2008 UCF Knights football team

American college football season February 2026 August 2023 2008 UCF Knights UCF Knights logo.svg 100px Conference USA East C-USA 4–8 3–5 George O'Leary 5th Tim Salem 5th Dave Huxtable 1st as DC, 5th overall Bright House Networks Stadium(Capacity: 45,323) The 2008 UCF Knights football team represented the University of Central Florida in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Their head coach was George O'Leary, in his fifth season with the team. For the second season, the UCF Knights played all of their home games at Bright House Networks Stadium on the school's main campus in Orlando, Florida. The Knights sought unsuccessfully to defend their Conference USA football championship. Offseason On August 22, 2008, wide receiver Richard Jackson announced that he had completed his enrollment at UCF, completing a transfer from the University of Notre Dame. Jackson was a star prospect from East Ridge High School in nearby Clermont, Florida.http://ucf.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=841217 Jackson transferring to UCF UCFSports.com via Rivals.com Brandon Helwig August 22, 2008 August 25, 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20080919021552/http://ucf.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=841217 September 19, 2008 live He received a hardship waiver from the NCAA on September 5, giving him immediate eligibility.http://ucfathletics.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/090508aad.html Football's Richard Jackson Cleared By NCAA UCFAthletics.com 2008-09-05 2008-09-08 https://web.archive.org/web/20110708212623/http://ucfathletics.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/090508aad.html 2011-07-08 dead Schedule AP Eastern August 30 6:00 pm w y South Carolina State Bright House Networks Stadium Orlando, FL 17–0 42,126 https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-orlando-sentinel-knights-win-highli/180636558/ The Orlando Sentinel Knights' win highlights problem areas August 31, 2008 September 7, 2025 Newspapers.com September 6 7:00 pm l y South Florida 17 Bright House Networks Stadium Orlando, FL War on I–4 ESPN2 24–31 46,805 September 20 1:00 pm l y y Boston College Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA ESPNU 7–34 41,267 September 27 8:00 pm l y UTEP Sun Bowl El Paso, TX CBSCS 13–58 33,339 October 4 3:30 pm w SMU Bright House Networks Stadium Orlando, FL CBSCS 31–17 43,147 October 11 3:45 pm l y y Miami (FL) Dolphin Stadium Miami Gardens, FL ESPNU 14–20 40,011 October 26 8:00 pm l y Tulsa 22 Tulsa, OK Skelly Field at H. A. Chapman Stadium ESPN 19–49 30,000 November 2 8:15 pm l East Carolina Bright House Networks Stadium Orlando, FL ESPN 10–13 OT 40,202 November 8 3:30 pm l y Southern Miss Bright House Networks Stadium Orlando, FL 6–17 41,652 November 15 4:30 pm w y Marshall Joan C. Edwards Stadium Huntington, WV CSS 30–14 24,059 November 22 2:00 pm w y Memphis Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Memphis, TN 28–21 18,836 November 29 1:00 pm l UAB Bright House Networks Stadium Orlando, FL 0–15 23,644 Game summaries South Carolina State Bulldogs 0 0 0 0 Knights 0 7 0 10 The Knights began their season at home against South Carolina State. Making his first start at quarterback, Michael Greco had a difficult time trying to find his groove, completing 9-of-16 passing for 90 yards, and running 13 times for 57 yards. But the defense remained strong and carried the team, holding the Bulldog offense to less than 22 minutes of play time, with Jason Venson catching an interception. South Florida #17 Bulls 10 0 14 0 7 Knights 7 3 0 14 0 2008 South Florida Bulls football team UCF–USF football rivalry Greco's struggles continued when the Knights hosted South Florida for the last match in their "War on I-4" rivalry. While the Bulls scored first, Joe Burnett answered back with a 91-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. The Knights defense held as well as they could, holding the Bulls to 10 points in the first half and allowing the Knights to tie the game going into halftime. However, the Knights had difficulty maintaining their discipline, and it cost them in penalties. The Knights had 12 penalties for 148 yards, one of which negated a touchdown on an interception in the second quarter. Although it appeared the Bulls would begin to run away with the game, scoring two touchdowns in the third quarter, Michael Greco finally awoke toward the end of the fourth quarter, leading two touchdown drives in the final minutes of regulation to force overtime. However, they came up short on a fourth-down run on their turn, failing to answer a quick South Florida touchdown. Although sluggish for most of the game, the Knights offense did not turn the ball over. After their first two games, UCF has a +3 turnover ratio. The unanticipated struggles for the Bulls dropped them back to their preseason #19 ranking in the AP poll despite the win. Boston College Knights 0 7 0 0 Eagles 0 3 14 17 2008 Boston College Eagles football team UTEP Knights 0 7 6 0 Miners 10 17 14 17 2008 UTEP Miners football team SMU Mustangs 10 0 0 7 Knights 3 7 14 7 2008 SMU Mustangs football team Miami (FL) Knights 0 7 0 7 Hurricanes 10 0 0 10 2008 Miami Hurricanes football team Tulsa Knights 0 19 0 0 Golden Hurricane 7 7 21 14 2008 Tulsa Golden Hurricane football team East Carolina Pirates 0 0 3 7 3 Knights 3 7 0 0 0 2008 East Carolina Pirates football team Southern Miss Golden Eagles 0 7 7 3 Knights 6 0 0 0 2008 Southern Miss Golden Eagles football team Marshall 'Knights 10 10 3 7 Thundering Herd 0 7 7 0 2008 Marshall Thundering Herd football team Marshall–UCF football rivalry Memphis Knights 14 7 7 0 Tigers 7 0 7 7 2008 Memphis Tigers football team UAB Blazers 3 6 3 3 Knights 0 0 0 0 2008 UAB Blazers football team References UCF Category:UCF Knights football seasons UCF Knights football Category:2008 in Orlando, Florida