In an effort to bring you in-depth insight into the opposing teams that West Virginia plays, WVSports.com goes Behind Enemy Lines for an in-depth look at the Big 12 conference home finale match-up with UCF.
What can you expect from the Knights? Well we contacted an authority on the subject in UCFSports.com publisher Brandon Helwig.
1. How has this seen gone to expectations? What is the pulse around the program?
It's been an extremely disappointing season. With elevated recruiting (on paper) and big offseason acquisitions in the transfer portal namely former Arkansas QB KJ Jefferson, Gus Malzahn thought he had a team capable of competing for a Big 12 Championship. Now UCF is fighting for bowl eligibility, needing to win out in their final two games.
Jefferson at QB was a bust, a shell of whatever he was two years ago at Arkansas. He was finally benched in mid-October. Defense was inconsistent, ultimately leading to the midseason dismissal of veteran defensive coordinator Ted Roof who had arrived the previous January. Despite deceiving total yards numbers, the offense's inability to sustain drives and put points on the board forced Malzahn to give up play-calling and hand over those duties to OC Tim Harris Jr.
Those changes, combined with settling on fourth-string QB Dylan Rizk, has given UCF signs of life in the latter part of the season. They had a blowout win at home vs. Arizona, but costly mistakes and a failure to execute in some critical situations led to a 35-31 loss at Arizona State, a game that was very winnable.
UCF does have talent. If better coaching decisions were made in regards to on-field plays and player usage (specifically playing Dylan Rizk earlier), UCF likely has three more wins and right now it's a much different conversation.
Malzahn's inability to take the program forward, especially when other Big 12 newcomers have flourished, has the fanbase clamoring for change but with a $12M buyout that seems unlikely.
2. What’s the situation at quarterback with so many different starters and who will get the call in this game?
Usually when schools start four different quarterbacks in a season, injuries have come into play. Not so at UCF.
After they moved on from KJ Jefferson, UCF started true freshman EJ Colson (who is just 17) in the Cincinnati game (Oct. 12) though his playing time was limited before they decided to go with former Miami transfer Jacurri Brown. He saw the bulk of reps in the October stretch against Cincinnati, Iowa State and BYU, though struggled mightily as a passer. Case in point: Brown was 8 of 20 for 62 yards and two interceptions at Iowa State.
After Brown didn't really improve much in the next game vs. BYU, then wanting to preserve Colson's redshirt by not playing him in another game, UCF asked fourth-stringer Dylan Rizk to play in the fourth quarter after the game was out of reach.
And lo and behold, Rizk appeared to be the best QB on the roster by a mile. He could actually assess the field, identify which receivers were open and had the arm to deliver the ball. Basic QB stuff which Jefferson and Brown could not do with any consistency. It made the fanbase wonder how Malzahn had been evaluating practices as it seemed the trajectory of the season would have been much different if they saw Rizk's talent and not wasted time on bad quarterbacks.
In two-plus games, Rizk has completed 73 percent of his passes (51 of 70) for 625 yards, four touchdowns and one interception.
3. What type of offense do the Knights use and who are the playmakers to watch? Typical spread with RPO elements. The best running back in the Big 12 is arguably RJ Harvey, who already has 1,354 yards and 19 touchdowns this season. He's a future UCF Hall of Famer and it's a shame his senior season won't be a more memorable one. Kobe Hudson is UCF's top receiver, but the player who has emerged lately is Jacoby Jones, a former Ohio transfer who recently produced back to back 100-yard games.
4. Same on defense?
After canning Ted Roof, Malzahn appointed Addison Williams defensive coordinator again, the role he held during the 2023 season. UCF has had a variety of defensive players step up from time to time, consistency has been an issue though. Ricky Barber and Lee Hunter have been solid defensive tackles. Daylan Dotson has emerged at defensive end of late. Deshawn Pace has been valuable for his contributions at linebacker and his ability to also play nickel as UCF is dealing with injury issues there.
5. Any concerns with injuries? What are the keys to the game and how do you see it playing out?
The biggest issue is within the secondary. No. 1 cornerback Brandon Adams has missed the last two games to an undisclosed injury. He's already accepted an invitation to the Senior Bowl, so you've got to believe he won't be rushing himself back. Nickel Braeden Marshall also missed the last game after playing sparingly in the previous two.
This game is a must-win for UCF in order to keep hopes alive for bowl eligibility. Similar stakes can be said for WVU, knowing the challenge of the season finale at Texas Tech.
It does seem UCF has shown a spark since the coordinator/QB change. If UCF can lean on Harvey, that always sets up well. Rizk needs to continue to stay hot. Defensively, they've played well at times but consistency has always been an issue.
What kind of UCF team shows up in Morgantown? One that's excited and motivated to win out? Or one that goes through the motions knowing that a disappointing season is soon coming to an end?
Also, after playing games in mostly comfortable temperatures, there's always the concern of a Florida team playing in colder weather. It's hard to say that won't be a factor if it feels like it's in the 30's with the potential of rain.
----------
• Talk about it with West Virginia fans on The Blue Lot.
• SUBSCRIBE today to stay up on the latest on Mountaineer sports and recruiting.
• Get all of our WVU videos on YouTube by subscribing to the WVSports.com Channel
• Follow us on Twitter: @WVSportsDotCom, @rivalskeenan, @wesleyshoe
