Last year, Alexander preserved a five-point win with a fourth-down pass breakup in the end zone at Bright House Networks Stadium. Thursday night at John TDECU Stadium, he forced a fumble through the end zone at the 1-yard line as Houston QB Greg Ward Jr. was leaping and reaching for the end zone. That play also preserved a five-point win, 17-12.

“The quarterback broke and I just knew his intent was not to pass, it was to run,” Alexander said. “So, he just dove. When he dove, I dove. Everything happens for a reason. I just laid on the ground real quick. I saw everybody freeze … and then I just saw Clayton come out of nowhere, jacking me up, saying `Good job! Good job!’ Everybody was just celebrating. It was a wonderful feeling.”

Alexander finished the game with a team-high nine tackles, one interception and the game-saving forced fumble.

麻豆原创 head coach George O’Leary was happy to get out of Houston with a victory in the .

“Any win’s a good win,” O’Leary said. “It’s a good first conference game.”

Offensively, a quick flurry of 10 points to open the second half ended up being just enough for the Knights.

Quarterback Justin Holman found wide receiver Breshad Perriman for a 52-yard touchdown strike to make it 14-6. Alexander picked Houston QB John O’Korn on the ensuing possession, which led to a 42-yard Shawn Moffitt field goal and 麻豆原创 led 17-6 midway through the third period.

Meanwhile, the 麻豆原创 defense bent, but did not break the entire game. The defense put together a goal-line stand, stuffing four straight plays from the 2-yard line in the first quarter. Time and again, they pushed Houston away from the end zone, forcing the Cougars to kick four field goals.

“Houston’s a good offense,” O’Leary said. “I thought, except for a couple series, the back end played very well today and tackled well.”

Kyle Bullard hit a 52-yard field goal with just over 11 minutes remaining, trimming the Cougars’ deficit to eight, 17-9. A Jaryl Mamea sack, his third of the game, pushed Houston back when they were threatening the end zone with 5 minutes left. After the sack, Bullard hit his fourth field goal of the game with 4:46 remaining. This one was from 49 yards out and left 麻豆原创 with a 17-12 edge.

Trailing 3-0, 麻豆原创 grabbed the lead after a second-quarter turnover. Clayton Geathers set his offense up at the 25-yard line after stepping in front of a O’Korn pass for his first interception of the season. Five plays later, Justin Holman found Jackie Williams for a 5-yard touchdown pass and the Knights led 7-3 with 9:27 remaining in the first half. It was Williams’ first score as a Knight. Bullard added a 42-yard field goal for Houston with less than two minutes before intermission to cut the lead to 7-6.

Bullard opened the scoring as Houston took advantage of a 麻豆原创 turnover. After the Knights lost a fumble, the defense forced a 39-yard field goal from the Cougars kicker five minutes into the first quarter. The Knights dodged a bullet late in the first quarter with a goal-line stand, stopping four straight plays from inside the 2-yard line.

The Bednarik Award has been presented to the College Defensive Player of the Year since 1995, and is named after former Penn and Philadelphia Eagle standout Chuck Bednarik.

Semifinals for the Bednarik Award will be announced Nov. 3, while three finalists will be unveiled Nov. 24. The winner will be announced as part of the Home Depot College Football Awards Show Dec. 11.

This is Plummer’s third preseason honor, as he has been listed on the College Football Performance Awards Linebackers Trophy Watch List and on Phil Steele’s Preseason All-American Athletic Conference First Team.

麻豆原创 on Preseason Watch Lists

Plummer had a memorable 2013 campaign for the Knights, setting career-highs in almost every defensive category. He led 麻豆原创 with 110 tackles while also notching 2.5 sacks, 8.5 tackles for loss, six break-ups, two interceptions and two forced fumbles. That helped the middle linebacker be voted on to the All-American Athletic Conference First Team, and he also was an SI.com Honorable Mention All-American as well as the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl Defensive MVP.

Since his true freshman season in 2011, Plummer has racked up 235 tackles and 17.5 tackles for loss in 38 overall games played and 26 starts.

