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Often overlooked among the state's powerhouse football programs, Central Florida is atop Conference USA and ranked for the first time in school history.
The No. 25 Knights look to win their 12th straight conference game Saturday when they host Southern Mississippi, which has won two straight in the series.
Central Florida (7-2, 5-0) earned its first-ever ranking following a 40-33 road victory over C-USA opponent Houston on Friday, its fifth win in a row. The Knights haven't fallen in league play since Sept. 26, 2009.
"It's hard to get there. It's harder to stay there," coach George O'Leary said. "That's the big thing and what I'll press upon the kids."
O'Leary's team can clinch the East Division with a win if East Carolina loses Thursday night. The Knights, who moved to the FBS in 1996, last won a conference title in 2007.
UCF's latest victory was sparked by the outstanding play of freshman Jeff Godfrey, who went 15 of 19 for 294 yards and two touchdowns. He also had a season-high 116 yards rushing and ran for a score.
His play is all the more impressive considering he began the season backing up Rob Calabrese, who lost his job in September after struggling. Godfrey broke Daunte Culpepper's school record for quarterback rushing yards last week, and has 499 to Culpepper's 463 in 1998.
"We've taken the training wheels off of him and he's riding on the high bicycle right now," O'Leary told the Knights' official website. "He made so many plays out there for us and he's playing with great poise."
Led by its multi-dimensional quarterback, UCF is averaging 41.4 points within the conference. It had a season-high 522 yards of offense against the Cougars.
"We are looking for weaknesses and cannot find any to be honest with you," Southern Miss coach Larry Fedora said of UCF.
The Golden Eagles (6-3, 3-2) bounced back from a 50-49 double-overtime loss at Alabama-Birmingham on Oct. 30 with a 46-30 victory over Tulane on Saturday.
After taking a lateral from quarterback Austin Davis, receiver Quentin Pierce threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Johdrick Morris to give Southern Miss the lead in the fourth quarter. The defense recorded a safety and returned a fumble 41 yards for a score to pad the lead.
Fedora credited the defense while expressing disappointment over the play of the offense, led by Davis, who completed 18 of 35 passes for 102 yards. Despite scoring its second-most points of the season, Southern Miss tied its lowest offensive yardage total.
"It was hard to find guys who played well offensively to be honest with you," he said. "When you look at the guys that have been playing, it was really hard to find a guy who played well throughout the game."
Davis could get some help this week. DeAndre Brown has missed the last six games with a lower-body injury, but Fedora said the receiver could be ready to go depending on how he practices.
Brown has 12 catches for 199 yards and two touchdowns in three games. He led the Golden Eagles with 785 receiving yards last season and 1,117 in 2008.
Southern Miss beat visiting UCF 26-19 last Sept. 12 as Davis passed for 253 yards and a touchdown. It was the Eagles' fourth win in five all-time meetings.
