Orlando's Hometown National Champions

[spenser1058]

Well, our boys didn't get to play this weekend due to mean old Florence. That was a concern since it was 1 of only 2 P5 games on our schedule.

Fortunately, a little intervention from above: Boise State, the school most likely to grab our G5 space for the New Year's Day  bowl due to machinations among the powers that be, was defeated by Oklahoma State.

Also, the 'Noles lost to Syracuse.

The Gators, I am pleased to report, woke up this week and beat Colorado State!

A lot of football still to be played but things could have gone much worse for us. Charge On!

Edited September 16, 2018 by spenser1058

[aent]

1 hour ago, spenser1058 said:

Well, our boys didn't get to play this weekend due to mean old Florence. That was a concern since it was 1 of only 2 P5 games on our schedule.

Fortunately, a little intervention from above: Boise State, the school most likely to grab our G5 space for the New Year's Day  bowl due to machinations among the peers that be, was defeated by Oklahoma State.

Also, the 'Noles lost to Syracuse.

The Gators, I am pleased to report, woke up this week and beat Colorado State!

A lot of football still to be played but things could have gone much worse for us. Charge On!

Yup, we had a few ranked teams above us lose today, we should hopefully move up another couple slots, as long as they don't punish us too much for the hurricane.

[spenser1058]

Oh, and for those keeping score at home, our dear departed coach Scott Frost and his 'Huskers lost to Troy (Sun Belt). Nebraska is now 0-2 for the first time since 1957.

[spenser1058]

Our Hometown National Champions remain at 18 in this week's Coaches' Poll. Charge On!

https://247sports.com/Article/Coaches-poll-Top-25-Week-4-college-football-rankings-released-121974371/Amp/

From 24/7 Sports

KZ and company remain Florida's highest ranked team. There is talk of sending FSU to Lower Alabama...

Edited September 16, 2018 by spenser1058

[Dale]

Maybe Frosty didn't realize how good he had it at UCF ?

 

[spenser1058]

Our Knights are #16 in the latest AP poll, once again Florida's highest ranked team. Charge On and we'll see you next weekend as we take a shot at derailing the Lane Train!

https://247sports.com/Article/AP-Top-25-Week-4-college-football-rankings-released-121982781/Amp/

From 24/7 Sports

In case you were wondering, here's a look at how USF's Bulls are doing after beating the Big 10's Illini (tell us again, please, how much better P5 teams are than AAC teams and that we should be left out of the CFP by default...)

https://www.tampabay.com/sports/usf-bulls/2018/09/16/usf-still-out-of-ap-top-25-but-moves-closer/

From the St Pete Times

There's a scene in the film "Breaking Away," just after a fight in the IU student union between the frat boys and the townies (the "Cutters") where the university president announces that a team from the town will be added to that year's Little 500 bike race to move the aggression out of the union and on to the track.

Immediately, the lead frat boy (Hart Bochner) whines, "But sir, they're not good enough!" Of course, The Cutters go on to win the race. 

I always think of that scene when the privileged P5 folks start up about how unworthy the AAC is of joining their little club.

Here's a clip of the fight (it concludes before the scene in the president's office):

From YouTube

 

 

 

 

Edited September 16, 2018 by spenser1058

[spenser1058]

CBS Sports is back to projecting our National Champion Knights to take the token G5 slot at the Fiesta Bowl with Boise State's loss yesterday. 

Of course, UCF's season is barely underway so anything can happen, but it's nice to be back in the pole position for the moment.

https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/college-football-bowl-projections-lsu-penn-state-ucf-benefit-after-week-3-upsets/

[aent]

1 hour ago, spenser1058 said:

CBS Sports is back to projecting our National Champion Knights to take the token G5 slot at the Fiesta Bowl with Boise State's loss yesterday. 

