2010 NC State Wolfpack Football: NC State vs UCF

Football coaches at all levels hate turnovers nearly as much as they love spouting tough-guy clichés and aphorisms to the media. Saturday’s contest between N.C. State and Central Florida, won 28-21 by the Wolfpack, provided a prime example of just why the fraternity of coaches loathes turnovers so much.

Despite having just 239 yards of total offense, the visiting Wolfpack went into Lee Corso’s home – “Beautiful Downtown Orlando” – and were able to convert five UCF turnovers into 14 points, seven of which came on sophomore cornerback C.J. Wilson’s 44-yard pick-six in the third quarter. Not only did Wilson’s interception return for the touchdown put the Wolfpack up 28-7, it also ended the day for Knights’ junior quarterback Rob Calabrese (10-of-18, 106 yards, 2 interceptions), who was replaced by freshman quarterback Rob Godfrey.

Godfrey played well, engineering two fourth-quarter touchdown drives, both of which he capped by rushing for touchdowns to get the Knights within seven at 28-21. However, in keeping with the main storyline of the game, a turnover crushed any hopes UCF had of tying the score. A fumble by sophomore wide receiver Quincy McDuffie at the N.C. State 11-yard line ended the Knights’ potential game-tying drive in the final minutes.

> Check out our great selection of NC State Apparel & Merchandise & The ACC Football Scoreboard and Schedule!

Godfrey, though just a young pup, finished with 53 yards on 10 carries to go with the two touchdowns he scored. Godfrey also completed 7-of-10 passes for 107 yards with no interceptions, so UCF coach George O’Leary may very well have a quarterback controversy on his hands... not that such a detail is likely to matter if UCF doesn’t take of the rock the next time out. The Golden Knights must demonstrate ball security when they host Buffalo on Saturday night.

All in all, this is a very worrisome development for Central Florida. This team was counting on Calabrese, a veteran, to take command of not just the quarterback position, but the leadership role in the offensive huddle. Conference USA has too many potent offenses, meaning that each school in the league has to be able to keep up if a shootout develops. A Golden Knight squad without Calabrese will be hard-pressed to maintain its place in C-USA’s East Division. With Austin Davis standing tall in the pocket for Southern Mississippi, UCF needs to have a worthy gunslinger who can throw darts as well as Davis does. This was a winnable game against a shaky ACC opponent, and UCF failed to grab it. O’Leary needs to have a good season in 2010, and this game might point him away from his foremost goals.

NC State Wolfpack @ UCF Knights Football Recap