To win, Central Florida has to learn to go for it.(The Orlando Sentinel)

CLEMSON, S.C._It wasn't the only gaffe of the day by far, just the most revealing.

The Central Florida Golden Knights hunger for the big time, but yet they still think small, dream little and dare not at all.

Coach Mike Kruczek ordered a punt with his team trailing by eight points, handing over the ball to the Clemson Tigers in the last three minutes on Saturday. A chance for further validation_if not victory_died in Death Valley.

Coach K thought he could pin the Tigers deep and his surprisingly stubborn defense could get him back the ball.

He's still waiting. And so are a few hundred Knights fans who braved the rain, hoping to catch an historic opening-day sequel to Alabama.

Instead, Clemson dodged a goal line-hugging punt and played keep-away from the 20 until the last ticks to win 21-13. "That's the chance you take," Kruczek said. "I got to believe in my guys." He meant he believed more in defensive coordinator Gene Chizik's guys, not his guys who had the football at the time.

Kruczek laid up when he should have gone for the green. He put away his driver_quarterback Ryan Schneider. Schneider had already passed for 297 yards against a leaky Tigers' secondary, connecting with 10 receivers for plays as long as 47, 31 and 19 yards.