2007 record 10–4 (7–1 C-USA) Offensive coordinator Tim Salem | Division East | |
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The 2007 UCF Knights football team represented the University of Central Florida in the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Their head coach was George O'Leary. 2007 was the first year the Knights played all of their home games at Bright House Networks Stadium, which they had just opened on the main campus of UCF in Orlando, Florida.
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The Knights were led on offense by quarterback Kyle Israel and Consensus All-American running back Kevin Smith. UCF sought to prove they belonged on the big stage, and got their first chance by hosting the Texas Longhorns, ultimately losing by only a field goal.
UCF ultimately went 9-3 in the regular season and 7-1 in C-USA, with their only conference loss being at East Carolina, and won the Eastern Division. They would go on to host their second Conference USA Championship. Taking revenge on Tulsa for beating them two years before, UCF won the game, 44-25, to take their first Conference USA title.
They went on to their first Liberty Bowl berth against Mississippi State. Their defense held it close, but the offense was unable to re-fire, and UCF lost the game, 10-3.
Kevin Smith ultimately left before his senior year and went to the 2008 NFL Draft, where he was selected with the first pick of the third round by the Detroit Lions, the highest Knight to go in the draft since Daunte Culpepper in 1999.
Awards & Milestones
In addition to winning the Conference USA title, UCF and its players won several other awards. Head coach George O'Leary was named C-USA Coach of the Year for the second time. Having twice won ACC Coach of the Year, O'Leary has now been awarded coach of the year four times, trailing only South Carolina’s Steve Spurrier (six) and Utah’s Dennis Erickson (six) among active FBS coaches.
All-Conference Teams
School records
NFL Draft
Three former players were selected in the 2008 NFL Draft: