2-1 advantage in the series against Rice.