Of course, UCF's season is barely underway so anything can happen, but it's nice to be back in the pole position for the moment.

https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/college-football-bowl-projections-lsu-penn-state-ucf-benefit-after-week-3-upsets/

The concept of UCF not playing in the NY6 after winning 25 straight games I don't think really was realistic. I mean, the CFP is gonna have a very tough decision if there isn't 4 undefeated P5 teams for the CFP, not selecting UCF for their invitational after going 2 seasons consecutively undefeated is going to make it super clear there is literally nothing anyone not in a P5 conference can do to get invited.

[spenser1058]

39 minutes ago, aent said:

The concept of UCF not playing in the NY6 after winning 25 straight games I don't think really was realistic. I mean, the CFP is gonna have a very tough decision if there isn't 4 undefeated P5 teams for the CFP, not selecting UCF for their invitational after going 2 seasons consecutively undefeated is going to make it super clear there is literally nothing anyone not in a P5 conference can do to get invited.

The point is that having to go undefeated two years in a row to even get a glance is unrealistic. P5 teams with two or even three losses were ranked ahead of us last year. Even Nick Saban has observed a perfect season is almost impossible, much less two. We simply have to continue acknowledging the system is rotten to the core. There's not much we can do about it other than stating loud and clear how rigged it is.

The Finebaums of the world are happy to say "we'll have to take a look if UCF is undefeated again" because they know how improbable it is - after all, we currently have the longest win streak in the FBS. As we learned last week, though, even KZ, good as he is, can have an off game.

One more thing: if you don't think the polls were skewed against G5 teams, I leave you with this wonderful example: FSU, a team that barely made a bowl game last year, was ranked ahead of UCF, an undefeated team that won the Peach Bowl against Auburn. UCF had to deal with a new coach but so did FSU.Meanwhile, UCF had a stable QB situation (in fact, on Heisman watch) when FSU didn't. The results speak for themselves.

Edited September 17, 2018 by spenser1058

[spenser1058]

The SEC has released the Gators' 2019 schedule and while credit is due for scheduling The U (Miami) again as well as FSU (thanks to a push year's ago by the Legislature), you'll be glad to know The Boys are also playing those well-known football powerhouses UT-Martin and Towson. They also have two open dates for scheduling flexibility.

Their failure to schedule rising Florida teams like UCF or FAU tell you everything you need to know about the why good G5 teams find it so tough to improve their SOS. But then, given the way Florida played Kentucky, maybe it wouldn't have helped much after all.

https://www.tidesports.com/sec-releases-full-2019-football-schedule/

From Tide Sports

 

[spenser1058]

Our Hometown National Champions extended the longest active win streak in the FBS to 16 tonight.

The Lane Train ain't no Brightline, falling to the Knights 56-36. It was a good performance by FAU in any event, who kept it real all the way.

A special treat tonight was ESPN's shoutout to Popsicle Brandon's Pop Parlour. They noted both the UCF and downtown locations.

 

Edited September 22, 2018 by spenser1058

[jrs2]

Did I get censored tonight?

[spenser1058]

1 minute ago, jrs2 said:

Did I get censored tonight?

I dunno - what did I miss?

[jrs2]

1 minute ago, spenser1058 said:

I dunno - what did I miss?

Okayyyy... so you guys get to diss the P5 and the P5 can’t respond.  Fine.  I’ll create my own thread in the Coffee House as an Orlando resident who hails from a P5 school which has a presence in Orlando- maybe even more than UCF with all the hospital renaming around town (I love it), and diss the dissers back.

And to think that I was going to compliment Milton tonight...

[spenser1058]

Hey, go for it! Even the Head Ball Coach has given up the Gators for Dos Equis commercials and Chris Doering is predicting a loss on Rocky Top. 

But, it has to get better, right?

Oh, and don't take my word for it. who does ESPN say Florida's hottest teams are? FSU and UF. Well, no. It's UCF and FAU. Charge On!

http://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/24745650/florida-atlantic-owls-ucf-knights-fine-art-trolling-alabama

Edited September 22, 2018 by spenser1058

[jrs2]

2 minutes ago, spenser1058 said:

Hey, go for it! Even the Head Ball Coach has given up the Gators for Dos Equis commercials and Chris Doering is predicting a loss on Rocky Top. 