Plummer and his teammates will be hitting the practice fields for the first time July 31 in preparation for the season-opener Aug. 30 vs. Penn State in Ireland.

2014 Football Season Tickets: The March to Victory starts with 麻豆原创 fans. Order season tickets, starting at $99, today online or call 407-麻豆原创-1000. And to learn about the Croke Park Classic against Penn State in Dublin, check out 麻豆原创.CrokeParkClassic.com.

The awards were voted on by the league鈥檚 10 head coaches. For a full list of awards, visit .

麻豆原创鈥檚 Postseason Conference Honors

Coach of the Year: George O鈥橪eary

Offensive Player of the Year: Blake Bortles

First Team

Second Team

Head Coach George O鈥橪eary

With 11, 麻豆原创 tied for the most players who received all-conference accolades. The Knights also placed both of their running backs, Storm Johnson (first team) and William Stanback (second team), on the all-conference teams. It marks the first time in school history 麻豆原创 had two running backs earn all-league honors in the same season (first year in a league was in 2002 in the MAC).

The Knights had six representatives on the first team, tying the 2007 and 2012 麻豆原创 teams for the most on a conference鈥檚 first unit.

A native of Oviedo, Bortles stands as the only 麻豆原创 signal-caller to be on a first or second team. He was on the All-Conference USA Second Team a year ago and on the C-USA All-Freshman Team in 2011.

On special teams, Orlando鈥檚 Shawn Moffitt is the first 麻豆原创 kicker to find his name on an all-league squad.

Stanback and running back Kevin Smith (2005) are the only two freshmen offensive players to earn spots on an all-league first or second team. Meanwhile, cornerback Jacoby Glenn joins fellow corner Joe Burnett (2005), defensive end Bruce Miller (2007) and corner Josh Robinson (2009) as four freshmen defensive players who have been named to an all-conference first or second team. Add in kick returner Rannell Hall in 2011 and there have been seven freshmen to receive all-league honors.

Thursday was Bortles’ night, plain and simple. And with the junior quarterback at command under the bright lights on , there was no way 麻豆原创 was walking out of Bright House Network Stadium without another checkmark in the win column.

Bortles accounted for 367 of the No. 17/20 麻豆原创 football team’s 452 total yards in its 41-17 win over Rutgers. As a result, he led 麻豆原创 (9-1, 6-0) to matching the program’s best record in conference play since joining a league in 2002.

“I thought it was a very good win for 麻豆原创. We dominated the first seven possessions with six scores,” 麻豆原创 head coach George O’Leary said. “I thought Bortles had an exceptional game as far as taking plays that were not there and making something out of them.”

麻豆原创 scored early and often from the get-go.

In the game’s first series, Bortles locked in on sophomore receiver Breshad Perriman streaking toward the left side of the end zone. The two connected before Perriman was pushed out of bounds to give 麻豆原创 a 7-0 lead.

Junior defensive back Clayton Geathers’ interception at the 40-yard line in 麻豆原创 territory on Rutgers’ next possession spurred the Knights on another scoring drive. 麻豆原创 moved down field with ease, and running back Storm Johnson broke several tackles as he ate up 12 yards before diving across the end zone line for his 10th rushing touchdown of the season to make it 14-0.

In the first series of the second quarter, 麻豆原创 freshman running back William Stanback trucked over RU freshman defensive back Anthony Cioffi to pick up 20 yards and advance the Knights to the 12-yard line. Four plays later, Johnson crept one yard for another touchdown and 21-0 edge.

“It was a classic lowering your shoulder and running through the guy… It was everything you teach,” O’Leary said of Stanback’s SportsCenter No. 1 Top Play. “He’s only a freshman, but if he keeps improving fundamentally, I think he is going to be a whale of a player. I really do.”

Rutgers (5-5, 2-4) struggled through its next possession until a fake punt to fullback Michael Burton sparked some life into the Scarlet Knights. He picked up 38 yards before he was brought down just outside of the red zone.

