UCF-Akron: Almost a rivalry

First published a year ago on the eve of the 2012 season opener, UCFSports.com took a look back at the 2001 matchup between the Knights and Zips that became one of the more memorable games of the era.

UCF finally joins a conference

As an independent in those days, UCF's home schedule consisted of quite a few MAC opponents because those schools would agree to play on a home-and-home basis. Games like that were valuable when half of your schedule consisted of guarantee games on the road or I-AA home games.

Since elevating to Division I-A status in 1996, UCF had been searching (and at times, lobbying) for a conference to call home. The Big East wasn't biting and neither apparently was Conference USA, though there are conflicting stories about that. The Sun Belt was forming, but UCF felt above those folks.

By the time 2001 came around, independence was no longer a viable long-term option. Scheduling was a nightmare and it was virtually impossible for an independent like UCF to ever hope to reach a bowl game (1998 being the prime example).

Considering the fact UCF played three or four MAC schools per season anyway, athletic director Steve Sloan approached the league to see if they'd have interest in welcoming the Knights as a football-only member.

They did.

On November 1, 2001, UCF was officially announced as the newest member of the Mid-American Conference. The move would take effect the following season.

"Membership in the MAC will help our football program in numerous ways," UCF AD Steve Sloan said that day. "It solves our scheduling dilemma and gives us the opportunity to develop rivalries. Each game takes on more significance and has a little bit more meaning than when you are an independent.

"Our team will have the opportunity to compete for a championship and play in a bowl game and our players will have the chance to compete for all-conference honors. In a way, membership in the MAC makes everything better."

Naturally, UCF's opponent that Saturday would be a MAC team: Akron.

MACtion with Akron

Before the announcement, UCF's players and coaches were already looking forward to a rematch with Akron.

A year before in Ohio, Akron had a cornerback named Dwight Smith (he turned out to be a future NFL star) who intercepted three passes and blocked a field goal in the Zips' 35-24 victory.

The Knights did beat Alabama that year, but the loss to Akron was one of the season's bigger disappointments.

If there wasn't enough hype for the game, then-Akron coach Lee Owens blew the lid off thanks to a quote that made it into the Akron Beacon-Journal newspaper.

In light of UCF's new membership in their league, Owens told his team after practice they needed to give the Knights a "brass knuckle welcome to the MAC."

Their beat reporter overheard a huddle speech and printed it in the newspaper.

In any case, the rah-rah talk really fired up then-UCF coach Mike Kruczek who read the quote aloud to his own players and again used it in what players called one of his most epic pregame speeches ever.

It didn't end there.

During pregame warmups, Akron gathered at midfield where they began dancing and jumping on the UCF logo painted on the grass. There were some taunts. UCF players had to be restrained.

What happened next was one of the most dominating wins in UCF history.

Akron gets a beating

If Akron came in with brass knuckles, UCF had an AK-47.

UCF scored touchdowns on seven of their eight first half possessions and took a 50-3 lead into the locker room at halftime (there was also a safety and a missed PAT). The 50-spot remains the school record for most points scored in a half.

Kruczek and the Knights showed some mercy in the second half by calling off the dogs and clearing the bench.

Final score: UCF 57, Akron 17.

UCF posted 537 yards of total offense with 405 of those coming through the air. You'd have thought they completed 30 or 40 passes. Nope. Ryan Schneider and backup Brian Miller combined for 18 total completions which yielded an average of 22.5 yards per catch.

It was also a big day for running back Alex Haynes who ran for 112 yards on 14 carries.

The game might have also set a penalties record. UCF was flagged 14 times for 145 yards, most of which were personal fouls for taunting or excessive celebrations. The UCF media guide doesn't list penalty records by game, but does say the Knights' 110 penalties during the 2001 season was the most in school history.

Kruczek: "I was a very mad coach"

Mike Kruczek and his players reveled in the glory of their big win.

"(Akron head coach Lee Owens), who I have a lot of respect for, kind of cast the first stone during the week," Kruczek said in his postgame press conference. "I got a little report from the Cleveland paper and he said, 'We're going to give (UCF) a brass knuckle welcome to the MAC conference.'

"Okay. I didn't put it up on the bulletin board. I took it to practice and read it, I was fearful they wouldn't see it. So that's how we began the week, and it just progressed as we went along. That just fuels the fire. These kids play emotional football and they play emotional football particularly in this stadium. It worked out well."

Kruczek was clearly angered by Akron's bravado.

"I was a very mad coach all week," Kruczek said. "I was very mad coming into this game. And I wanted the team to take on my temperament all week. The biggest thing about this game was what they did before the game started.

"I wasn't so upset, I was kind of happy they went out there and jumped on our UCF (logo). The kids were already lit, but the flame went as soon as (Akron) went to the middle of the field. Now, our guys do that and I've got to pull them back from doing that to other opponents, understanding how it incites people that don't need to be incited. Well they got a little taste of it. I knew once that happened that it was going to be tough for Akron to get anything done."

Schneider passed for three touchdowns, the longest of which was a 54-yard bomb to Jimmy Fryzel.

"I think Akron came in here acting all cocky and stuff, like they're better than us," Schneider said afterward. "They talked a little bit of trash in the newspaper, and in the pregame they were jumping around and talking some trash.

"Basically our guys were angry. We showed the MAC what we're all about and what we have in store for them next year."

In a column printed the next week, The Central Florida Future opined UCF-Akron was a rivalry in the making, but it never really materialized.

The two schools did continue to play as conference foes during UCF's ensuing three-year affiliation with the MAC (2002-04) and Akron got the last laugh with wins in 2003 and 2004.

The Knights-Zips series resumes

It was only 12 years ago, but for UCF it might as well have been an eternity. The Knights are a far cry from their independent days in the Citrus Bowl.

The announced crowd was 15,779, but it's doubtful there were even 3,000 people in the stands to see the pregame tussle (just like today, Knight fans love their tailgating and only enter the stadium until the last possible minute. Or the second quarter).

In the years since, UCF left the MAC for Conference USA, did what many thought was impossible and shed the Citrus Bowl for an on-campus stadium, won two conference championships, played in five bowl games and now begin a new era as a member of the American Athletic Conference.

Akron is still in the MAC. They played in their first and only bowl game in 2005. The Lee Owens era is ancient history.

Former UCF AD Steve Orsini always had his sights set on George O'Leary when he fired Mike Kruczek in November of 2003, but there was plenty of behind-the-scenes lobbying for a popular former SEC coach who hosted a daily radio show in Orlando: Terry Bowden.

Though Bowden probably would have taken probably any Division I-A head coaching job if offered, folks around these parts say UCF was the one he wanted.

But calls from UCF, or anyone else for that matter, never came.

The former Auburn coach spent 10 years out of the profession until North Alabama gave Bowden an opportunity in 2009. A successful three-year run at the Division II program led Akron to take notice and believe he could be the man to lead their turnaround.

A year ago, Terry Bowden made his Zips debut against UCF, a 56-14 loss. Akron came close the following week at FIU only to lose in overtime, 41-38. A resounding 66-6 against FCS Morgan State came in week three, but the Zips then proceeded to lose their last nine games.

For UCF, expectations are at an all-time high. Quarterback Blake Bortles and a talented cast of returners have people believing the Knights can give Louisville a serious run for the American championship and the automatic BCS berth.

For a team that finished 1-11 last year, Akron is just looking for improvement. A bowl game might be out of reach, but four or five wins could be the momentum they need to keep building.

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