UCF Improving
October 26, 2003 11:34 AM | General
October 26, 2003
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- Central Florida coach Mike Kruczek says his players and coaches are the only ones who can dig themselves out of the hole they’re in. Saturday the Golden Knights took a big step at doing that with their 31-13 victory over Central Michigan at the Citrus Bowl.
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| QB Ryan Schneider is now 16th on the NCAA career passing list. (AP photo) |
“This team came together as a family,” he said after Saturday’s win. “We’re the only ones that can dig ourselves out of this hole; no one else can help us. This university can’t, although we had tremendous support from the fans and students today. It was a great Homecoming, and we defended the turf once again.”
The win boosted Central Florida’s record to 3-5 and gives new life to a team that had lost two straight at Ohio and Akron with starting quarterback Ryan Schneider on the shelf for the Ohio loss.
Saturday against Central Michigan, Schneider completed 25 of 32 passes for 254 yards and two touchdowns as UCF rolled up 461 yards of total offense.
Alex Haynes rushed 20 times for 103 yards and scored a touchdown and backup Dontavius Wilcox established career highs in rushing attempts (17) and rushing yards (77).
“Both Haynes and Wilcox played outstanding,” said Kruczek, a former quarterback at Boston College. “The great thing, besides the hard running, was the ball security. The ball didn’t come out of their hands. If we can understand not to lose the ball, these are both talented running backs. Coming off of a slight injury, Alex ran the ball like the Alex of old. He exploded through the holes and even got around the corner a couple of times.”
But is was the play of Schneider that was the story of the game. The 6-foot-2, 220-pound senior moved into 16th place in NCAA history in career passing with 10,723 yards, passing former Marshall standout Chad Pennington. Schneider is tied with Purdue quarterback Drew Brees and Tennessee State’s Joe Adams for 12th place with 81 career TD passes.
UCF shows victories over Florida Atlantic, Buffalo and Central Michigan and losses to Virginia Tech, Syracuse, Kent State, Ohio and Akron.
The Golden Knights come to Morgantown this Saturday for a 1 pm contest that will not be televised live. Good tickets remain for this Homecoming matchup and can be purchased by calling the Mountaineer Ticket Office toll-free at 1-800-WVU GAME or by logging onto the Mountaineer Ticket Office official web site www.WVUGAME.com.
West Virginia, now 3-4, is coming off its biggest victory in school history when it upset No. 3-ranked Virginia Tech, 28-7 last Wednesday night on ESPN.
The Central Florida contest is one of three remaining home games for the Mountaineers.
