Adjusting the UCF Defense, Knights Must Handle Mobile Quarterbacks and Injuries
ORLANDO - UCF did well against the rushing offenses from Boise State, Bethune-Cookman and East Carolina. All three of those teams do not possess a running threat from the quarterback position.
On the other hand, the Knights struggled mightily with Louisville, Navy, and Cincinnati, three teams that certainly generated rushing yardage by way of the quarterback position.
Three teams without a running quarterback, three wins for the Knights. Three teams that utilized a running signal caller, three losses for UCF.
Fortunately for the Knights, this Friday’s opponent, Memphis, will feature a signal caller Seth Henigan that should not be considered a mobile quarterback. He’s rushed 42 times for 47 yards, a 1.1 average. That does not mean the Knights will not see a ‘quarterback’ take the snap and run when the Tigers invade the Bounce House (see further below). For now, consider the prior three games and how the Knights performed defensively against the run.
Navy
Navy rushed for 348 yards and passed for 58 yards, scoring 27 offensive points. The quarterback, Tai Lavatai, replaced previous starter Xavier Arline in the lineup, and rushed 21 times for 57 yards and two touchdowns. More importantly, Lavatai baited UCF defenders into thinking he would run the football, only to hand it off or pitch it to another member of the Midshipmen that ran for big yards.
As a prime example, slot back Carlos Acie carried just 11 times, but he tallied 85 rushing yards, an average of 7.7 yards per carry. Acie was the player that would take the pitch from Lavatai and utilize his speed to go around the edge of the Knights’ defense. Navy executed the traditional triple-option well, while the UCF defense did not adjust to the pitch all game long. It was arguably the determining factor for the Midshipmen defeating the Knights.
That’s an unusual offense; what Navy operates during each game will not be seen by the UCF defense again. Still, there are reasons for concern if something does not change.
East Carolina
When the Pirates came to the Bounce House, they rushed for 141 yards against the Knights, but those yards came by way of 39 carries, a subpar 3.6 yards per carry. Most importantly, UCF held East Carolina’s offense to just 16 points.
Therefore, UCF played really good run defense despite going up against one of the nation’s best running backs in Keaton Mitchell, a player that averaged 9.6 yards per carry coming into that game.
Mitchell rushed for 65 yards from 17 carries, just a 3.8 yards per carry average. Further, defensive lineman Anthony Montalvo forced a fumble just inside the 10 yard line that defensive end Josh Celiscar recovered, changing the momentum of the game. Here’s the one big difference from that game compared to Navy, however.
What changed?
The Midshipmen utilized a mobile signal caller, and that threat hurt the Knights. While East Carolina quarterback Holton Ahlers can certainly pass the football, he’s not a true running threat in terms of running the option, quarterback draws, or run-pass option plays. That fact leads into the Cincinnati game, where the Bearcats took advantage of their mobile quarterback, Desmond Ridder.
Cincinnati
Against UCF, Cincinnati rushed 42 times for 336 yards, an 8.5 yards per carry average, on its way to 49 offensive points. That average will cause UCF to lose almost every time it plays. The irony is not that future NFL running back Jerome Ford stomped on the Knights’ defense by rushing 20 times for 189 yards and four touchdowns, but rather how and why he did.
Cincinnati running back Jerome Ford ran wild against the UCF defense, gaining 189 yards rushing and scoring four touchdowns.
Albert Cesare / The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK
The key here would be Ridder. The threat of his legs burning the Knights provided Ford with more opportunities to run, and he’s an excellent running back to begin with. Ridder carried just four times for 14 yards (sacks do count against a quarterback’s rushing totals, so that’s a bit misguided). Looking at Ridder’s rushing statistics, one would probably believe UCF handled Ridder well. It depends on what one believes.
With the Knights well aware of the fact that Ridder came into 2021 with three consecutive seasons of rushing for over 500 yards, there were precautions for playing a defense designed to contain Ridder. Rightfully so. He’s an elite runner that made the game-clinching touchdown run at Notre Dame Stadium with the game on the line.
With that fact in mind, UCF did not fully adjust to Cincinnati’s rushing attack beyond Ridder when the Bearcats wanted to run the football.
Because of how UCF often aligned its defense to defend the perimeter runs first, as well as simply understanding the threat of Ridder running to the perimeter for big yardage, the interior of the defensive line was going to be challenged by Cincinnati’s rushing attack. While the scheme provided merit in theory, the Bearcats simply pounded the football between the tackles and demolished UCF’s run defense.
UCF did not adjust well, and quite frankly UCF’s defensive tackles did not play well at all. They were pushed around for much of the game, which created issues for the linebackers as well because their traditional lanes to the ball carriers was all but eliminated with defensive tackles not holding their ground. It was a mess.
To be fair, with defensive tackles Kalia Davis and Ricky Barber out with injuries, it placed the Knights in a really difficult proposition. Continue to stack the interior and play downhill, or take additional precautions with Ridder by way of attempting to stop outside running plays from him?
If UCF regains the services of defensive tackle Ricky Barber against Memphis, it would be a major development.
UCF Athletics
In the end, Cincinnati was too much for the Knights as the injuries and skill of Cincinnati overwhelmed them. That’s reality. Now, moving forward, what can the Knights do? There will be issues coming up with mobile quarterbacks, even with Memphis being a possibility despite playing a signal caller that’s known as a passer.
Overcoming Injuries with Play Calling, Substitutions, and Scheme?
There’s no way UCF is going to overcome the injury of Davis by way of just inserting another player in the lineup. He’s a future NFL player, period. Adding Barber’s injury into the equation, for however long he’s out, makes matters worse. Still, with six games remaining, the UCF defense must find ways to improve a run defense that’s in a bind with two very talented defensive tackles out of the lineup.
Do UCF Co-Defensive Coordinator Travis Williams and Co-Defensive Coordinator David Gibbs begin to take chances with run blitzes? Will there be a different player rotation at defensive tackle where UCF was overmatched against Cincinnati? Could UCF use more of a traditional 4-3 alignment in an effort to slow down opposing rushing attacks?
The number of questions could go on for a good while. There’s no one definitive answer, however, and UCF will probably need to adjust its run defense not only from one game to the next, but perhaps depending on the players in the opposing backfield.
Look for Memphis and Other Teams to Copy UCF’s Former Opponents
Even with a non-running threat at quarterback, Memphis could use the Wildcat formation against the Knights, as well as use formations that target the interior of the UCF defensive front.
To be clear, if the Knights do not slow it down, why go away from what other teams did successfully?
Is Memphis a team that’s going to consistently run the Wildcat? Probably not. Will they potentially use that formation in special situations considering how poorly UCF handled mobile signal callers this year? Well, why would the Memphis coaching staff not do that? There is verifiable proof that UCF does not adjust well to a quarterback using his legs, so perhaps any one of the Memphis running backs will line up in the Wildcat and challenge UCF’s run defense. It’s certainly plausible.
Final Thoughts
UCF played poorly against mobile signal callers this season. Adding the injuries at defensive tackle into the equation, it places more pressure on the defensive coaching staff to come up with solutions. It’s certainly not an enviable situation, but one that UCF must work through for another six games beginning with Memphis.
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