UCF Knights vs University of Michigan Wolverines: Preview, Betting Line, Start Time, TV, Radio, Prediction

http://www.underdogdynasty.com/2016/9/9/12857540/UCF-Knights-v-Michigan-Wolverines-football-preview-tv-streaming-betting-line-central-florida

Start Time: Saturday, September 10 at 12:00 PM EST
Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan.
TV/Streaming: ABC
Radio/Live Stats: 96.9 FM and 740 AM for radio and over here for live stats.
Betting Line: UCF is a 35.5 point underdog.
Records: UCF and Michigan are both 1-0. Neither have played a conference game yet.

All-Time Series: This is the first meeting between the teams.
UCF Outlook: The Knights are 1-0 following their week one shutout of MEAC foe South Carolina State. It was the Knights' first win since 2014. While not the most interesting football ever played by the Knights, it felt dang good to break that losing streak.
Uncertainties still abound with this Knights team. QB Justin Holman picked things up in the second half last week to end 14/28 for 193 yards passing, and two touchdowns (as well as 40 yards rushing and a rushing TD). His play in the first half was atrocious, however. He was skittish and inaccurate. And clearly not accustomed yet to Scott Frost's spread-to-run offense, Holman made wrong reads a number of times and sent running backs straight into walls. Again, he settled down in the second half. But the Knights can ill afford Holman spotting Michigan a bad half of bad QB play.

Keep an eye on WR Tre'quan Smith, whom I believe has the athleticism to challenge an excellent Michigan defense. He led the Knights last week in receptions (4), yardage (65), and had one of the Knights' two receiving touchdowns. I think highly of true freshman Jawon Hamilton, who led the Knights on the ground last week. While I don't predict this to be a breakout game for him, I'm eager to see how he can perform against this level of competition. He's the future at running back (and frankly probably most of the present, too).
The Knights defense will be challenged. The secondary (especially Shaquill Griffin) looked good against South Carolina State. But it's hard to get too excited in light of how bad the Bulldogs' quarterback play was. I worry about how much better a unit that got routinely torched in 2015 can be in a year. Especially going up against a guy like Jehu Chesson on the outside.
Michigan Outlook: The Wolverines looked stellar last week in drubbing a hapless Hawaii team, 63-3. Michigan excelled on both sides of the ball. The defense had two pick sixes. Also four sacks. Hawaii only scored in the fourth quarter thanks to a 55 yard field goal. The Michigan offense rolled along as well, racking up 306 yards rushing to go with 206 passing.
The real question mark for Michigan going into the season was at quarterback. And the answer was supplied last week. Despite a terrible interception to start the game, Wilton Speight showed that he could be very effective and finished 10/13 with three touchdowns. He looks to be an excellent game manager. With good quarterback play in place, this is a truly dangerous team.
True freshman Chris Evans was a revelation for Michigan last week, and our sister site Maize n Brew is firmly on his hype train. Evans had two touchdowns and 112 yards rushing. On eight carries. In relief of senior running back De'Veon Smith. Yikes. If the Knights' rebuilt front leaves holes for Evans, expect him to wreck havoc.
The defense is led by Jabrill Peppers who was a monster last week against Hawaii. He racked up eight tackles, two tackles for loss, and a sack. The guy can do anything and allows the Wolverines tremendous flexibility in responding to different offensive personnel.
Look also Don Brown's defense to blitz often and take advantage of Holman's lack of comfort in this offense.
In candor: there is no evidence to suggest that the Knights can beat the Wolverines. In my Q&A with Maize n Brew, I predicted a 16-42 loss, I'm at peace with what I think is the likely result. The Knights are climbing out of last year's crater and are not going to be a good team overnight. But this is a great opportunity to see how the Knights are progressing and how the young players on this team perform against excellent talent.

UCF vs. Michigan Q&A with Maize n Brew

http://www.underdogdynasty.com/2016/9/8/12847834/UCF-Knights-Michigan-Wolverines-UM-Jehu-Chesson-Scott-Frost-Jake-Butt

Drew Hallett from Michigan blog Maize n Brew joins us this week for a Q&A about this week's contest between the Knights and the Wolverines. You can follow Drew on Twitter @DrewCHallet.
Our answers to Drew's questions about UCF are over here at Maize n Brew.
1. This Michigan team absolutely steamrolled Hawaii last week. Who are the most dangerous playmakers the Knights should be wary of?

