2005 UCF Golden Knights football team

2005 UCF Golden Knights football
C-USA East Division Champions
C-USA Championship vs Tulsa, L 44-27
Hawai'i Bowl vs Nevada, L 49-48
Conference Conference USA East
2005 record 8-5 (7-2 C-USA)
Head coach George O'Leary (2nd year)
Home stadium Citrus Bowl
Seasons
« 2004 2006 »
2005 Conference USA football standings
Conf     Overall
Team   W   L         W   L  
East
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 – 4         4 – 7  
UAB   3 – 5         5 – 6  
West
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, Central Florida 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 in Conference USA, in the East Division.

After going 0-11 in 2004, their final season in the Mid-American Conference, and George O'Leary's first season as head coach, many did not expect much from UCF in its first C-USA season. After losing their first two non-conference games, the Golden Knights broke the nation's longest losing streak at the time, 17 games, by defeating Marshall for their first C-USA victory. From there, UCF would stun the conference by going 7-1 in-conference to win the East Division and host the first C-USA Championship, which they lost, 44-27, to Tulsa.

The Golden Knights also earned their first bowl invitation, going to the Hawai'i Bowl against Nevada, the Western Athletic Conference co-champions. UCF fought the Wolf Pack hard and pushed the game to overtime, before a missed PAT lost the game for UCF, 49-48. Wide receiver Brandon Marshall was named co-MVP of the game.

Season schedule

Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Result Attendance
September 1 7:45pm South Carolina* Williams-Brice Stadium • Columbia, SC ESPN L 15–24   82,753
September 17 7:00pm South Florida* Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, FL (The War on I-4) FSN L 14–31   45,139
September 24 6:00pm Marshall Citrus Bowl • Orlando, FL CSTV W 23–13   22,127
October 1 8:00pm Louisiana-Lafayette* Cajun Field • Lafayette, LA W 24–21   18,262
October 8 6:00pm Memphis Citrus Bowl • Orlando, FL CSTV W 38–17   20,562
October 15 7:00pm Southern Miss M. M. Roberts Stadium • Hattiesburg, MS CSTV W 52–31   28,366
October 21 7:00pm Tulane Citrus Bowl • Orlando, FL L 24–34   15,009
October 29 2:00pm East Carolina Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium • Greenville, NC CSTV W 30–20   34,410
November 5 6:00pm Houston Citrus Bowl • Orlando, FL i W 31–29   32,635
November 12 4:00pm UAB Legion Field • Birmingham, AL CSTV W 27–21   12,199
November 19 3:00pm Rice Rice Stadium • Houston, TX CSTV W 31–28   8,267
December 3 12:00pm Tulsa Citrus Bowl • Orlando, FL (C-USA Championship) ESPN L 27–44   51,978
December 24 8:30pm Nevada Aloha Stadium • Honolulu, HI (Hawai'i Bowl) ESPN L 48–49 OT  26,254
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. #Rankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

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