2007 Conference USA Football Championship Game

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2007 Conference USA Football Championship Game
Conference Championship
2007 Conference USA Football Championship.jpg
1234Total
Tulsa13100225
UCF10216744
DateDecember 1, 2007
Season 2007
Stadium Bright House Networks Stadium
Location Orlando, Florida
MVP Kevin Smith (RB, UCF)
Favorite UCF by 7.5
Referee Ed Ardito
Attendance44,128
United States TV coverage
Network ESPN
Announcers Dave LaMont (play-by-play), Andre Ware (analyst) and Erin Andrews (sideline)
Conference USA Football Championship Game
 < 2006   2008 > 
2007 Conference USA football standings
ConfOverall
Team W L  W L 
East Division
UCF x$  7 1   10 4  
East Carolina  6 2   8 5  
Memphis  6 2   7 6  
Southern Miss  5 3   7 6  
Marshall  3 5   3 9  
UAB  1 7   2 10  
West Division
Tulsa xy  6 2   10 4  
Houston x  6 2   8 5  
Tulane  3 5   4 8  
Rice  3 5   3 9  
UTEP  2 6   4 8  
SMU  0 8   1 11  
Championship: UCF 44, Tulsa 25
  • $ Conference champion
  • x Division champion/co-champions
  • y Championship game participant
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2007 Conference USA Football Championship Game was played on December 1, 2007, between the UCF Knights, the champion of C-USA's East Division, and the West Division champion, the Tulsa Golden Hurricane, at Bright House Networks Stadium (now known as Spectrum Stadium) in Orlando, Florida. The game kicked off at 12:00 pm EST and was televised by ESPN.

Contents

Game summary

Under conference rules, the game was held at the home field of the team with the best record in conference play; since UCF finished C-USA play at 7–1, better than Tulsa's 6–2, the game was held at the Knights' home field.

Tulsa and UCF met at the C-USA Championship for the second time; Tulsa beat UCF at the Florida Citrus Bowl (now known as Camping World Stadium) in Downtown Orlando in 2005 by a score of 44–27.

Kevin Smith continued his dominance, running for 284 yards with 4 touchdowns. Tulsa kept it close in the first half as UCF's defense seemed slow to get started. In the second half, however, they only scored on a safety. Paul Smith, the Tulsa quarterback, threw for 426 yards and three touchdowns, but also gave up three interceptions. UCF won their first ever conference title in football.

Kevin Smith finished the game with 2,448 rushing yards on the season, second all-time for single-season rushing yards in FBS history. Only Barry Sanders, who rushed for 2,628 yards in 1989 for Oklahoma State, rushed for more yards in a single season. [1]

Teams

Tulsa Golden Hurricane

Under Head Coach Todd Graham, Tulsa finished the 2007 regular season 9–3 (6–2) with a powerful offense averaging over 41 points per game, but their defense was a struggle all season letting up 33 points per game. Their offense was mostly powered by their talented quarterback Paul Smith who had 5,065 passing yards and 47 touchdowns on the season. Current Auburn Head Coach Gus Malzahn was in his first year as Tulsa's Offensive Coordinator.

UCF Knights

UCF was led to a 9–3 regular season record with a 7–1 conference record by Head Coach George O'Leary in 2007. UCF also had a prolific offense that averaged 35.9 points per game and were led by their Running Back Kevin Smith who had one of the best seasons a college football running back has ever had, rushing a record 450 times for 2,567 yards and 30 total touchdowns. UCF did most of their damage on the ground, as quarterback Kyle Israel threw for 2,173 yards and 15 touchdowns to his 11 interceptions.

Game Statistic Leaders

Passing Yards

TLSA

P. Smith28-55, 426 YDS, 3 TD, 3 INT

UCF

K. Israel6-13, 128 YDS

Rushing Yards

TLSA

T. Adams18 CAR, 41 YDS

UCF

K. Smith39 CAR, 284 YDS, 4 TD

Receiving Yards

TLSA

C. Clay6 REC, 112 YDS, 1 TD

UCF

R. Ross3 REC, 63 YDS

Team statistics

MatchupTulsaUCF
1st Downs2418
3rd down efficiency8-213-10
4th down efficiency3-50-0
Total Yards470436
Passing491134
Comp-Att29-576-13
Yards per pass7.79.8
Interceptions thrown30
Rushing32308
Rushing Attempts3549
Yards per rush0.96.3
Penalties8-743-25
Turnovers31
Fumbles lost01
Interceptions thrown30
Possession19:4016:14

