UCF hits the road for the first time under coach Gus Malzahn as the Knights travel to face Louisville on Friday night. The opposing crowd noise is something Malzahn is worried about, he said Monday.
“Everybody’s on top of you at that place,” Malzahn said. “It’s usually really loud, so we’re going to have to handle the crowd noise first and we’ll do that this week.”
Malzahn noted that the team has to deal with a short week playing Friday night coming off Saturday’s 63-14 victory at home over Bethune-Cookman.
“As far as the travel, the good thing it is a night game, so it gives you a little bit more time,” Malzahn said. “I’m real curious to see how we respond.”
When UCF travels to Louisville, the game will likely be the first in two years played in front of a packed away stadium following a 2020 season that featured limited capacity seating due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The announced attendance for Louisville’s first home game against Eastern Kentucky was 39,673 in a stadium that can hold over 60,000. UCF’s home crowd for Bethune-Cookman was 39,443, just 230 fewer fans.
“It’s all about communication on the road,” Malzahn said. “The good thing for us is we’ve got a veteran offensive line, we’ve got a veteran quarterback, a veteran running back; so hopefully that’ll help.”
In addition to dealing with the road noise, the Knights will have their hands full with Louisville quarterback Malik Cunningham, who has completed 62% of his passes for 468 yards and two touchdowns to go with four rushing scores through the first two games.
Malzahn recalled recruiting Cunningham while he was the coach at Auburn. Coming out of high school in 2017, the Park Crossing (Ala.) product was the No. 24 overall prospect in Alabama, according to 247Sports.
“He was [a] really good high school quarterback and a super young man,” Malzahn said. “Really has that great personality and he’s a guy that I’ve always rooted for and now we got to play against him. He’s such a great competitor just the way he handles his teammates and handles the ups and downs. I’ve always been impressed with him.”
As a dual-threat quarterback, Cunningham has been responsible for all four rushing touchdowns and over one-third of his team’s rushing yards through two games.
“That’s the challenge,” Malzahn said. “They run the football very well and they run the stretch. They do some other things and they put him on the edge and he’s a really good decision-maker. It’ll be a big test for our defense.”
Malzahn provides update on DL Morris-Brash
UCF junior defensive lineman Tre’mon Morris-Brash is back with the team after missing the first two games, Malzahn said.
Morris-Brash was arrested on campus on the morning of Aug. 28 for allegedly driving under the influence, according to public records from the Orange County Clerk of Courts.
Although he’s back with the team, it’s unclear if Morris-Brash will play at Louisville. He appeared in all 10 games last season, finishing second on the team with 3.5 sacks.
“We’ll see what that means,” Malzahn said. “He’s got some things he’s got to take care of but he is back with the team. We’ll see where that goes.”
This article first appeared on OrlandoSentinel.com. Email Jason Beede at jbeede@orlandosentinel.com or follow him on Twitter at @therealBeede.
