How Should UCF's Defense Challenge Tulane?
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With the UCF Knights playing at the Tulane Green Wave for a second time, there’s the factor of these teams knowing each other well. Before diving into playing the Green Wave again, a couple of comments about the prior was needed.
The UCF defense did not perform well during the last two-and-a-half quarters versus USF. In fact, the Knights were dreadful for much of that stretch.
What happened and why?
It’s puzzling, really. USF had a good rushing attack coming into the game. That was known. Yet, UCF consistently struggled to make run fits and tackle ball carriers during one-on-one situations. Those were basic fundamentals that were not being taken care of.
Now, the UCF defense faces Tulane for a second time, and it’s a far more balanced and talented offense than USF. A few thoughts about how the Knights can at least improve from last week and give themselves a shot to come out of this game as American Athletic Conference champions.
The Knights must be aggressive with their run defense. It was poor against USF by allowing 298 yards on the ground. If the Knights have to commit six to the box when Tulane comes out in a four wide receiver set, so be it. There’s one player that set the tone for the Green Wave all season long, and he’s the priority to slow down in the AAC title game.
If future NFL running back Tyjae Spears comes out of this game at five or more yards per carry, it will not have been shocking. He’s proven to be a great player playing behind a quality offensive line. It’s those wow plays that the Knights cannot allow to happen again, including a 70-yard run back on Nov. 12 against the Knights.
Anytime that Spears has been ripping off runs, whether it’s been against UCF or another team, that’s usually allowed Tulane quarterback Michael Pratt to throw to passes to receivers that were single covered because too much attention was paid to Spears. By playing pressure defense, and yet not overcommitting numbers and playing unsound football, UCF will still get burned a few times. While unfortunate, that’s okay. That’s part of having competed against a good team.
It more important that UCF will have made Tulane think twice about just instituting a power run game with Spears because UCF placed an extra defender in the box. Then, at least UCF will have made Tulane more one dimensional. It also has benefits against the pass.
Three of the many #UCF players that need to come up big versus #Tulane:
— Inside The Knights (@UCF_FanNation) December 1, 2022
Ricky Barber - played well the first time, and his pressure changes what QB Michael Pratt does.
Jason Johnson - Track down RB Tyjae Spears.
Davonte Brown - He's going to be 1-on-1 often.#ChargeOn
Make Pratt move off his spot and do so by mixing blitzes and stunts; that’s what happened the first time these squads met. UCF was not crazy with pressure. The Knights did smack him a few times though. That’s always been imperative against a quality quarterback like Pratt.
UCF sacked Pratt two times and also gained five quarterback hurries. Those totals would have been higher but the Green Wave did a nice job with their quick passing game to offset the Knights getting to Pratt.
Next, UCF needed the turnovers to defeat USF, and the same can be said against Tulane. This will be something that’s talked about afterwards with regards to effort. Fumbles and whether UCF or Tulane that gets them, plus those plays where the extra effort of jumping up to deflect a pass can lead to a teammate coming up with an interception from a deflection.
Those hustle plays on defense changed games many times for the Knights this season. By the time the Tulane game concluded, UCF had better have shown the same effort to have made it happen once again.
Lastly, one-on-one down the field needs to have favored UCF. Playing some pressure defense has been nothing new for the Knights as they have shown man coverage all season long. Pratt, as well as several quality targets, cannot have that special day where they win the downfield battle.
It’s also important to note that Tulane receivers did not play up to their standards against UCF the first time the teams played because they dropped some passes. Do not expect that again. UCF will need to win its fair share of 50-50 balls, and probably needs a pick against Pratt as well, to come out with a victory.
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