http://www.underdogdynasty.com/american-athletic-conference/2015/10/18/9561959/temple-owls-vs-ucf-knights-final-score-recap
Sunday, October 25, 2015
UCF's George O'Leary Stepping Down form Interim AD Gig
http://www.underdogdynasty.com/2015/10/12/9511767/ucfs-george-oleary-stepping-down-from-interim-ad-gig-remaining-head
UCF Knights vs. Temple Owls: Preview, TV, Radio, Betting Line, Start Time
http://www.underdogdynasty.com/american-athletic-conference/2015/10/16/9555745/ucf-knights-vs-temple-owls-preview-tv-radio-betting-line-start-time
Temple football is ascendant.
UCF football is in a crater. It's a virtual certainty that each team's
"perfect" record will continue on Saturday (which is to say, UCF ought
to fall to 0-7 and Temple ought to move on to 6-0).
The inimitable Bill C's Week 7 S&P+ Picks post has Temple's win probability at 97.4%.
So you're saying there's a chance.
Start time: 7:30 PM, EST
TV: CBS Sports Network
Location: Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, Pa.
Radio: 96.9-FM & 740-AM - Orlando
Betting Line: Temple is a 21.5 point favorite. That's being kind to the hapless Knights.
The Series: UCF is 2-0 against Temple, including, of course J.J. Worton's famous catch in 2013:
Last year, UCF jumped out to a 17-0 first quarter lead and cruised to a 34-14 win at home.
Temple Outlook: AAC
East Leader Temple should clearly cruise against division bottom-dweller
UCF. Temple has looked very good this year, especially in early season
wins against Penn State and Cincinnati.
The defense has really been
stellar. They boast a success rate of 31.3%, good for tenth best in the
nation. Opposing teams have averaged only 14.4 points per game against
the Temple defense. And they've stifled opposing run games, to the tune
of allowing only 97.2 yards per game (eleventh best in the country).
Statistically, the Owls'
offense has not impressed. Temple is putting up an average of 195.8
yards passing and 151.8. And Temple's runs have been stuffed far more
often than they should be (don't worry Owls fans - UCF is not in any
position to take advantage of this or anything else). But Temple has
enjoyed excellent field position thanks to its special teams play and
defense.
The trio of QB PJ Walker, RB
Jahad Thomas and WR Robby Anderson stands out for Temple on offense.
Walker has looked great overall this year, and has thrown for 914 yards,
7 TDs, and 2 INTs. Thomas, a converted defensive back, has established
himself as one of the best running backs in the conference. And Anderson
is the team's leading receiver with 220 yards and 4 TDs.
UCF Outlook: Well, the Knights aren't the worst team in the FBS (North Texas Mean Green, step on up and bring that 66-7 loss to Portland State with you, please!). But they are close to it. There's little good to say about the Knights and even less argument why they might be able to win.
Last week, we were hopeful the
Knights would be buoyed by the return of QB Justin Holman (who had been
injured since the first series against Stanford in Week 2) and Junior
RB Dontravious Wilson.
Wilson played sparingly, with
some time on special teams, a couple of catches, and no carries. Holman
was a dreadful 27/50 for 255 yards, a touchdown, and three
interceptions. I remain a firm believer in Holman, who looked like the
bright spot of the team in Week 1 action against FIU, and who had some
terrific moments last year. But whether it was due to "rust" or still
recovering from injury, everything for Holman was out of sorts last week
against UConn (and it was the second year in a row that the Huskies had
Holman's number). Given the state of the offensive line and the wide
receiving corps, there's no reason why things should look better against
the Owl's superior defense.
That's a UCF theme for this year really: there's no reason to believe things will improve until next season.
Sure, Coach George O'Leary is now focused solely on coaching, having abandoned the interim AD gig that he had held simultaneously.
But GOL appears very much a head coach who delegates, and was insistent
when he took it that the interim AD job would not take so much time as
to be a distraction. So it seems unlikely that an increase in football
focus will bring improvement on the field.
Knights fans, your best bet to
avoid driving yourselves crazy is to focus on the young players getting
great early opportunities on the field, and hope that this will
translate to a solid and experienced team in a couple years. The Knights
have now played 71% of their 2015 signing class and fourteen current or
former walk-ons this year. And yes, one of the latter accounted for the
safety the Knights gave up to UConn when he left the end zone, stepped
back in, and knelt down.
But still. Hope for the future. Amiright?
University of Complete Futility: UCF Knights Destroyed 40-13 by UConn Huskies
http://www.underdogdynasty.com/2015/10/10/9494531/university-of-complete-futility-ucf-knights-destroyed-40-13-by-uconn
Just another
Saturday at the University of Complete Futility, folks. More injuries,
more bad mistakes, more baffling choices. A week after an utter collapse
against Tulane -- which I thought was the rock bottom for UCF -- the Knights grabbed a shovel and started digging.