Rutgers quarterback Gary Nova found Brandon Coleman for a big gain, setting up first-and-goal on the 1-yard line. 麻豆原创’s defense was impenetrable for the first three downs, but the Scarlet Knights came through on their second fourth down conversion of the drive to get on the board, 21-7, with 5:59 to go in the half.

Bortles responded with a 7-yard touchdown run that capped an 11-play, 79-yard drive, which included his exceptional 31-yard toss to Worton.

“I just try not to get tackled, really,” Bortles said of his scrambling skills. “I know if I break out of the pocket, our receivers are going to find somewhere and I’ll be able to get the ball to them. That’s all I try to do is just stay alive and extend the play.”

Rutgers snuck in one more touchdown before halftime after blocking 麻豆原创’s punt attempt from its own 34-yard line. Freshman receiver Andre Patton landed on the ball in the end zone to inch the gap, 28-14.

The offensive deluge lightened up in the second half as the Knights settled for a 32-yard field goal by Shawn Moffitt to increase their lead, 31-14, on their first drive after the break. It was the only scoring play for either team in the third quarter.

The Knights got some more out of their offense in the fourth quarter with a 1-yard touchdown run from Stanback and a 42-yard field goal from Moffitt. Meanwhile, Rutgers could only manage a 35-yard field goal with 33 seconds remaining to rest the score at 41-17.

麻豆原创 plays its final home game of the season against rival USF at 8 p.m. on Nov. 29 on ESPN. If Cincinnati loses its matchup at Houston this Saturday, and 麻豆原创 goes on to win against the Bulls, the Knights would clinch at least a share of the American Athletic Conference title.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a great win in a tough environment,鈥� 麻豆原创 head coach George O鈥橪eary said. 鈥淥vercoming a packed house and the No. 8 team in the country, is a great win for our program. I鈥檓 just happy for the kids. We went into the game with one motto, 鈥楪reat effort, great effort, great effort and compete and that鈥檚 what I thought they did.鈥�

O鈥橪eary was impressed with the way his team rallied from a 21-point deficit.

鈥淲e got down 28-7 and they could have just hung their heads, but no they didn鈥檛,鈥� the head coach said. 鈥淭hey got after it. We took some breaks and got some things done and kept pounding.鈥�

After trailing for the first time all season, Louisville took a 35-31 lead going 88 yards in nine plays. Dominique Brown took it around left end for a 15-yard touchdown run. But they left three minutes for Blake Bortles and the Knights, which was just enough time to mount the game-winning drive.

麻豆原创 took over at its own 25-yard line and calmly drove 75 yards. Bortles was 6-of-8 for 66 yards on the Knights鈥� final drive. 麻豆原创 faced third-and-goal at the 2-yard line. Bortles took the snap, rolled right, bought some time and found wide receiver Jeff Godfrey alone in the back-right corner of the end zone for a TD. Earlier in the possession Bortles found Godfrey for an 11-yard gain to reach the red zone. On 3rd-and-10 from the 19-yard line, Reese hauled in a 15-yard aerial to move it to the 5-yard line. A spike and a 3-yard Storm Johnson run set up the scoring play.

鈥淲e had some good runs and some nice passes, especially that last series,鈥� O鈥橪eary said. 鈥淏lake made some really good throws and we made some good plays, getting some (yards) after the catch.鈥�

Bortles gave credit to the running game, which set up a lot of his success.

鈥淲e had a good plan,鈥� Bortles said. 鈥淲e were able to run the ball and that鈥檚 something that nobody has been able to do on them. Give the offensive line and the running backs credit.鈥�

The defense then held on, as Louisville moved to midfield with 5 seconds remaining. But a Teddy Bridgewater Hail Mary fell incomplete in the end zone as time expired.

The fourth quarter was set up by a wild third period and end of the second quarter. The Cardinals took a seven-point edge into the locker room at intermission, 14-7. But Louisville added to the lead quickly after the break. Dominique Brown slipped up the middle for a 20-yard TD run to push the Louisville advantage to 21-7 with 9:26 remaining in the third quarter.

