With the 52-0 drubbing of Alcorn State behind the Southern Miss football team, the Golden Eagles turn their focus to the start of the Conference USA schedule.
USM hosts Central Florida at 6 p.m. Saturday at M.M. Roberts Stadium with the Knights still scuffling on the offensive side of the ball after a miserable 2008 campaign.
UCF beat Samford 28-24 in a comeback victory Saturday in Orlando, and did it behind the 31 carries for 111 yards and two touchdowns by running back Brynn Harvey.
Judging by that performance, UCF coach George O?Leary is reverting back to the strong ground game he found success in with former star running back Kevin Smith two years ago.
?Basically all we have to go off is the first game under new (UCF) offensive coordinator Charlie Taaffe,? USM coach Larry Fedora said Monday during his weekly press conference. ?All the things we did in the summer, we?ll have to throw them out the window because they?re not what they were last year. They gave it to the big back quite a few times the other night, which is back to running the football. They?re eating up the clock and winning with the defense.?
The Knights were dead last in the nation with just 229.5 yards per game last year. On Saturday against Samford, UCF put up 282 yards.
UCF used two quarterbacks against Samford, Rob Calabrese and Brett Hodges. O?Leary said he plans on using both players again against USM.
While most two-quarterback systems often feature a passing and running threat, there isn?t much difference between the pair with both fitting the model of drop-back passers.
?They?re very similar physically and how they handle the game,? USM defensive coordinator Todd Bradford said. ?The first guy (Calabrese) came in and they had a couple of drops early. Hodges came in during the second quarter and played the rest of the game and the game plan didn?t change at all. I think they know what they want to do with the supporting cast and they just want that guy to manage the game and be a good leader on the field.
?I know coach O?Leary said both guys are going to play against us and that?s what we expect when the game starts.?
Fedora said his team left Saturday?s game relatively healthy and that offensive lineman Micah Brown played well after missing much of preseason camp because of a concussion.
Whether receiver DeAndre Brown will see his first action of the season against UCF is still up in the air as he continues his recovery from a broken leg.
?I couldn?t tell you right now and be 100 percent,? Fedora said. ?I just have to wait until later in the week. He is going to practice live every day and I expect him to get as many reps as possible. We?ll see where he is at the end of the week.?
But offensive coordinator Darrell Wyatt said that Brown?s inability to perform during much of the offseason allowed fellow receivers like Freddie Parham and Johdrick Morris to show what they could do.
?DeAndre?s absence allowed us to get quality reps for the other receivers,? Wyatt said. ?They?ve stepped up and really developed a great bond as a group. It?s a very competitive position where the players are battling every day in practice.?
USM hosts Central Florida at 6 p.m. Saturday at M.M. Roberts Stadium with the Knights still scuffling on the offensive side of the ball after a miserable 2008 campaign.
UCF beat Samford 28-24 in a comeback victory Saturday in Orlando, and did it behind the 31 carries for 111 yards and two touchdowns by running back Brynn Harvey.
Judging by that performance, UCF coach George O?Leary is reverting back to the strong ground game he found success in with former star running back Kevin Smith two years ago.
?Basically all we have to go off is the first game under new (UCF) offensive coordinator Charlie Taaffe,? USM coach Larry Fedora said Monday during his weekly press conference. ?All the things we did in the summer, we?ll have to throw them out the window because they?re not what they were last year. They gave it to the big back quite a few times the other night, which is back to running the football. They?re eating up the clock and winning with the defense.?
The Knights were dead last in the nation with just 229.5 yards per game last year. On Saturday against Samford, UCF put up 282 yards.
UCF used two quarterbacks against Samford, Rob Calabrese and Brett Hodges. O?Leary said he plans on using both players again against USM.
While most two-quarterback systems often feature a passing and running threat, there isn?t much difference between the pair with both fitting the model of drop-back passers.
?They?re very similar physically and how they handle the game,? USM defensive coordinator Todd Bradford said. ?The first guy (Calabrese) came in and they had a couple of drops early. Hodges came in during the second quarter and played the rest of the game and the game plan didn?t change at all. I think they know what they want to do with the supporting cast and they just want that guy to manage the game and be a good leader on the field.
?I know coach O?Leary said both guys are going to play against us and that?s what we expect when the game starts.?
Fedora said his team left Saturday?s game relatively healthy and that offensive lineman Micah Brown played well after missing much of preseason camp because of a concussion.
Whether receiver DeAndre Brown will see his first action of the season against UCF is still up in the air as he continues his recovery from a broken leg.
?I couldn?t tell you right now and be 100 percent,? Fedora said. ?I just have to wait until later in the week. He is going to practice live every day and I expect him to get as many reps as possible. We?ll see where he is at the end of the week.?
But offensive coordinator Darrell Wyatt said that Brown?s inability to perform during much of the offseason allowed fellow receivers like Freddie Parham and Johdrick Morris to show what they could do.
?DeAndre?s absence allowed us to get quality reps for the other receivers,? Wyatt said. ?They?ve stepped up and really developed a great bond as a group. It?s a very competitive position where the players are battling every day in practice.?