The Knights finally got Junior
quarterback Justin Holman back, but the QB play remained poor. The
Knights also got Dontravious Wilson back, finally. Or sort of, at
least. The nominal first string running back played a bit on special
teams a bit and had a couple receptions very late in the game.
Holman started with a
dink-and-dunk (but fairly promising) drive, which saw nine straight
passes from the Knights to reach the UConn four yard line. Redshirt
Freshman RB C.J. Jones got the Knights to the one on the next play, but
the Knights failed to punch in the touchdown, settling for a field goal.
And that was the best
non-garbage time drive for the Knights. Holman played badly (but without
much help from his young wide receivers, who dropped a bunch of
passes). Holman finished 27/50 for 255 yards, a touchdown pass to Nick
Patti, and three interceptions. The first two picks were very bad: each
of UConn's drives following the picks resulted in a touchdown. And they
came near the end of the half, as though just to ensure Knights fans
harbored no hope of a rally -- this Knights team is not capable of
overcoming what was then a 23-3 deficit at the half. Holman's third pick
came on one of the Knights' better drives, albeit in garbage time down
40-3.
There were many moments of
utter futility for the Knights throughout the game. Surrendering third
down conversions to the Huskies on 20+ yard passes on UConn's first
drive. Any of Holman's picks. All of the UCF defenders bouncing off of
UConn running back Arkeel Newsome on his third quarter touchdown runs.
Also the punt fumbled by Chris Johnson in the third quarter (you may
remember him from last week, when he fumbled directly into the arms of
one of the two Tulane defensive backs who caught him after a 62 yard
pass). In fact, let's count the entire third quarter, in which UConn
outscored UCF 17-0, as futile.
It turns out that it's easy to
identify the sad moment that best encapsulates UCF's nightmare today.
And it happened early. With the score 7-3 in the first quarter, UConn
kicked off . . . and Hayden Jones caught it, stepped out of the end
zone, stepped back in, and knelt to give UConn the safety.
Of course that's what happened.
The Knights also continued to
suffer injuries. C.J. Jones had some promising runs, but found himself
dinged up and limping off the field. Far worse, CB Jeremy Boykins left
the game wearing a neck brace and in an ambulance. Always a scary
situation, and our thoughts are with him.
This was an unmitigated
disaster for the Knights, who have no reason to believe things will get
better this season. Congratulations to the Huskies, and especially to
Bob Diaco. Dang, that guy knows when to declare a rivalry. UConn now
owns a 2-1 record over the Knights. And who knows - we may even have a
competitive game in the "Civil Conflict," or "The ConFLiCT," or whatever it is. But it sure wasn't this year.
I can't write a recap for a game this bad without saying a big thank you to the UCF fans who stayed through the end of the game. You are earning your place in football Heaven for this.
UCF Knights v. UConn Huskies: Preview, TV, Radio, Betting Line, Start Time
http://www.underdogdynasty.com/2015/10/9/9484743/ucf-knights-v-uconn-huskies-preview-tv-radio-betting-line-start-time
Welcome to the
first official installment of the "Civil ConFLiCT." (Get it? The capital
"FL" is for Florida and the capital "CT" is for Connecticut and the "o"
is for OHGODWHY).
This summer, UConn Head Coach unilaterally declared a rivalry with UCF, dubbing it the "Civil Conflict" The notion to capitalize the state abbreviations would only materialize later during AAC media day, when Bob Diaco was on fire during the coaches forum.
I don't think anyone can
credibly suggest that this match-up is a rivalry, though thanks to
Diaco, it is a (very weird) trophy game. This year it's all about two
teams desperate for wins. Or in the Knights' case, a win.
And with Junior QB Justin Holman back instead of the Bo Schneider dumpster fire, maybe it will even happen this week.
Start time: October 10, 2015 at 3:45 PM EST.
Location: Bright House Networks Stadium, Orlando, FL.
TV: ESPNews.
Radio: 96.9 FM and 740-AM - Orlando, Sirius 119, XM 203.
Betting Line: UCF is a 2.5 point favorite.
The Series: We're tied
at 1-1. In 2013, UCF destroyed UConn 62-17. The Huskies beat the Knights
in Holman's turnover-plagued game last year 37-29. Bob Diaco only
listed this second score on the "Civil Conflict" trophy he created.
The 2014 loss at UConn was also the Knights' only AAC loss until last week's disaster at Tulane.
The Opponent: Good news
Knights fans: we are playing another terrible offense. UConn is
averaging 15.8 points per game on offense. The 2-3 Huskies are a bad
team. The Huskies opened the season with wins over Villanova and Army
and then promptly dropped three in a row to Mizzou, Navy, and BYU.
QB Bryant Sheriffs has been
pretty decent, but doesn't always take care of the football (BYU scored
tend points off two Sheriffs picks to allow BYU to pull away last week).
UConn sports a solid run
defense thanks to guys like DT Julian Campenni and LB Luke Carrezola.
They have an opportunity to do a lot of damage against an anemic UCF
rushing attack - the Knights turned in negative thirty-five yards rushing last week. And while it feels like it just can't be that bad again, Knights fans should be rightly nervous.
