UCF Q&A: What challenge does Houston’s Conner Weigman present?
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Week in and week out, UCF’s defense has been forced to face a murderers’ row of some of the best quarterbacks in the Big 12.
The Knights have already faced the likes of Kansas State’s Avery Johnson, Kansas’ Jaylon Daniels, Cincinnati’s Brandon Sorsby and Baylor’s Sawyer Robertson.
This week, the challenge is Houston’s Conner Weigman.
Weigman, a dual-threat at quarterback, is the sixth-rated passer in the conference, completing nearly 65% of his passes for 1,890 yards with 16 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. He’s also second on the team in rushing with 327 yards and 9 touchdowns.
“I have seen him play on tape and have been really impressed with his toughness and leadership,” said coach Scott Frost. “I know we’ve got a tough, competitive quarterback coming in here.”
“In college football, everyone can run it nowadays,” said linebacker Cole Kozlowski. “So every week, we’ve been alert to it, but the biggest thing is communication, especially when they’re motioning guys left and right, and all of a sudden it’s an empty set, so you’ve got to be alert for the QB draw at all times.”
Is there a way to jumpstart the ground game?
The Knights finished with a season-low 74 rushing yards on Saturday, the lowest amount since totaling just 84 in a 17-14 loss to Navy on Nov. 19, 2022.
Myles Montgomery finished with 50 yards on 12 carries, while Jaden Nixon had just 3 carries for 18 yards. Nixon has yet to reach double-digits in carries this season, despite leading the Big 12 in average yards per carry (12.09).
When asked about getting Nixon more involved in the ground game, Frost explained that falling behind early at Baylor took the Knights out of their game plan.
“The game didn’t go how we wanted because we wanted to hit them with some things we had designed and try to be in a good spot or be ahead in the game so that we could lean on the run game. We never got the chance to do that, so that probably led to us not getting nearly as many carries as we would have liked for Myles and Jaden.
“I know those guys are ready. I’ve got a lot of trust in them. They’re two of our better players and the most trustworthy players. We’re going to use them as much as we can.”
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Montgomery knows how important it is to get Nixon involved in the offensive plan.
“He’s electric. He’s a guy we look for when we need a big play,” he said. “I enjoy blocking for him, so hopefully he will get some more explosive plays.”
What can the defense do to create more turnovers?
For the fifth straight game, UCF failed to win the turnover battle.
The Knights have surrendered the football nine times, while only forcing three takeaways and have a 1-4 record during that same stretch.
“We talk about turnover ratio all the time and we’ve had a negative turnover ratio in every road game,” said Frost. “That’s got to change if you’re going to go on the road and win.”
Houston, meanwhile, turned the ball over a season-high four times in its 45-35 loss to West Virginia.
How can the Knights do better in short-yardage situations?
UCF finds itself near the bottom of the Big 12 standings when it comes to third-down conversions, managing to convert only 33% of such plays. Last Saturday, the Knights successfully converted just one of their 11 third-down attempts. They also struggled to capitalize on several short-yardage opportunities.
“The third and short has been an issue that’s crept up a few times,” said Frost. “That’s just pad level and force of will, to be honest with you. The rest of the third downs, we have to do everything a little better. We have to protect a little better and keep them clean.”
How healthy are the quarterbacks?
Tayven Jackson started his sixth game of the season on Saturday, completing 54.5% (18 of 33) of his passes for 151 yards while throwing a season-high two interceptions.
It’s been a Jekyll-and-Hyde type of season for Jackson at home and on the road.
In the five games at Acrisure Bounce House, the redshirt junior has completed nearly 68% of his passes for 1,068 yards with 5 touchdowns and an interception. But in two road games, the redshirt senior is completing just 52% of his passes for 266 yards with no touchdowns and 3 interceptions.
“I don’t think it’s unique to one person,” Frost said. “We haven’t played as well on the road as we’ve played at home.”
Injuries have played a considerable part in UCF’s inconsistencies at quarterback.
Cam Fancher, Jaccuri Brown and Jackson have all missed time while recovering from injuries.
Fancher suffered broken ribs during UCF’s 20-11 loss at Cincinnati on Oct. 11 and remains out of the lineup. Brown has been out of action since straining an AC joint during the 34-20 loss at Kansas State on Sept. 27.
“It’s tough to look over on the side during practices and see a lot of the guys that could be helping us that aren’t up and doing it right now,” said Frost. “That’s football. Some years are really clean and other years are not.”
Please find me on X, Bluesky or Instagram @osmattmurschel. Email: mmurschel@orlandosentinel.com. Sign up for the Sentinel’s Knights Weekly newsletter for a roundup of all our UCF coverage.
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