It's difficult to narrow down whom Michigan's most dangerous playmakers are. The Wolverines are in a fortunate position where they possess a pack of experienced, NFL-ready talent -- CBS Sports listed Michigan at #4 in its top-25 NFL Draft rankings -- and just landed a heralded class of true freshmen with endless potential that already are contributing on the field. However, if I must, I will list three playmakers each on Michigan's offense and Michigan's defense.

Offensively, Michigan arguably has the nation's best receiving tight end and definitely has the tight end with the most (in)appropriate name in Jake Butt. He caught 51 passes for 654 yards and three touchdowns in 2015 and is on his way to rewriting the tight end section of Michigan's record book. At 6-foot-6, Butt has the prototypical frame of a tight end, but what makes him special is his ability to run crisp routes that shake defenders and high point the football in what Michigan fans like to call the "Butt Zone." He was an All-American last season and should contend for the Mackey Award this season before becoming a top-50 draft pick.

While Butt is Michigan's weapon in the middle of the field, wide receiver Jehu Chesson has become Michigan's weapon on the outside. For much of his career, Chesson was a raw speedster, being used more on end-arounds and jet sweeps because he had not developed his route-running or ability to adjust to the ball in the air. However, in the final six games of 2015, something finally clicked for him because, in that span, he caught 33 passes for 574 yards and nine touchdowns. Suddenly, he was Michigan's deep-threat, #1 receiver and torching future first-round cornerbacks like Florida's Vernon Hargreaves.

Now, as a senior, Chesson has a chance to put it all together for one memorable season. If he does, some scouts have claimed he could be the first receiver off the NFL Draft board.

As for Michigan's third offensive playmaker, I will go out on a limb and say true freshman Chris Evans despite that he's worn the winged helmet for one game. Evans was a former four-star athlete that wasn't pegged for a certain position. Some thought he would be an H-back or slot on offense, while others liked him better in the defensive backfield. However, Jim Harbaugh put him at running back, and Evans dazzled in his college debut against Hawaii, toting the ball eight times for 112 yards and two scores. Although Evans currently is only Michigan's #3 running back behind DeVeon Smith and Ty Isaac, Evans brings something to the table that the other two don't: decisiveness and explosiveness. He had a 43-yard touchdown sprint that saw him burst through a hole that would have closed on Smith -- Michigan's bruiser and current starter -- after 12 yards. Evans won't be the running back that UCF sees first, and he won't be the back that they will see most. But, if the Knights leave him in open space, they will regret it the most.

Defensively, the first two playmakers are obvious because they have been plastered over All-American lists for the past year. The first is cornerback Jourdan Lewis, who was arguably the best cover corner in the country last season. Lewis tallied 37 tackles, 3.5 TFL, a sack, a forced fumble, two interceptions, and a whopping 20 PBUs. That his interceptions were on the low side likely cost him his shot at the Thorpe Award, but here is the stat that matters: quarterbacks targeted Lewis an absurd 90 times, yet completed only 33 of those passes (36.7%) for 416 yards (4.6 YPA). Simply, Lewis thrived in press man coverage and shut down one half of the field. Lewis missed the 2016 opener with a minor injury, but Jim Harbaugh said it was a precautionary measure. Expect Lewis to be on the field.

The other obvious defensive playmaker is do-it-all Jabrill Peppers. The former five-star utilizes his world-class athleticism at safety, corner, nickel, linebacker, slot receiver, H-back, running back, Wildcat QB, and returner. However, do not expect him to appear on the offensive side of the ball in this one. Peppers will be on defense in a SAM/nickel role where his versatility allows Michigan to adapt to various offensive schemes without changing its personnel. Though Peppers' coverage in the slot can be shaky at times, he is a violent force near the line of scrimmage and in the flats because he bursts past blockers in those areas to blow up screens and create tackles for loss. This was on display against Hawaii when he racked up eight tackles, two TFL, and a sack. Peppers is the quintessential hybrid-space player, and he likely will be a first-round selection in the spring.

The third defensive playmaker is not one that stands out on the stat sheet but on the game film: nose tackle Ryan Glasgow. The former walk-on doesn't receive the attention that his linemates do, but he is the glue that holds together what some pundits believe is the nation's best defensive line. Glasgow is impressive against both the run and the pass. He knows how to hold up against double teams, and he has become so proficient at shedding offensive linemen with an explosive first step or with his hands. It wasn't a surprise when Michigan's defensive line began to get shredded by run-heavy spread offenses in the final weeks of last season after Glasgow suffered a season-ending shoulder injury. Now, Glasgow is back, and, given how he tore Hawaii's interior line to pieces, he is fully healthy again.