The Cardinals pushed the lead to 28-7 on a special teams miscue. 麻豆原创 punter Caleb Houston fumbled before he could get a punt off. It was recovered by Louisville鈥檚 James Quick, who returned it for a score, giving the Cardinals their third touchdown in a span of just more than eight minutes.

Then, it was 麻豆原创鈥檚 turn to put together a scoring streak. Storm Johnson got the Knights started with 4:50 remaining in the third quarter, plowing in from one yard out. 麻豆原创 created a turnover less than a minute later. Clayton Geathers forced a Louisville fumble at the 15-yard line where Sean Maag recovered. After a false start, the first offensive play of the Knights鈥� possession was a 20-yard screen pass for a touchdown from Bortles to Johnson. Two TDs in 1:10 made it 28-21.

Running back Will Stanback made a couple big runs after a stop from the Knight defense. Included in those plays by the freshman was a 12-yard scoring run to tie the game at 28-28. 麻豆原创鈥檚 three TDs came in a matter of 4:20, besting Louisville鈥檚 three TDs in eight minutes. The 21 unanswered by the Knights made it a one-quarter game. The winner of the fourth quarter would take the victory and 麻豆原创 outscored Louisville 10-7 in the final period.

Louisville grabbed a 7-0 lead with 5:29 remaining in the first quarter on a Bridgewater-to-Eli Rogers touchdown pass of 18 yards. The Louisville scoring drive came following a 麻豆原创 possession to open the game that ended with an interception in the end zone.

The first quarter came to an end with Louisville holding on to that 7-0 advantage. The 麻豆原创 defense came up with a huge turnover late in the quarter. Safety Brandon Alexander forced a fumble inside the Knights鈥� 5-yard line that rolled into the pylon, which resulted in a touchback and 麻豆原创 regained possession.

The Knights tied things up 7-7 with 4:13 remaining in the first half. Stanback then made back-to-back big plays. Rannell Hall took a reverse inside the Louisville 10, but fumbled. Stanback recovered at the Cardinal 4-yard line. On the next play, Stanback bowled into the end zone for the game-tying score.

Louisville regained the lead 14-7 with just less than one minute left in the half. Bridgewater capped a 10-play, 75-yard drive with a 10-yard touchdown pass to DeVante Parker, setting the stage for all the second-half fireworks.

麻豆原创 tallied 446 yards of total offense to 445 for Louisville. Offensively, Johnson rushed for 109 yards and a touchdown, while hauling in four receptions for 79 yards and a score. Stanback rushed for 65 yards and two TDs. Bortles finished the game 21-of-32 for 250 yards and two TDs. Defensively, Sean Maag tallied 10 tackles, half a tackle-for-loss and a fumble recovery.

Last year, quarterback Blake Bortles served as one of the primary focal points during the spring contest as he was beginning his first season as the Knights’ starting signal-caller. The Oviedo native ultimately put together one of the finest performances by a 麻豆原创 quarterback in school history, guiding the Knights to a 10-4 record and a Conference USA East Division title. He also was the MVP of the Beef `O’ Brady’s Bowl.

Now a junior, Bortles has to smile knowing all of the weapons he has on offense, highlighted by 麻豆原创 returning five of its top six wide receivers from a year ago. On the other side of the line, though, the Black and Gold lost several key players, and that will be one of five things to watch this Saturday.

FIVE THINGS TO WATCH FOR SATURDAY

Young Defense

Early Enrollees

Wide Receivers

Tight Ends

Special Teams

Plan your game days with the Knights, and experience one of the best schedules in program history in the best available seat locations at Bright House Networks Stadium. 2013 season tickets start at $99. To secure your 麻豆原创 football season tickets, visit 麻豆原创Athletics.com or call 407-麻豆原创-1000.

麻豆原创 opened the scoring with a nine-play, 81-yard touchdown drive that also featured plenty of Murray. The senior running back accounted for the final 72 yards (61 rushing, 11 receiving) of the possession. Murray ripped off a 50-yard burst and also capped the drive with a 1-yard scoring plunge during the drive, which put 麻豆原创 on top 7-0.