But, it has to get better, right?

 

Good one!   Yeah I noticed SOS in that commercial too.  Milton is too good, though.  His accuracy is sick.   And he’s quick on his feet.  crap.

[spenser1058]

3 minutes ago, jrs2 said:

Good one!   Yeah I noticed SOS in that commercial too.  Milton is too good, though.  His accuracy is sick.   And he’s quick on his feet.  crap.

He's finally growing into his looks, too. The first couple of years he just looked kind of awkward but this latest growth spurt has been good for him.

And I don't think I've ever seen a QB as well-liked by his teammates. The cameraderie of those guys is amazing.

[jrs2]

1 minute ago, spenser1058 said:

He's finally growing into his looks, too. The first couple of years he just looked kind of awkward but this latest growth spurt has been good for him.

And I don't think I've ever seen a QB as well-liked by his teammates. The cameraderie of those guys is amazing.

I can’t get over his accuracy.  That clip of Marino was appropriate for comparison.  What is the average weight of the O-Line?  If they’re big, they might be that good with Milton at QB.

[spenser1058]

1 minute ago, jrs2 said:

I can’t get over his accuracy.  That clip of Marino was appropriate for comparison.  What is the average weight of the O-Line?  If they’re big, they might be that good with Milton at QB.

His accuracy is amazing and it's great how he's just as happy running the ball in as throwing it.

Meanwhile, Singletary over on the FAU side is pretty amazing, too. That dude was all over the place.

[jrs2]

3 minutes ago, spenser1058 said:

His accuracy is amazing and it's great how he's just as happy running the ball in as throwing it.

Meanwhile, Singletary over on the FAU side is pretty amazing, too. That dude was all over the place.

They’ve got monsters on the O-Line.  The smallest one was 291lbs.  Dunno...this is a very good team.

His runs and cutbacks are very impressive.

Edited September 22, 2018 by jrs2

[spenser1058]

Bianchi on the state (or State - both apply here) of Florida football:

UCF overpowers FAU during most exciting, intriguing game in state
http://bit.ly/2PWiSOH

From the Sentinel

[spenser1058]

Where arethe Fun and Gun and the Puntrooskie? They're sure not in Hogtown or Tally anymore.

Check out East Orlando and Boca instead:

https://www.tampabay.com/sports/2018/09/21/ucf-fau-featured-the-fun-most-florida-teams-would-love-to-have/?template=amp

From the St. Pete Times

[spenser1058]

Oh, one more thing: I love the blackout Pegasus on the uniform sleeves. That is a totally sick look.

[spenser1058]

The Bounce House numbers are climbing: 44K last night. It was the fourth consecutive home game of 40K+.

(As Bianchi pointed out earlier, it wasn't long ago that more folks would have turned out on a Friday night for Apopka High vs. Dr. Phillips than for UCF-FAU - my, the world has changed.)

Average attendance last year for home games was 36.8K.  Perhaps best of all is how rowdy the fans are - people are really starting to buy in.

I'd say we should start thinking about a real stadium but after the brouhaha over Colbourn Hall, maybe we should keep real quiet about any new structures for a while...

Three things we learned from UCF's 56-36 win over FAU
http://bit.ly/2NZBekG

From the Sentinel

 

Edited September 22, 2018 by spenser1058

[spenser1058]

Just for JRS, we have to note that Florida took away a  big win from Rocky Top last night. Tennessee was truly awful but the Gators appear to be taking Coach Mullen's lessons to heart at long last. One potential problem was a potentially dirty hit that may come back to haunt the Hogtown boys.

For now, what we can say is that the Gators may be on their way back much more quickly than the FSU lads who managed to squeak by Northern Illinois (because P5 teams are ALWAYS so much better than anyone else, you know!)

https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/florida-vs-tennessee-score-gators-romp-over-volunteers-to-give-dan-mullen-first-sec-win/amp/

From CBS Sports