2. Michigan replaced an outstanding DC in D.J. Durkin with another outstanding DC in Don Brown. Is his defense much different than Durkin's, and if so - how?

There are many similarities between the defenses of D.J. Durkin and Don Brown, but Don Brown's defenses seems to be more aggressive and complicated. There was no secret to Durkin's defense last season. Michigan would run a 4-3 with a press man Cover 1 or 3 behind it, daring the opponent's offensive linemen to win their assignments against Michigan's defensive line and the opponent's receivers to beat Michigan's corners one on one. Most times, Michigan won those battles.

On the other hand, while Michigan still is running a 4-3, Brown's defense has a lot more variation to it and more blitzes. In terms of alignment, Michigan might be in a typical 4-3 on one snap. Then, on the next snap, Michigan could be in a 4-2-5 where the defensive linemen will be in wide splits that allow Michigan's two inside linebackers to sandwich its defensive tackle at the line and crash the B gaps. Jabrill Peppers is being moved around from nickel to linebacker to safety every play, which alters Michigan's scheme and tries to keep offenses guessing about what is coming next. Plus, Michigan no longer is exclusively relying on press man coverage. Brown has installed some trap and robber coverages, which will be disguised and should lead to more interceptions for the Wolverines. In fact, they had two pick-sixes against Hawaii, one of which was the result of the Warriors' quarterback not seeing Michigan's Delano Hill in a robber zone underneath. It will be interesting to see if Brown has installed too much to the point that Michigan is more prone to mental mistakes. But the defense looked very stout versus Hawaii.

3. Speight had a great debut at QB. Do you think he's as good as his three touchdown performance against Hawaii suggests?

No. There was much talk about who would replace Jake Rudock as Michigan's starting quarterback this season, but Wolverine fans were not as worried about it because Jim Harbaugh has an excellent track record with quarterbacks and has shown himself to be a guru of sorts. Nonetheless, when it was rumored that Wilton Speight had beaten out John O'Korn for the gig, it was understood that Harbaugh was making this move because Speight had more control of the offense and could move the chains without making many mistakes. Of course, Speight just happened to have his first throw of the season picked off due to a poor decision, but he bounced back by completing 10-of-13 throws for 145 yards, three touchdowns, and just the one interception. However, it was not as if Speight was throwing darts around the field. He had a couple of nice throws, but most of his passes were easy because Michigan was ahead on down and distance all game and Hawaii's secondary was just not good. Speight likely fits the mold of a game manager, and it still remains to be seen if he can pick apart great defenses.

4. Michigan is deservedly a heavy favorite. Knowing the strengths and weaknesses of this team as you do, what scenario exists in which you can see a UCF upset?

The only scenarios that exist in which UCF can upset Michigan is if the Wolverines get an extreme case of turnover-itis or their defensive line goes down in a flurry of injuries. Offensively, Michigan likely will replicate the gameplan it had against Hawaii and keep the ball on the ground (39 runs to 20 passes). UCF's defensive front struggled to stop the run last season (95th in YPC and 105th in S&P+), so it's difficult to predict that the Knights will win that battle in the trench given they have a dearth of defensive ends. Michigan will use an array of tight ends and H-backs to blow them off the line, so, unless Michigan's running backs start fumbling or Wilton Speight gets the yips, Michigan should move the ball.

Defensively, Michigan was vulnerable to uptempo spread-to-run offenses at the end of 2015 after it had lost three defensive linemen to season-ending injuries. The Wolverines no longer had the depth it desired to keep a full rotation of talented linemen, and, as they pace quickened, they became exhausted as they were trapped on the field, unable to sub. The good news for UCF is that Scott Frost has brought an uptempo spread offense with him from Oregon to Orlando. The bad news for UCF, though, is that the Knights likely do not yet have the proper personnel to execute it well -- 3.58 YPC vs. South Carolina State in the opener is alarming -- and Michigan's depth at defensive line remains somewhat intact for the moment. Nose tackle Bryan Mone and defensive end Taco Charlton are expected to miss Saturday's game, but Michigan also will be getting back defensive tackle Maurice Hurst, Jr. If the defensive line stays healthy, it is hard to imagine that UCF will be able to run effectively through the Wolverines' front.

And I don't think Justin Holman will have much fun against Michigan's secondary either way.

5. Off the field - What do you recommend for Knights fans visiting Ann Arbor? Any restaurants, bars, non-game activities that are not to be missed?