Scoring Summary

FIRST QUARTERTLSAUCF
FG

10:54

Michael Torres 28-yard field goal GOOD.

ucf drive: 7 plays 47 yards, 02:38 ucf fg, 2:38

03
PUNT

7:52

Michael Such punt for 43 yards, returned by Joe Burnett for 83 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.

tulsa drive: 5 plays 1 yard, 03:02 tulsa punt, 3:02

09
XP

9:55

Michael Torres extra point GOOD.

ucf drive: 1 play 83 yards, 00:00 ucf td, 0:00

010
PASS

4:58

Paul Smith pass complete to Charles Clay for 22 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.

tulsa drive: 7 plays 65 yards, 02:54 tulsa td, 2:54

610
XP

4:58

Jarod Tracy extra point GOOD.

tulsa drive: 7 plays 65 yards, 02:54 tulsa td, 2:54

710
PASS

1:56

Paul Smith pass complete to Jacob Collums for 8 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.

tulsa drive: 5 plays 48 yards, 00:56 tulsa td, 0:56

1310
SECOND QUARTERTLSAUCF
RUSH

13:18

Kevin Smith rush for 3 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.

ucf drive: 8 plays 69 yards, 03:38 ucf td, 3:38

1316
XP

13:18

Michael Torres extra point GOOD.

ucf drive: 8 plays 69 yards, 03:38 ucf td, 3:38

1317
RUSH

10:03

Kevin Smith rush for 46 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.

ucf drive: 2 plays 69 yards, 00:29 ucf td, 0:29

1324
XP

10:03

Michael Torres extra point GOOD.

ucf drive: 2 plays 69 yards, 00:29 ucf td, 0:29

1324
PASS

7:38

Paul Smith pass complete to Trae Johnson for 27 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.

tulsa drive: 6 plays 72 yards, 02:25 tulsa td, 2:25

1924
XP

7:38

Jarod Tracy extra point GOOD.

tulsa drive: 6 plays 72 yards, 02:25 tulsa td, 2:25

2024
RUSH

3:29

Kevin Smith rush for 4 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.

ucf drive: 9 plays 69 yards, 04:09 ucf td, 4:09

2030
XP

3:29

Michael Torres extra point GOOD.

ucf drive: 9 plays 69 yards, 04:09 ucf td, 4:09

2031
FG

1:38

Jarod Tracy 32-yard field goal GOOD.

tulsa drive: 9 plays 50 yards, 01:51 tulsa fg, 1:51

2331
THIRD QUARTERTLSAUCF
FG

4:01

Michael Torres 21-yard field goal GOOD.

ucf drive: 6 plays 36 yards, 02:50 ucf fg, 2:50

2334
FG

0:03

Michael Torres 45-yard field goal GOOD.

ucf drive: 7 plays 9 yards, 02:00 ucf fg, 2:00

2337
FOURTH QUARTERTLSAUCF
SF

10:56

Kyle Israel rush for a loss of 2 yards, fumbled in the endzone, recovered by Kyle Israel for a SAFETY.

ucf drive: 1 play -2 yards, 00:05 ucf saf, 0:05

2537
RUSH

7:12

Kevin Smith rush for 74 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.

ucf drive: 4 plays 89 yards, 02:12 ucf td, 2:12

2544
XP

7:12

Michael Torres extra point GOOD.

ucf drive: 4 plays 89 yards, 02:12 ucf td, 2:12

2544

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References

[2] [3] [4]

  1. "Tulsa can't contain Smith as UCF clinches first C-USA title". ESPN.com. The Walt Disney Company. December 1, 2007. Archived from the original on December 4, 2007. Retrieved December 1, 2007.
  2. "UCF Knights 2007 Splits". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved May 22, 2024.
  3. "2007 Tulsa Golden Hurricane Stats". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved May 22, 2024.
  4. "UCF 44-25 Tulsa (Dec 1, 2007) Game Stats". ESPN. Retrieved May 22, 2024.