2007 Conference USA Football Championship Game
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 in Orlando, Florida. The game kicked off at 12:00 pm EST and was televised by ESPN.
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, Bright House Networks Stadium in Orlando, Florida.
Tulsa and UCF met at the C-USA Championship for the second time; Tulsa beat UCF at the Florida Citrus Bowl in Downtown Orlando in 2005.
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]
Scoring summary
Scoring summary |
Quarter |
Time |
Drive |
Team |
Scoring information |
Score |
Plays |
Yards |
TOP |
Tulsa |
UCF |
1 |
10:54 |
|
37 |
2:38 |
UCF |
28-yard field goal by Michael Torres |
0 |
3
|
1 |
7:52 |
|
83 |
- |
UCF |
83-yard punt return by Joe Burnett |
0 |
10
|
1 |
4:58 |
|
65 |
2:54 |
Tulsa |
Charles Clay 22-yard touchdown reception from Paul Smith, Jarod Tracy kick good |
7 |
10
|
1 |
1:56 |
|
48 |
0:56 |
Tulsa |
Jake Collums 8-yard touchdown reception from Paul Smith, Jarod Tracy kick no good |
13 |
10
|
2 |
13:18 |
|
69 |
3:31 |
UCF |
Kevin Smith 3-yard touchdown run, Michael Torres kick good |
13 |
17
|
2 |
10:03 |
|
69 |
0:29 |
UCF |
Kevin Smith 46-yard touchdown run, Michael Torres kick good |
13 |
24
|
2 |
7:38 |
|
72 |
2:20 |
Tulsa |
Trae Johnson 27-yard touchdown reception from Paul Smith, Jarod Tracy kick good |
20 |
24
|
2 |
3:39 |
|
69 |
4:07 |
UCF |
Kevin Smith 4-yard touchdown run, Michael Torres kick good |
20 |
31
|
2 |
1:38 |
|
50 |
1:51 |
Tulsa |
32-yard field goal by Jarod Tracy |
23 |
31
|
3 |
4:01 |
|
36 |
2:50 |
UCF |
21-yard field goal by Michael Torres |
23 |
34
|
3 |
0:03 |
|
9 |
2:00 |
UCF |
45-yard field goal by Michael Torres |
23 |
37
|
4 |
10:56 |
|
- |
- |
Tulsa |
Kyle Israel tackled in endzone for a safety by Team |
25 |
37
|
4 |
7:12 |
|
89 |
2:12 |
UCF |
Kevin Smith 74-yard touchdown run, Michael Torres kick good |
25 |
44
|
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. |
25 |
44 |
|
References