I reside in Los Angeles and actually haven't been back to Ann Arbor since 2012, which is crazy to me as I type it out. So I'm not entirely sure what has changed in the past four years. Nonetheless, when people ask me for Ann Arbor restaurant and bar recommendations, I always direct them to this guide constructed by MGoBlog's Brian Cook. It wonderfully breaks down your options based on the type of meal you want or the bar you want to frequent.However, I do think Brian is too harsh on the restaurants on Main Street, such as Chop House. They are pricey, but I do not find them as overrated as he does. And Brian omits my favorite "spot" in Ann Arbor: Mr. Spots. It is located on State and Hill and known for its Philly cheesesteaks. But their hot wings are the best I have ever had.

Oh, and if you want to try the ever-popular Zingerman's Delicatessen, call in your order ahead of time and pick it up. Otherwise, have fun standing in a line around the corner for 30 minutes to an hour. Or just go to Maize & Blue Deli. It's better.

To those of you making the trip to Ann Arbor, have a wonderful time!

Big thanks to Drew for answering our questions. Thoughts on his analysis? The comments are yours.

Recap: UCF Beats South Carolina State 38-0 for First Win Since 2014

http://www.underdogdynasty.com/2016/9/3/12789684/UCF-Knights-South-Carolina-State-Bulldogs-Recap-Instant-Analysis-Central-Florida

The Knights had not won since the improbable Hail Mary hauled in by Breshad Perriman against ECU on December 4, 2014. After a long drought, the Knights have finally notched a win. Sure, it was "only" a win over FCS South Carolina State, but the Bulldogs have a fine defense and were a team with a pulse.
So I'm still not sure which Justin Holman we have. I asked -€” as have most Knights fans, I'm sure -€” whether we would have "2014 Holman" or "2015 Holman" this year. It turns out we had a half of each. Holman started poorly -€” jittery, inaccurate, and too amped up. But by the second half, he had largely settled down. He threw some lasers and ended up 14/28 for 193 yards, with two passing touchdowns and one on the ground. Take out a terrible first half (and account for the fact that Nick Patti came in for most of the fourth quarter), and those statistics look better. And it has to be said that even for a guy no one will mistake for a prototypical mobile quarterback, Holman can make some plays with his legs (as he did on the touchdown run).
Still, the Knights still have a question mark here. Let us hope these early jitters won't be repeated.

The Griffins were great. Twins Shaquem and Shaquill Griffin stood out on what was mostly a very good night for the UCF defense. Shaquill Griffin had a ridiculous interception in the third quarter where he tipped the ball into the air before coming down with it.
Shaquem's move from safety to outside linebacker has been a huge success. He delivered some absolutely huge hits. He looks like a great fit in the Knights' 3-4 defense.
They were a big part of the reason the Knights ended up with a shutout (just like the last time the Knights played South Carolina State, winning 18-0 in 2008).

Special Teams allowed the Knights room to breathe. In the first half, the Knights moved the ball but bogged down often on the South Carolina side of the field. Matthew Wright hit field goals from 46, 34, 45, and 37 yards to put the Knights up 12-0. The Knights would go into the half up only 18-0 following a ten yard run by Justin Holman near the end of the half. Had it not been for Wright's reliable kicking, the first half would have had a much different feeling.
Tristan Payton had a great 47 yard kickoff return, and Chris Johnson was effective on punt returns.
There was a dicey special teams moment in the fourth quarter where a UCF punt was nearly blocked. But the Knights ended up stopping the ball's roll at the 1 so things ended up with a happy result.
No doubt a sharper debut on offense (especially in the first half) would have pleased Knights fans better, but just getting a win after such a long drought felt great. Question marks still surround the offense, especially Holman's play.

UCF Knights vs. South Carolina State Bulldogs: Preview, Start Time, TV, Streaming Information

http://www.underdogdynasty.com/2016/9/1/12729866/UCF-Knights-v-South-Carolina-State-Bulldogs-football-preview-tv-streaming

Start Time: Saturday, September 3 at 7 PM
TV/Streaming: ESPN3
Live Coverage: FM 96.9 & AM 740 - Orlando

Location: Bright House Networks Stadium, Orlando, FL
All-Time Series: UCF won the only prior meeting between the teams, a 17-0 shutout, in 2008. UCF QB Michael Greco (who would later be converted to safety) played poorly and passed for only 90 yards. The defense carried the day, holding South Carolina State to less than 22 minutes of possession.
UCF Outlook: The UCF program and its fans are energized, and remarkably so for a team coming off a winless and joyless slog of a season in 2015. New Head Coach Scott Frost has done all the right things so far, and Knights fans will finally get a chance to see this team in a game situation.