UCF Outlook: Folks, we
are 0-5. The outlook for the Knights is never going to be "good" this
season. But last week against Tulane may have been the rock bottom and
established a new standard for utter futility - perfectly encapsulated
by the following three play sequence:
1. Bo Schneider completes
a 62 yard pass to WR Chris Johnson. Johnson is somehow caught from
behind by two Tulane players, one of whom punches the ball out directly
into the other's arms.
2. Tulane QB Tanner Lee throws a 49 yard touchdown pass and Tulane hits the extra point.
3. Bo Schneider throws a pick.
I can't promise a win against the Huskies. But I am going to make a bold prediction:
you will not see a sequence of three plays that awful on Saturday
against the Huskies. Junior QB Justin Holman is back, according to head
coach/interim athletic
director/we-get-to-blame-you-for-everything-now-right George O'Leary (of
course, Dontravious Wilson was supposed to be back last week,[1]
but that didn't pan out, so . . . ). Holman had been cleared last week
for the Tulane game, but did not travel because he apparently wasn't yet
comfortable throwing with sufficient speed or accuracy.
O'Leary also announced that WR Taylor Oldham, who has been out since getting injured in the Spring game, will be back. He will be added to a wide receiver corps that is basically playing anyone healthy at this point.
Holman's return ought to give
the Knights a bit of a punch this week. But remember, Holman's not a
panacea. UCF can't run the ball. The offensive line is terrible, not
only in run blocking, but in protecting the QB. Last week, for example,
Schneider was sacked seven times.
This game is as good as any
left on the schedule for the Knights to finally cobble together their
first win of the season. But when you're this bad, it's hard to be too
hopeful.
[1] This week, O'Leary said:
"I'm waiting to see if Wilson can run full speed. I was told last week
he was ready to go, but not from me watching. I didn't think he could
cut like he needed to cut in a game, so that's why he didn't play. This
week, he has to get ready to play and stuff and go from there."
Knights Injury Situation to Improve In Advance of Tulane Game
http://www.underdogdynasty.com/american-athletic-conference/2015/10/3/9444361/knights-injury-situation-to-improve-in-advance-of-tulane-game
The Knights have
suffered from remarkably bad injury luck en route to their 0-4 start
this season. Fortunately, things should start getting a little better
this week when Dontravious Wilson returns.
Things are pretty dire for the winless UCF Knights right now. The best thing that can be said about this team is that its poor performance on the field will result in lots of fans getting free beer on Saturday (though hopefully, not beyond that).
The Knights have been cursed
with terrible injury luck. UCF leads the nation in most games missed by
injured players on offense. Starting QB Justin Holman, WR Taylor Oldham,
WR Jordan Franks, C Joey Grant, OL Chavis Dickey, WR Jordan Akins, HB Joseph Puopolo, and RB Dontravious Wilson have missed a combined twenty-three games.
But there is - at least a little - good news in advance of the game against Tulane.
Junior running back Dontravious Wilson is back, having recovered from a
PCL injury he suffered in the first game of the season (a miserable
15-14 loss to FIU). In his limited time this year, Wilson has twelve
carries for 34 yards. But he was productive in his (mostly off the
bench) opportunities last year, when he rushed for 347 yards and 3 TDs.
It's welcome news for the Knights. UCF's options at running back began depleting before the season started, when Micah Reed transferred
(he had slipped down the depth chart to fourth string over the course
of spring). Then Wilson suffered the injury against FIU, and Will
Stanback performed terribly (0.6 yards per carry!) in relief for the
remainder of that game. Freshman Taj McGowan got the start against
Stanford, and by last week, Stanback was off the team. The Knights were down to McGowan and C.J. Jones primarily carrying the rock against Furman and South Carolina (plus some Nick Patti from the wildcat, especially against Furman).
Wilson's return should help
boost an offense that continues to be awful on the whole. And it
certainly restores a semblance of depth at running back moving into
conference play. Wilson is not a panacea however: a good deal of blame
for lack of success in the running game should be laid at the feet of
the offensive line.
Which is nice, because today's
game is one of the more winnable ones remaining on UCF's slate. At least
for now, the Knights still can lay claim to a track record of
dominating AAC play (the Knights are 15-1 in conference since the AAC's
inception, won the inaugural league title outright, and tied with
Memphis and Cincinnati last year as co-champions). That conference
record is certainly going to get sullied this year, but hopefully it
doesn't start against Tulane (against whom UCF has a 5-1 record)
The biggest boost of course
will come when starting QB Justin Holman is ready to play. And that's
apparently not quite yet. Holman is now being considered "day-to-day,"
but there's no specific word on when he will be sufficiently recovered
from the fracture to his right index finger to play. Which means that we
can expect to endure more of Bo Schneider's often cringe-worthy play at
quarterback.
And hope it all looks a bit better when Holman joins Wilson back on the field.
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