UCF Knights face Houston in AAC battle

The Knights are preparing to face one of the highest scoring offenses they’ve seen this season with the Houston Cougars. They’ve averaged 41.1 points per game, nearly identical to what Louisville’s prolific offense was putting out before they faced the Knights and lost.

But most of Houston’s high scoring affairs have featured nearly unknown opponents such as Southern University and Conference USA up-and-comer University of Texas at San Antonio. The two other games the Cougars have raised their scoring average with were a 47-46 slugfest loss to BYU, and a 49-14 blowout win over American Athletic Conference rival Rutgers, which is 5-3 on the season.

That high-powered offense may be a challenge for UCF to keep up with. The Knights are already having a near-record season in points per game, nearly matching their all time 37.3 points per game set back in 1992.

That’s where UCF’s defense will come into play, with their No. 8 ranking red-zone defense in the country. The Knights have allowed only 68.2 percent of drives in their red zone to score. And on first-down defense, they’re No. 12 in the nation.

Their red-zone defense could be helped by the Knights marked improvement in turnovers this season. They’re No. 5 in the nation in turnover margin, with many of those coming on plays in the red zone, with Knights players punching balls out and grabbing key interceptions that could have turned into scores.

Those interceptions could prove crucial against Houston, which features a pass-heavy offense that’s known for long plays. Against Rutgers on Oct. 26, quarterback John O’Korn had a career day, throwing five touchdown passes and racking up 364 yards in the air with no interceptions. Meanwhile Houston’s pass defense picked off five Rutgers passes.

Both the Knights and Houston are locked in a battle for the top of the AAC, with Houston currently leading at 7-1 overall and 4-0 in conference play. The Cougars have also had a strength-of-schedule deficiency, with their only conference games so far coming against four of the five worst teams in the conference.

Half of the Cougars’ conference opponents so far have yet to win a game in conference play. That will change in the next three weeks, with Houston facing the top teams in the conference for the final four games of the season.

Meanwhile the Knights have played just three conference teams, but have come away with three wins, including an upset over former AAC leader and FBS Top-10 team Louisville. The Knights’ other two AAC wins so far came off winless UConn and a narrow escape from Memphis, which is now 1-6 overall.

The Knights may have a target on their backs as far as the Cougars are concerned, as they’ll be the first ranked team that Houston plays this season. And just like UCF was when they played No. 6/8 Louisville, the Cougars are getting votes in national polls with a chance to make it into the Top 25. A win could make that happen. And if the Knights can win, they’ll likely move farther up the rankings, which are at an all time high for the program.

But history is in the Knights’ favor. They’ve won three of their four games against Houston, and 23 of 33 homecoming games.

The game kicks off at 7 p.m. Nov. 9 at Bright House Networks Stadium, and will be televised on ESPN2.