It will look much different from the O'Leary era. Frost has imported the up-tempo spread from his time as offensive coordinator at Oregon. DC Erik Chinander has the Knights in a base 3-4 defense.
There's an interesting dichotomy with this team, which returns 10 starters on offense and 7 on defense. The Knights are still young at some position groups -€” wide receivers, running backs. And yet these are some of the more promising groups. Where the Knights can field older players, they have mostly not impressed to date. That includes the offensive line. And the secondary. And at QB where the Knights start Senior Justin Holman (who showed promise in 2014 before getting injured in 2015 and throwing twice as many interceptions as touchdowns) and Redshirt Senior Nick Patti (who, at least, has been serviceable).
I have to believe that UCF has progressed enough under Frost to handle South Carolina. But my crystal ball has been murky before when it comes to games against FCS schools from the Palmetto State ("The game against Furman is the only ‘gimmie' game left on the schedule [. . .] ").
For more on the Knights, our season preview is over here.
South Carolina State Outlook: South Carolina State is coached by Buddy Pough, an alumnus of the school. In his fourteen seasons, the Bulldogs are 112-51. Last year South Carolina State went 7-4 with a 6-2 record in the MEAC.
The team's strength last year was its defense. South Carolina State lead the FCS with 46 sacks. The defense averaged 15.2 points allowed per game. The Bulldogs return six players from that defense, but among those lost is defensive tackle Javon Hargrave who went in the third round of the 2016 NFL draft to the Steelers. He accounted for 13.5 of those sacks.
On offense, the Bulldogs return most of last year's offense, including quarterback Caleb York, now a sophomore. Keep an eye out for offensive tackle Javarius Leamon, a former Clemson commit (academic issues kept him from being a Tiger). He's a potential draft prospect himself and excels in pass protection.
The Bulldogs have been picked to finish a respectable fourth in the MEAC.

UCF 2016 Football Season Preview: The Restoration Project Begins

http://www.underdogdynasty.com/2016/8/30/12690324/UCF-Knights-2016-Football-Season-Preview

UCF won the off-season. The hiring of Scott Frost has -€” so far -€” seemed a coup. He reeled in a recruiting class that was far better than a winless program had any right to. He brings an up-tempo, Oregon-esque style that fans have responded to. Attendance at the spring game was a UCF record at 23,147 (also the best spring game attendance for any G5 program this year) and UCF's FanFest was also ridiculously well attended. There is a tremendous level of excitement surrounding the program despite the crater that the O'Leary era ended in.
The overhaul has carried through to other elements of the program. Bright House Networks Stadium is in the process of getting a new video board added. The Knights' uniforms have also been updated and vastly improved (and will have player names on the back for the first time since O'Leary ordered them removed years ago).
The burning question -€” soon to be answered -€” is how the team will perform on the field. Is the success on the field this season going to mirror the run up to the season's start?

Uh, nope. Probably not quite.
But don't let that be dispiriting. The Knights are still young at a number of positions[1] and I see them as winding up in the bottom tier of the AAC this year. But dang, the Knights are finally going to be interesting again. The Knights will play fast (so fast that the program is adding another statistician for game day operations). And they'll doubtlessly improve from last year's winless, injury-plagued campaign. It would be hard not to.
On offense, the Knights have a lot of upside. I'm excited by this group of receivers and believe that in a year or two we'll be thinking of them the way we think of the stellar group that had Breshad Perriman, Ranell Hall, J.J. Worton, and Josh Reese. Jordan Akins, who looked great before his early season injury last year, has been moved from WR to TE where he should continue to be a fast, strong target. Even with unreliable quarterback play, Tre'quan Smith garnered AAC Rookie of the Year honors and thrilled with numerous highlight reel catches in 2015. He should look even better as a sophomore. Tristan Payton is another sophomore to watch -€” he was second on the team last year in both receptions and receiving yards. Plus he just chased down and caught a fleeing voyeur, so he's extra worthy of our rooting interest.
The key will be quarterback play. Senior Justin Holman is the starter as of the Knights' first depth chart. He looked good back in 2014 and his deep ball could be a thing of beauty. But he was a disaster last year, suffering the early season injury against Stanford, missing a substantial stretch of time, and then playing poorly and turnover-prone. If he continues to play like his 2015 self, Nick Patti is a legitimate option at QB.

