ORLANDO, Fla. — Off the field before Saturday's game, it was an embarrassing performance by UCF's defense.
On the field during Saturday's game, it was an inspirational performance by UCF's defense.
The much-maligned Knights defense, which played without four starters after a traffic stop early Thursday morning that involved players possessing semi-automatic weapons and reportedly shouting obscenities at police officers, somehow, someway came up with its best defensive performance of the season during a 44-21 road victory over Houston.
UCF, statistically one of the worst defenses in the country, rose up and held Houston without an offensive touchdown until late in the third quarter, giving UCF's historically high-powered offense time to get cranked up. By the time it was over, the Knights' No. 1-ranked offense had compiled at least 600 yards (681 to be exact) for the third consecutive game to secure the victory, but there's no denying this game was all about the defense.
"Absolute domination," said UCF senior safety Richie Grant — part of a UCF defense that caused two turnovers, recorded three sacks and allowed Houston to convert on only 6 of 16 third downs. "This is one of the proudest moments I've had. It's been a battle this season. There's been a lot we've been through as a team; especially as a defense. We were a few guys down today and we still went out and had our best performance."
Unfortunately, the victory and the defensive uprising was clouded by a troubling incident at about 3 a.m. Thursday morning when two cars, according to campus police officers, were seen racing in the streets near campus at a high rate of speed. When one of the cars was pulled over, police said, they smelled marijuana and then found a loaded assault rifle and two other handguns in the car.
The driver of the vehicle, UCF defensive back Antwan Collier, had a loaded pistol under his seat and was arrested. He was charged with carrying a concealed firearm without a permit — a third-degree felony — and driving with a suspended license — a misdemeanor.
Linebacker Eric Mitchell and defensive backs Aaron Robinson and Brandon Moore were passengers in the car driven by Collier.
A group of five bystanders, who officers also identified as football players, began shouting insults and obscenities when Collier was arrested, with one of them suggesting, "I bet they'll try to put some coke up in there. You know how these pigs do." Some of the passengers in the car also got upset and cursed at police, according to body cam video and a supplemental police report.
In this day and age when police behavior has become a national discussion, credit to the UCF police officers for the way they handled the matter. Body cam video shows the officers dealing with a tearful Collier and other UCF players in a caring, compassionate manner and deescalating a potentially volatile situation. Collier, Moore, Mitchell and defensive linemen Kenny Turnier and Randy Charlton did not make the trip to Houston, although UCF would not confirm whether their absences was related to traffic stop on Thursday morning.
When I asked UCF head coach Josh Heupel after the game how concerned he is about the allegations against his players, he said he would discuss it at a later date.
"I think today is about the guys who are here on this trip," Heupel said. "I'll speak to that (Thursday's incident) later in the week when we get back to Orlando. We have a lot of guys who do a lot of things right. It's important to do things right all the time."
The questions for Heupel and UCF athletics director Danny White are obvious. Why are UCF players speeding through Orlando at 3 a.m. with loaded handguns and assault rifles in their car? Why are they shouting at police who are simply doing their jobs? And are the guns they have a violation of the UCF campus policy about possession of firearms on campus?
The players in question need to understand that this is not what UCF is all about. Dating back to the days when George O'Leary was the head coach, UCF has always prided itself on its players obeying the law, staying out of trouble and being good citizens and positive role models. O'Leary once booted one of his best recruits, massive Miami Central lineman Jose Jose, off of the team after he was charged with aggravated assault with a firearm and carrying a concealed weapon.
It will be interesting to see how the current UCF administration handles this matter.
To paraphrase a tried-and-true tenet of common sense: Nothing good happens after 3 a.m. when you're carrying a loaded assault rifle.