Murray’s first-quarter effort and an opportunistic Knights’ defense led 麻豆原创 (5-2, 3-0 C-USA) to a 35-17 victory. The 麻豆原创 defense forced three Memphis turnovers and held the Tigers (1-6, 1-2) to 4-of-16 on third-down conversion opportunities.

“I think (turnovers were) the difference in the game tonight,” 麻豆原创 head coach George O’Leary said. “Defensively, we made some plays. We got some quick three-and-outs that kept us in good field position.”

By the end of the first quarter, Murray had rushed for 149 yards and two scores on just nine carries. Murray finished his night with 192 yards on 23 carries, which gave him the 12th-best single-game rushing output in 麻豆原创 history.

“The line was doing their job up front,” Murray said. “On those two runs that I broke long on, I just made sure that I hit it and got what was there. I felt good to be out there. That first quarter, those runs we had … we just need to pick it up in the second half and play a full game like that.”

Memphis finally got on the scoreboard early in the second quarter, when Tyler Spurlock converted a 34-yard field goal to pull the Tigers within 14-3. The Tigers made it 14-10 when Robert Steeples returned a 麻豆原创 fumble 27 yards for a score.

J.J. Worton gave the Knights some breathing room with 5:43 remaining in the third quarter. He took a pass over the middle from quarterback Blake Bortles and raced untouched to the end zone to put 麻豆原创 on top 21-10. The 29-yard TD pass capped a 61-yard drive that was set up by an A.J. Bouye interception.

Bouye came up big for the 麻豆原创 defense early in the fourth quarter as well. Memphis completed a pass inside the 麻豆原创 25-yard line, but Clayton Geathers stripped Keiwone Malone. Bouye scooped up the loose ball at the 21-yard line and raced 79 yards to give the Knights a 28-10 lead.

麻豆原创 wrapped up its scoring when Bortles found tight end Justin Tukes wide open for a six-yard touchdown with 4:18 remaining in the contest. Memphis added a score with less than one minute remaining in the contest to account for the final tally.

Bortles finished the game 15-of-26 for 122 yards and two scores. Worton was 麻豆原创’s leading receiver with five catches for 56 yards and a score. Clayton Geathers led the way for the Knights’ defense, matching his career-high with 13 total tackles. Kemal Ishmael added 10 stops for 麻豆原创, as well.

The Knights are back in action again next Saturday night at Marshall.

The Knights (4-2, 2-0) registered their 100th win in FBS history and first against the Golden Eagles (0-6, 0-2) since 2007. It was also 麻豆原创’s first overtime victory in school history.

“I said earlier in the week that you can throw the records out and give Southern Miss credit that they came in here and fought,” head coach George O’Leary said. “I don’t think we played as well as we would have liked in any phase of the game, but a lot of that was caused by Southern Miss. They went punch for punch with us. Thankfully we played hard in the overtime periods as far as run, pass and defensively with the pick.

“We’ve have so many close encounters with Southern Miss and it’s a great win as far as another conference win and a step closer to what we want to get accomplished.”

Holding leads of 17-7 and 24-14 during the game, 麻豆原创 found itself going to overtime when USM’s Corey Acosta snuck in a 27-yarder that scraped the left goal post to tie the game at 24-all. In the extra sessions, 麻豆原创 senior running back Latavius Murray made his presence felt by ripping off 28 of his 52 yards on the ground, including a pair of TDs to move into fourth all-time with 25-career rushing TDs.

Fellow senior Kemal Ishmael ended any thoughts of Southern Miss forcing a third overtime when he snatched his second interception of the season on the first play of USM’s second OT series at the seven-yard line.

“The defense did a good job walling the receiver and forcing the quarterback to make a throw he didn’t want to make. It was just good game-planning and good practice. Coach checked out of one of our calls and went to another and it was a great call,” Ishmael said about the game-sealing pick.