I look to Jawon Hamilton as a freshman whom I think will impress. When he committed, I predicted him as the next great UCF RB and he drew praise during fall practice as well. He's listed as co-starting running back with senior Dontravious Wilson and so ought to have plenty of opportunities. He's fast and had tremendous stats his senior year of high school (1,259 yards on 131 carries, or 9.6 yards per carry) -€” I am a believer that his success will continue at the college level.
On defense, the Knights will now be in a base 3-4 after years of being in O'Leary's 4-3. Last season the lack of communication on defense was painful and resulted in frequent blown coverages and defenders being out of place. We have to hope that the linebackers, especially, will communicate better. I'll look for Chequan Burkett to be a playmaker again this year (yes, even though the depth chart lists him as an "Or" at one of the ILB spots).
Overall, progress should be meaningful and I emphasize that the Knights should be much more fun to watch. But my gut says this is a four win team. Despite some of the reasons to be optimistic, I just don't know how far we can reasonably expect to advance -€” in one year -€” from a winless team that only played close games against Furman and FIU. Don't take me for a pessimist though. Even with all of those cautionary notes, I predict the season ends with Knights fans thinking the future is bright. The Scott Frost era is just getting started.
The restoration project begin the season at home versus South Carolina State at 7 PM on Saturday.

---

[1] And where the Knights are experienced, they're also mostly not very accomplished.

Obscure Stats: UCF Brags About New Video Board

http://www.underdogdynasty.com/2016/8/24/12594186/ucf-football-stadium-new-led-video-board

I love the Knights. And I love the efforts made this off season to build fan excitement following a dreadfully dull and winless 2015 campaign.
And I love UCF's command of obscure and silly statistics.
In that vein, here is UCF Athletic Director Danny White dropping what can only be described as an exceedingly specific UCF factoid:

That . . . that's some statistic. It's the best possible gloss for ‘our stadium is modest but the new video board is a pretty good size, actually.' Not that I'm complaining, odd stat notwithstanding. The new LED display clocks in at 4,104 square feet, an impressive 640% improvement over the current video display.
But why stop at second highest ration of video board size to seating capacity? Let me humbly submit the following alternatives for the edification of my fellow Knights fans:

24.429 square feet of LED display for each 1,500 watt metal halide lighting fixture in the stadium!
4.434 square feet of LED display for each linear foot of ornamental fencing and gates surrounding the stadium!
And of course, 0.0928 square feet of LED display for each seat in the stadium![1]

A glorious factoid, to be sure. But only time will tell whether UCF has truly found a worthy successor to such gems as "#1 Video Game School in North America," and "More National Merit Scholars than the University of Texas."

Former UCF Football Coach George O'Leary To Be Honored With Statue

http://www.underdogdynasty.com/2016/8/23/12613534/former-ucf-football-coach-george-oleary-statue

Appropriately enough, a guy I once compared to Shelley's "Ozymandias" is getting a statue. A statue of former head coach George O'Leary is expected to be installed in 2017, probably on or near Bright House Networks Stadium. As the Orlando Sentinel reports, the effort to install the statue was organized by a group of private donors and approved by the UCF Athletic Association.

No word yet on whether the statue will feature ecstatic ‘post-ECU in 2014 O'Leary' or ‘wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command O'Leary.'

O'Leary is a complicated figure, but undeniably worthy of a statute from a football perspective (despite the winless seasons that bookended his UCF tenure). The Knights' eighth head coach, O'Leary oversaw virtually every major achievement in program history. He coached UCF to the program's first bowl appearance and later to its first bowl win, a Liberty Bowl victory over Georgia in 2010.

The Knights won four conference titles with O'Leary at the helm: two in Conference USA and two in the American Athletic Conference. The inaugural AAC season in 2013 was the high point of both O'Leary's tenure and UCF's football history to date: the Knights went 11-1 in the regular season, won the AAC outright, and smashed Big 12 Champion Baylor in the Fiesta Bowl to end the season ranked #10.

O'Leary's emphasis on player discipline and academics was praiseworthy. There were few player arrests in his tenure and football players succeeded academically. UCF had a 90 percent graduation success rate in 2014: third among public universities, first in the state of Florida, and first in the AAC. And of course, O'Leary was instrumental in UCF getting the on-campus stadium where his statue will likely rest.

Other aspects of O'Leary's time at UCF were less than salubrious. A player's death in 2008 (arising from sickle cell trait complications) following conditioning drills led to extensive civil litigation. Though O'Leary was not a defendant in the case, he featured prominently in the litigation.