UCF Football: 3 keys to victory for Knights vs. FAU in Week 2

2. Defense must continue dominance, aggressiveness

For the Knights, the defense had a lot of intensity, holding the Rattlers to only 96 yards of total offense. They were aggressive and flew around the ball, dominating the FAMU offense at every turn.

The secondary in particular seemed to break up every pass play the Rattlers had. Richie Grant led the defensive unit all last season, and looked the part again in Week 1.

However, they have more questions after losing star corner back Brandon Moore. “BAM” was inexplicably in the game when the Knights were ahead 55-0, and sustained a knee injury that will keep him out for the season. JUCO transfer Tay Gowan will be the next man up, and he has big shoes to fill the shoes of Moore, who had expectations as one of the top corner backs in the American Athletic Conference.

Another bright spot for the defense was the question marks at the defensive line showing positive signs. The defense had two sacks, 11 tackles for loss and kept FAMU at bay all evening. Brendon Hayes in particular was a menace, dominating the offensive line and showing his elite speed all game.

The defense showed positive signs in Week 1, and only spot where they can improve is creating turnovers, as they failed to produce one takeaway.