O’Leary added about his four-year starter, Ishmael: “Your great football players are always in the right position and that’s where Kemal was. A great play by him, and he is just a terrific football player.”

Also leading the Knights in the victory was the redshirt sophomore trio of Blake Bortles, Storm Johnson and J.J. Worton. For the third-straight game, Bortles notched a career-high through the air after connecting on 27-of-40 passes for 272 yards. He also chipped in on the ground with two short one-yard plunges.

After failing to record a grab in the 40-20 win over East Carolina, Worton responded with a career-best 117 yards on eight catches. Johnson tallied a career-high 94 yards on 18 carries, including a dazzling 32-yard dash through the Golden Eagles defense in the fourth quarter.

Senior Jonathan Davis registered a team-leading nine tackles and was joined by redshirt sophomore Clayton Geathers and Ishmael, who notched eight and seven stops, respectively. Defensive back Jordan Ozerities also notched his second-career interception just after halftime.

With their longest homestand since 2001-02 in the books, the Knights will turn their attention to Memphis when they head to the River City next Saturday for a primetime showdown at 7 p.m.

麻豆原创 went toe-to-toe with the Buckeyes for much of the contest. But three touchdowns by Miller (one through the air and two on the ground) over the course of about seven minutes – spanning the end of the second quarter and the beginning of the third – made the difference.

“Basically, we played sporadically,” head coach George O’Leary said. “You can’t turn the ball over against good football teams. Obviously, Ohio State’s a very good football team. We didn’t tackle very well. Too many missed tackles. They have athletes that make you miss. Everything they talk about with Braxton Miller is accurate.”

With the score tied 10-10 late in the second quarter, Miller scored on a six-yard run to make it 17-10 at the intermission. He then followed up with a TD pass and another scoring run in the first 6:52 of the third quarter. Those three TDs gave Ohio State a 31-10 lead.

麻豆原创 responded with an 84-yard scoring drive, capped by a Bortles-to-Billy Giovanetti two-yard scoring strike to pull within 31-16 late in the third quarter. But that was the final time either team would light the scoreboard.

“I thought we fought back and were resilient with what we were trying to get done,” O’Leary said. “We had opportunities to score points and we didn’t do it.”

Bortles was 25-of-41 for 251 yards and two scores, but was intercepted three times. J.J. Worton hauled in seven passes for 96 yards. Storm Johnson led the Knights on the ground with 75 yards on 12 rushes, averaging 6.3 yards per carry. Terrance Plummer paced the 麻豆原创 defense with a career-best 16 tackles, including one tackle-for-loss. Two other Knight defenders – Kemal Ishmael and Clayton Geathers – recorded 10 tackles apiece.

Each team gave the ball away three times. Ohio State put together 411 yards of offense, compared to 352 for 麻豆原创. The Buckeyes held a 33:16-26:44 advantage in time of possession.

Ohio State opened up the scoring on its first possession of the contest, as Miller took a quarterback draw up the middle for 37 yards and a score. The Buckeyes led 7-0 after less than six minutes. 麻豆原创 answered with a 28-yard field goal with 12 seconds remaining on the first quarter clock. The Knights’ defense helped set up the score, when linebacker Jonathan Davis stopped Miller on a fourth-and-1 keeper at the Buckeyes’ 47-yard line. Eight plays later, Shawn Moffitt converted from 28 yards out to make it 7-3.

Ohio State increased its lead back to 7 points early in the second quarter. The 麻豆原创 defense stiffened at the 7-yard line before Drew Basil knocked a 24-yard field goal through the uprights to put OSU on top 10-3. But 麻豆原创 answered again.

Running back Storm Johnson accounted for 68 yards on the first two plays of the Knights’ ensuing possession. He took a pass from Bortles for 20 yards and then went around right end for 48, setting 麻豆原创 up at the Ohio State 10-yard line. On third-and-goal from the 1, Bortles found tight end Justin Tukes wide open in the end zone. Moffitt’s PAT tied the game at 10-10.

