In-state rivalry renewed with road trip to UCF this weekend

Mario Busto/ Contributing Writer

FIU showed resilience to pull out a victory in overtime in the Sept. 8 Akron game that most people predicted the Panthers would easily win.
For the most part, the Panthers were kept in the game by their offensive performance that had to compensate for the 38 Akron points allowed on the defensive side of the ball.

This week, FIU draws the Knights of UCF in Orlando. Both teams have already played against the Zips, but with very different results. The Knights went up to Akron and destroyed the Zips 56-14 and FIU survived in a 41-38 overtime win on Akron.
UCF is the only school in the country with three players on its roster that have rushed for at least 18 touchdowns in their careers (Latavius Murray, Jeff Godfrey, and Brynn Harvey).

Also in their repertoire of running backs is Miami transfer, Storm Johnson. Johnson and Harvey, filled the void of an injured Murray and combined for 111 yards rushing in their loss to Ohio State on Sept. 7. Murray will be unavailable for this game, according to UCF head coach George O’Leary.

UCF would go on to combine for 352 yards against the Buckeyes, something that had only been done 13 times against OSU in 80 games dating back to 2006. Such a potent offense brings up the question of how FIU will handle one of the more explosive offenses they’ll see this season when in just two games they’ve played this season, they have given up 84 points. Head coach Mario Cristobal believes extra possessions for opposing offenses led to more points going on the board.

“We played against two up-tempo offenses. Our possessions were close to doubling [which] means offenses got the ball twice as many times as they have in the past,” Cristobal said. “The second thing is complete and total execution. You know the plays to be had. The stops to be made were a step away and a split second reaction away. Stuff of that nature that we feel is fixable and stuff that we’ve been working on relentlessly.”

FIU’s offense has averaged a monstrous 477 yards of total offense per game and has yet to throw an interception. Leading the way for the Panthers is quarterback Jake Medlock, who so far this season has thrown for 557 yards, 3 touchdowns and has run for an additional 160 rushing yards and 1 touchdown. Just a sophomore, Medlock has managed to take strides in improving as FIU’s lead signal caller.

“I think every rep that he takes, he does get better and better,” Cristobal said. “His run reads as well as his pass reads continually improve. He’s in here all day, comes by all day and is always studying film and investing time. When a guy’s invested and talented and he shows up on game day, he can only get better. And so far we’re pretty pleased with his level of development.”

O’Leary knows that his team has to prepare for the dual threat that Medlock presents to his defense this week.

“Watching tape, I think they (FIU) are good at what they have. No. 12 (Jake Medlock) is a steady quarterback,” O’Leary said in his weekly press conference. “(He) hurts you with his feet, hurts you with his arm. So, we’ll have our work cut out, defensively.”

Medlock and the Panther offense will go up against a UCF defensive unit that has forced seven turnovers in the first two games and that surrendered only 155 passing yards to the Ohio State Buckeyes. A.J. Bouye believes that the Panthers will run a very similar offense to the one from last season.

“We’re expecting to see some of the same things,” Bouye said. “He’s pretty good. He has a nice arm and can run. As far as coverage, we have to make sure we’re where we’re supposed to because he can run and he has good athletes who are trying to get open.”

Anchoring down the Knights on defense is sophomore linebacker Terrance Plummer, who is ranked 29th in the country with 11 tackles per game. Due to the success that they found early on, UCF’s head coach George O’Leary has played the same defensive lineup to start both games this season. The last time that happened was in 2008.

All statistical information aside, this is a rivalry game between two schools that not only face on the football field, but on the recruiting trail as well. It’s no surprise that 71 of UCF’s 104 players and 84 of FIU’s 105-player roster are natives of Florida. A lot of the players on both teams know each other personally or have played against each other in high school.

“When you have those relationships, having played against each other and then becoming an in state game, it automatically becomes a rivalry,” Cristobal said. “You can expect the emotions and intensity to be extremely high.”

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