Kruczek wants team to focus on field
There are two things Central Florida Coach Mike Kruczek wants to avoid Friday.
1) Getting into a shouting match.
2) Getting into a shooting match.
If either happens, Kruczek knows his Golden Knights have no chance of beating Marshall at 7 p.m. Friday in a game televised nationally by ESPN2.
"Anytime you go into Huntington, W.Va., based on my limited knowledge just by observing from the outside," said Kruczek, "it's a difficult proposition. They are like 89-5 almost a .900 winning percentage (.947 actually) in that stadium and it's for reasons.
"They feel comfortable at home, they have tremendous fans that support the football team, they're very vocal and, based on what has been printed the last few months, it's not going to help our situation. The fans are going to be in that stadium and be excited about what was said."
Kruczek knows there are going to be derogatory signs.
He knows there are going to be insults.
He knows a lot of venom is going to spew from the Marshall Stadium stands.
But, most of all, Kruczek knows his players can't respond or even acknowledge the comments.
"We've got to concern ourselves with what's going on inside the football field, " he said. "The ?Rectangle' as I like to talk about. What's going on out in the stadium cannot be a distraction. Our kids can't turn around and respond to whatever people are saying in the stadium.
"We've got to pay attention to what's going on on the football field. If we do that, we've got a chance."
But that chance will disappear if Central Florida falls into the second trap.
As good as the Knights' offense is and as much as Kruczek loves to throw the ball, he knows UCF can't go toe-to-toe and pass-for-pass with Marshall's prolific offense.
"Nobody wants to get in a shootout with Marshall and Byron Leftwich," said Kruczek. "He's the best in the country. They've got four of the best receivers in the country, they've got their entire offensive line back and, to be quite frank, nobody has really slowed them down.
"I think last week they slowed themselves down. It wasn't through Virginia Tech's efforts. It was just that they dropped a number of passes. I don't see that happening on a consistent basis."
A look at Marshall's national rankings tells Kruczek all he needs to know. The Herd leads the nation in passing offense (470 yards per game) and total offense (555). And, individually, Leftwich is No. 1 in total offense (439.5) and points responsible for (26 per game).
"We do not want to get in a shootout with them," emphasized Kruczek. "We would prefer to possess the football and run the football at these people and keep their offense off the football field.
"Nobody stopped them last year, as far as Marshall's offense was concerned. And I don't see too many teams stopping them this year, so it's critical for us to win the battle of possession and try to keep No. 7 and his teammates off the football field."
What it amounts to is Kruczek realizes Central Florida is no match for Marshall.
At least, not when it comes to shouting or shooting.
There are two things Central Florida Coach Mike Kruczek wants to avoid Friday.
1) Getting into a shouting match.
2) Getting into a shooting match.
If either happens, Kruczek knows his Golden Knights have no chance of beating Marshall at 7 p.m. Friday in a game televised nationally by ESPN2.
"Anytime you go into Huntington, W.Va., based on my limited knowledge just by observing from the outside," said Kruczek, "it's a difficult proposition. They are like 89-5 almost a .900 winning percentage (.947 actually) in that stadium and it's for reasons.
"They feel comfortable at home, they have tremendous fans that support the football team, they're very vocal and, based on what has been printed the last few months, it's not going to help our situation. The fans are going to be in that stadium and be excited about what was said."
Kruczek knows there are going to be derogatory signs.
He knows there are going to be insults.
He knows a lot of venom is going to spew from the Marshall Stadium stands.
But, most of all, Kruczek knows his players can't respond or even acknowledge the comments.
"We've got to concern ourselves with what's going on inside the football field, " he said. "The ?Rectangle' as I like to talk about. What's going on out in the stadium cannot be a distraction. Our kids can't turn around and respond to whatever people are saying in the stadium.
"We've got to pay attention to what's going on on the football field. If we do that, we've got a chance."
But that chance will disappear if Central Florida falls into the second trap.
As good as the Knights' offense is and as much as Kruczek loves to throw the ball, he knows UCF can't go toe-to-toe and pass-for-pass with Marshall's prolific offense.
"Nobody wants to get in a shootout with Marshall and Byron Leftwich," said Kruczek. "He's the best in the country. They've got four of the best receivers in the country, they've got their entire offensive line back and, to be quite frank, nobody has really slowed them down.
"I think last week they slowed themselves down. It wasn't through Virginia Tech's efforts. It was just that they dropped a number of passes. I don't see that happening on a consistent basis."
A look at Marshall's national rankings tells Kruczek all he needs to know. The Herd leads the nation in passing offense (470 yards per game) and total offense (555). And, individually, Leftwich is No. 1 in total offense (439.5) and points responsible for (26 per game).
"We do not want to get in a shootout with them," emphasized Kruczek. "We would prefer to possess the football and run the football at these people and keep their offense off the football field.
"Nobody stopped them last year, as far as Marshall's offense was concerned. And I don't see too many teams stopping them this year, so it's critical for us to win the battle of possession and try to keep No. 7 and his teammates off the football field."
What it amounts to is Kruczek realizes Central Florida is no match for Marshall.
At least, not when it comes to shouting or shooting.
