It's here.
Oh goodness, it's here.
Months wandering through a desert with no college football, and finally we have it.
And good for
you Knights fans: you've been spared having to wait as long as almost
everyone else. You and FIU (and UNC and SCAR . . . .) are the first to
get this season started.
Start time: Thursday, September 3 at 6 PM EST.
Location: Brighthouse Networks Stadium, Orlando, FL
TV: CBS Sports Network. Sigh. Weren't Knights fans urged to embrace weekday games because the television exposure was going to be so much better?
Radio: 740-AM Orlando, Sirius 115, XM 203, UCF IMG Sports Network.
Betting Line: UCF is a 16 point or 16.5 favorite, depending on where you look.
Series: 2-1. Oh yeah, we're going to talk more about that "1." But UCF won the last meeting in 2013 in a shutout, 38-0.
What's New:
It's the debut of the "Carl Black and Gold Cabana." That would be the
10,000 square foot beach-themed section of the stadium. It's an obvious
addition because Orlando is famous for its miles of beaches and also
knights are typically found on beaches. At the Cabana, you can buy a "frozen-mango beverage" called the Citronaut. which of course makes sense because UCF's first mascot[1] was a 50s-style spaceman crossed with a mango orange.
It's all ludicrous and we love it.
The Opponent: Even though the Knights out to win this one fairly easily, it would be wrong to think of this as a pure cupcake game for UCF.
Yes, FIU was
4-8 last year. But with four of those losses being quite close (one by
two points, and three different losses by three points each), FIU was
probably better than its record. FIU had the 35th best
statistical defense last year and now returns almost all of its starters
on the defensive side of the ball. So the Golden Panthers ought to have
a pulse (obligatory cautionary note for FIU fans: your turnover margin
was remarkable last year, and it feels like there should be some
regression to the mean).
But on offense
. . . meh. There's no proven production from the wide receivers (though
there is talent). Or a number of positions on the offensive line. FIU's
sophomore QB Alex McGough will need to improve to give FIU some
semblance of run-pass balance this year. Do keep an eye out for early
enrollee Anthony Jones - he's a fast and elusive guy who can play lots of different positions. FIU fans are hoping that he is their next T.Y. Hilton.
Finally, we
can't preview FIU without picking at some nasty scabs. I've sat through
some miserable UCF games in my day (e.g., the entirety of
"0-and-11-O'Leary"), but the profound frustration of losing to FIU in
2011 rates as one of the worst. There was the Jeff Godfrey fumble (I
still say his arm was moving forward!) that FIU's Isame Faciane
recovered ran back 50 yards for a touchdown. And Josh Robinson
horrendously misplaying a punt which FIU recovered at the eight yard
line. And lots and lots of penalties and general offensive ineptitude.
But no one's going to make me watch that abomination again, right?
Right?
Damn.
(Skip to 2:30 or so to relive the pain).
UCF Outlook: Credit
where credit is due, FIU. But despite UCF's significant question marks,
the Knights ought to take care of business on Thursday.
Last year, QB
Justin Holman displayed a tremendously strong arm. And also an
astonishing lack of touch. He threw the football like it needed to go
through a brick wall before the receiver could catch it. But he
certainly showed flashes at times and by the end of the season it seemed
crazy that O'Leary had trotted out Pete DiNovo
instead of Holman to start the game against Penn State in Ireland.
Holman is now a year more experienced and purportedly a more active
leader and can, indeed, throw a touch pass. With practices closed, this
is all crystal ball stuff to a certain extent, and Knights fans will be
eager to see on Thursday if Holman has truly taken a big step forward in
his development.
UCF's wide
receiver situation, however, is very much in flux. Sophomore Jordan
Akins is the most productive returning receiver with only 12 receptions
for 135 yards. Taylor OIdham, who seemed like he would be stepping up,
is injured. Chris Davis Jr. also abruptly left the team. But there are
some promising young players at this position, including redshirt
Freshman Tre'Quan Smith (UCF's Scout Team Player of the Year in 2014).
And the UCF coaching staff has converted a bunch of players to WR in an
effort to plug holes - former QBs Pete DiNovo and Nick Patti
(here's hoping that they are as successful a conversion project as Jeff
Godfrey was) and former safety/fill-in-wherever-on-defense-guy Jordan
Franks. It's going to be interesting to see who starts emerging from
this group.
Fortunately
for the Knights, the offensive line ought to be solidified after last
year's constant shuffling. Which certainly did the running backs no
favors. Look for Junior RB Will Stanback to show FIU that he is a force
to be reckoned with. He suffered last year behind poor line play and was
banged up at various times through the season. But I keep predicting him to have a breakout year, dang it, and I think he starts to prove me right on Thursday.
There's also
some uncertainty for the Knights on defense, especially the secondary
which lost every starter from last year's team to graduation or the NFL.
There's talent here in terms of some young players (Kyle Gibson
and Rashad Causey, among others), but not much in the way of a proven
commodity. But say this for the Knights coaching staff: they worked
mightily to plug holes here. Iowa State transfer T.J. Mutcherson joined the team this summer and instantly became the most experienced guy in the unit. UCF also added two JUCO transfers, Jerod and Jeremy Boykin (the second set of brothers in the UCF secondary, because of course there's also Shaquem and Shaquill Griffins).
For UCF fans, a
lot of the excitement on Thursday will focus on seeing who among the
unproven players emerges. Ultimately, I predict we see a heavy reliance
on the ground game to put away FIU.
What do you think? The poll, and the comments, are yours.
[1]
OK, so UCF was FTU then, and there was also that brief flirtation with
Vinny the Vulture, but we're not going to get pedantic here.
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