FACTS & STATS: Site: Gerald J. Ford Stadium (32,000) -- Dallas, Texas. Television: None. Home Record: UCF 4-1, SMU 1-4. Away Record: UCF 3-2, SMU 0-5. Neutral Record: UCF 0-0, SMU 0-0. Conference Record: UCF 5-1, SMU 0-6. Series Record: First-ever meeting.

GAME NOTES: For their first-ever meeting on the gridiron, the SMU Mustangs and the Knights of UCF meet up in Dallas this weekend for a Conference USA showdown. Polar opposites as far as their respective successes this season, UCF is currently first in the C-USA East Division with a mark of 5-1 and is 7-3 overall thus far. Since losing to in-state rival and nationally-ranked South Florida the second week of October, the Knights have rolled off four consecutive victories, the most recent being a 45-31 triumph over UAB last Saturday in Birmingham. As for the Mustangs, a team that has already announced that head coach Phil Bennett will not return following the conclusion of this season, they were on the cusp of snapping an eight-game slide last Saturday, but a last-second field goal by Rice provided the Owls with a narrow 43-42 victory in Dallas. With the setback, the Ponies are still winless in Conference USA play this season, leaving them at 0-6 and last in the West Division.

Making a case for C-USA Offensive Player of the Week honors, Kevin Smith established a new UCF single-game rushing record with an incredible 320 yards on 41 attempts in the team's win over UAB. Smith's total not only led to four rushing scores, it was also the third-highest total in college football this season, behind only Matt Forte (342 yards) and Darren McFadden (321). With two games remaining Smith, who already holds the single-season rushing record for the Knights with 1,768 yards, is now threatening to break the 2,000-yard barrier. Perhaps just importantly, Smith has now scored an incredible 22 touchdowns on the ground this season alone, giving him 38 over the course of 32 career games. Now second in the nation with his 176.8 ypg on the ground, Smith has the rushing attack of the Knights ranked first in the league and ninth in the nation with 237.3 ypg. Thanks to Smith's efforts, UCF is now 16th in the country in scoring with 37 ppg.

So dominant was Smith on offense for the Knights, he nearly out-gained the entire UAB offense which produced just 343 yards on 76 plays. After being allowed to score two touchdowns on their first three possessions, the Blazers found it difficult to move the ball in the second half, closing out the contest with an interception. Leger Douzable and Johnell Neal both recorded nine tackles for UCF, the former adding three tackles for loss and a sack and the latter an interception returned 59 yards. Ranked seventh on the team tackles list with 39 stops over 10 games, Douzable leads the group with his nine tackles for loss and five and a half sacks. Having given up a total of 116 points in back-to-back games versus East Carolina and South Florida, the Knights now have a scoring defense that is ranked 78th in the nation with 29.7 ppg allowed.

Needing something to celebrate during what has been simply an awful season for the Mustangs, the team led by 15 points heading into the fourth quarter on Saturday before watching it all just fade away at the buzzer on a 31-yard field goal by Rice. SMU had flashbacks to the glory days, generating 320 yards rushing as DeMyron Martin picked up 137 yards on 16 carries. Although he completed only 13-of-31 passing, Justin Willis put four of those passes into the end zone, while two others went to the defense. Zack Sledge collected five catches for 68 yards and three touchdowns. Willis, who has thrown for 245.7 ypg and 21 touchdowns, against 14 picks, is also the team's leader on the ground with 547 yards and has two scores as well. Because Willis has handled the ball so much for the Mustangs, it should not come as a surprise that the offensive line has had some trouble keeping him from being run over, allowing 2.3 sacks per game to rank eighth in the conference.

The defense for the Mustangs had stretches when they simply did not show up, allowing 16 points in the fourth quarter alone to hand the Owls a one-point win at the gun. Both the run defense and the secondary were exposed by the visitors as Rice produced 181 yards an a pair of touchdowns on the ground, while the squad also put up 364 yards through the air. Devin Lowery and Tyler Jones produced 11 and 10 tackles, respectively, with the former also forcing a fumble in the setback. Only once this season has SMU held an opponent to less than four touchdowns, which is why the squad is 11th in the conference and 112th in the nation this week with 37.3 ppg allowed. Teams have found it extremely easy to pass over the top of the Mustangs from one week to the next, averaging 305.2 ypg through the air, which leaves the secondary ranked 116th in the country at the moment. Bryce Hudman, who posted the most tackles in a single game this season (26) at the FBS level, is now second on the team in total stops with 67, but the Mustangs just can't catch a break because he appears to be out again this weekend with a leg injury.

Positioning themselves for the postseason, the last thing the Knights need is to have a loss to SMU on their record, so expect to see Smith run all over one of the worst defenses in the conference and the nation.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: UCF 51, SMU 17

Saturday, November 17th, 3:00 p.m. (et)