2005 UCF Golden Knights football team

2005 UCF Golden Knights football
C-USA East Division champion
Hawaii Bowl, L 48–49 OT vs Nevada
ConferenceConference USA
DivisionEast
Record8–5 (7–2 C-USA)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorTim Salem (2nd season)
Defensive coordinatorLance Thompson (2nd season)
Home stadiumCitrus Bowl
Seasons
← 2004
2006 →
2005 Conference USA football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
East Division
UCF x   7 1     8 5  
Southern Miss   5 3     7 5  
Memphis   5 3     7 5  
East Carolina   4 4     5 6  
Marshall   3 5     4 7  
UAB   3 5     5 6  
West Division
Tulsa x$   6 2     9 4  
UTEP   5 3     8 4  
Houston   4 4     6 6  
SMU   4 4     5 6  
Tulane   1 7     2 9  
Rice   1 7     1 10  
Championship: Tulsa 44, UCF 27
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2005 UCF Golden Knights football team represented the University of Central Florida in the 2005 NCAA Division I-A football season. Their head coach was George O'Leary, in his second season with the team. It was their first year as a member of Conference USA, playing in the East Division.[1]

After going 0–11 in 2004, their final season in the MAC, and O'Leary's first season as head coach, many did not expect much from UCF in its first C-USA season. They dropped their first two games (non-conference games), and stretched their active losing streak to 17 games - the longest active losing streak in the nation. The Golden Knights broke the streak by defeating Marshall for their first C-USA intra-conference victory. From there, UCF would go 7–1 in-conference (8–3 overall) and won the East Division. It was one of the best turnarounds in Division I-A history at the time (+8 wins), and they became the first team ever to go to a conference championship game the year after going winless. UCF hosted the inaugural C-USA Championship, but fell 44–27 to Tulsa.

Despite the loss in the conference championship game, the Golden Knights earned their first bowl invitation, going to the Hawaii Bowl against Nevada, the Western Athletic Conference co-champions. UCF fought the Wolf Pack hard and pushed the game to overtime. They lost the game 49–48 after a missed extra point. Wide receiver Brandon Marshall was named co-MVP of the game.

  1. ^ "2005 UCF Knights Stats".