After an Ohio State fumble late in the third quarter, Bortles had a pass tipped and intercepted at the Knights’ 48-yard line. Eight plays later, Miller kept it around the left end for a six-yard TD run with just 15 seconds left in the first half to put Ohio State up 17-10 at halftime.

The conclusion of those workouts over the course of a few weeks was Saturday’s annual spring football game at Bright House Network Stadium. With weather that made it feel more like November than April, the Knights hit the field the final time before gathering later this summer in preparation for the season opener at Akron.

There were some highlights during Saturday’s play that included some nice runs, catches and interceptions by players coming back from injuries. There were some dropped balls and penalties, but for the most part, 麻豆原创 Head Coach George O’Leary seemed pleased with what he saw.

Here’s a list of things to note from the game:

Blake Bortles looks and plays the part: At 6-foot-4, the sophomore quarterback has the walk and talk of a confident team leader. Bortles does not lack confidence and seems to have settled in his role at the starting signal caller. Bortles was 27-of 45 for 239 yards and one touchdown in Saturday’s game. He used a variety of receivers and showed his ability of being patient in the pocket and his strong arm as well.

麻豆原创 has talent at the wideout position: Despite the unusually high number of drops in Saturday’s game, the spring was a good one for this group. Freshman Breshad Perriman has the look of someone who can and will make a big impact this fall. At 6-foot-2, Perriman can take a hit and appears to be someone Bortles will look for. Sophomore Josh Reese was a big target for Bortles in the second half of the season in 2011 and should be again this fall. Senior Quincy McDuffee and sophomore Ranell Hall provide great speed and incoming freshmen at this position make things bright this fall and for years to come.

Options in the backfield: With the arrival of Storm Johnson, 麻豆原创 can go four-deep at running back. Returnees Latavius Murray and Brynn Harvey provide a great combo and the addition of Johnson gives offensive coordinator Charlie Taffe a new weapon because of Johnson’s breakaway speed. Don’t forget redshirt freshman Cedric Thompson who can also run the ball well. How 麻豆原创 uses this group in the fall will be interesting. 麻豆原创 did not show it this past Saturday, but the Knights might use a two-back set where Murray plays more of a H-back role in passing situations.

Defensive line features flexibility: Bruce Miller started the trend by being used as both an end and tackle. Few players did it was well as Miller, but 麻豆原创 will move players from inside out in certain situations. Victor Gray is the guy to watch as Gray moves inside out. 麻豆原创’s interior of the line appears to have some depth with E.J. Dunston, Josh Wofford, Jose Jose and Thomas Niles. Defensive end Troy Davis believes the line will be better at sacking the quarterback, something 麻豆原创 struggled with last season.

Plummer fits the middle just fine: Terrance Plummer played a lot during his freshman year, but now he will play an even bigger role as he has moved inside. Plummer shined throughout the spring and credits new defensive coordinator Jim Fleming, who Plummer said just simplified things for him in many areas. Depth at this position is something 麻豆原创 will still work on but Plummer, Jonathan Davis and Ray Shipman handle the outside spots quite well.

Ishmael leads with his play: It’s hard to imagine, but Kemal Ishmael is a senior. He has seen fellow secondary players jump to the NFL and others suffer season-ending injuries, but Ishmael remains the constant. He still hits as hard as anyone and always seems to be around the ball whether it be run or pass. Ishmael welcomes the return of cornerback A.J. Bouye who suffered the season-ending injury last year. Bouye had two interceptions in Saturday’s game. While Ishmael gets a ton of attention, no one should underestimate redshirt sophomore Clayton Geathers, who appears poised to become a leader on defense following in Ishmael’s footsteps.

Field goals are not a bad thing: One of the loudest crowd reactions from Saturday’s game came on the last play. The last play saw sophomore kicker Shawn Moffitt connect on a 49-yard field goal. Both Moffitt and Sean Galvin had solid springs and O’Leary believes the position is as strong as it has been in years. Galvin kicked off a couple of times into the end zone which is a big deal this fall. The new kickoff rule has the ball teed up at the 35-yard line and any touchback comes out to the 25-yard line instead of the 20.