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In the first two weeks of the season, Central Florida has gotten blowout wins over Charleston Southern and Boston College.
On Saturday, UCF hits the road for the first time in 2011, taking a short ride south to face a 2-0 Florida International team and receiver T.Y. Hilton.
A do-everything threat for the Panthers, he already has 14 receptions for 333 yards and three touchdowns. He also ranks second in the nation with 551 all-purpose yards.
That fast start has made him the latest player from a non-BCS conference to be listed as an early long shot Heisman Trophy hopeful.
Whether he maintains that or not, a lot could depend on how UCF's defense - and particularly its secondary - handles him this week.
''This week is something special because they have a receiver who everybody talks about,'' Knights' junior free safety Kemal Ishmael said. ''Everybody knows about him on ESPN, but we're just gonna treat it like every other game and play as hard as we can.''
Hilton ran by Louisville last week with touchdown catches of 74 and 83 yards in the Panthers' 24-17 win.
But he faces a defense this week that through two outings ranks among the nation's best.
UCF's defense is tied with Florida in scoring defense (1.5 points per game) and is second in the country in total defense, allowing just 130 yards per game.
UCF coach George O'Leary said he's expecting a balanced offense from FIU.
''They're probably 60 percent run and 40 percent pass, so they run a lot more than you think, which opens up the passing game,'' O'Leary said. ''We've seen the (quarterback) Wesley (Carroll ) kid at Mississippi State when we played them in the Liberty Bowl (in 2007)...And they have three running backs that can be put in and all pretty much look the same.
''So it's gonna be an interesting game four our defense. It presents a lot of challenges. It's more of a space game, spreading people out. So it comes down to tackles in space and assignments in space.''
UCF's secondary has also impressed, ranking fourth in both passing defense (77 ypg) passing efficiency defense (64.11).
Two of the starters - Ishmael and cornerback Josh Robinson - have 51 career starts between them.
Both also have previous familiarity with Hilton in high school.
Ishmael, from North Miami Beach High, played opposite Hilton and Miami Springs when he was a sophomore.
Robinson also was aware of Hilton's exploits while playing at Sunrise's Plantation High School.
The South Florida connections go deeper than that.
In addition to Hilton, Ishmael said he's still friends with a pair of former North Miami Beach teammates in FIU safety Jonathan Cyprien and linebacker Markeith Russell.
He also stays in touch with defensive end Tourek Williams, who played at Miami Norland.
But Ismael said that normal text messaging and phone chatter with them has ceased this week.
He said he most recently tried calling Cyprien, but was expectedly stonewalled.
''He didn't really want to talk to me since it's game week,'' he said. ''So I'll just until after the game.''
O'Leary said he's particularly curious how Robinson reacts this week against FIU's offense. He has one of UCF's three interceptions this season and has nine total for his career.
''If when you play as a field corner in college, most teams if they get on the hash should be afraid to throw it out there,'' O'Leary said. ''He doesn't get many opportunities because they're usually going over the middle or to the boundary and stuff.
''I think Josh has really improved. He takes some chances out there. ... but I think he has great closing speed, great transition speed and we're trying to do more things with him.''
Robinson said he's looking forward to mixing it up this week with Hilton.
''He's one of those guys that's just gonna try to beat you with speed,'' Robinson said. ''We're trying to work on schemes and work on things that can stop that and stop the whole receiving corps. ... We're glad for the challenge and we're prepared for it.''
