More UCF

At the request of one reader, I need to say more about UCF (which I do!).

UCF's play yesterday was a real letdown on a season that, up to this point, was very solid. Leading 28-17 at halftime, they gave up 28 points in the third quarter and went on to lose 52-38.

Not a horrible loss, particularly on the road to an East Carolina team that beat North Carolina and gave Virginia Tech fits when they were expected to be blown out by a VTech team that was very emotional for their home opener after the tragedy last spring.

But it was a letdown none-the-less.
It showed UCF was just a better version of typical UCF... of most any typical mid-conference team; they are a team prone to ups and downs.
I was ready to crown them king of the mid-majors after they almost beat Texas. Considering how bad they played in that game, it was shocking they came so close. And, yes, Texas has been shown what many of us have suspected for a while (pretty bad... I could see them losing 4 or 5 games now this season). But that didn't discount that UCF played an undefeated national powerhouse and almost pulled it out.
The buzz in Orlando is big. The new stadium is BEAUTIFUL! And the team really came out of nowhere to surprise me this year.
This link shows that most people had UCF about where I did to start the year... middle of the road... and probably pretty unlikely to make a bowl.

I shouldn't have been shocked. Apparently most people had UCF finishing last in Conference USA in 2005... you know, the year where they fell one play short of the conference title and a blown extra point from continuing their bowl game.
And this year, they looked ready to break out in an unbelievable way. They beat a big conference team, NC State, on the road, then blew out Memphis and La-La after falling short of Texas. None of those wins were outstanding, as the opponents weren't that great... but I was getting really hyped. They were getting votes in the polls... and might have moved into the Top 25 (at least in my poll) had they beat ECU convincingly.

As it is they blew it in that third quarter. As I said, they led 28-17 at halftime. They gave up a huge return on the opening kickoff, but responding with a field goal, a stop, and a blocked punt. It looked like the game was about to be put out of reach by UCF, but that's where the game turned. An 83 yard interception return set up East Carolina for a td that turned the tide of the game. The next 4 drives had UCF turnovers. And from there it was all but over.


UCF looked ready to do something amazing. I was championing how UCF could still make it in as the midmajor BCS team... and had UCF somehow managed to beat Texas... they could maybe even have upset the world and found their way into the National Championship Game. Think about it. If they had run the table, they would have beaten top 10 teams Texas and South Florida (on the road), and also beaten major conference NC State on the road. They would've have run through a conference that includes some pretty decent teams like Tulsa, ECar, and UTEP. And Kevin Smith might well have won the Heisman (he is the nation's leading rusher, and singlehandedly kept them in it against Texas).

But, alas, all that is gone now. Kyle Israel has put up some pretty decent yardage numbers... but poorly timed picks have proved costly against both Texas and Eastern Car. I was really considering getting tickets to Raymond James Stadium next week and watching UCF/USF in person. This is the first time UCF has been a real football school. When Daunte Culpepper was here near the end of last millennium, it was the first time UCF was really an interesting football team (well, they were quite exciting to follow when competing at the highest level in D-1AA, but that's beside the point)...... but now they are finally a football school. In a new way. They have a stadium on campus, gameday tailgating, and bring a buzz... at least to that side of town... each home Saturday. I'm still excited about UCF's chances to beat USF... and maybe get a ranking by doing so... but it's not the same now. They caught the nation's attention against Texas, and kept coming up in conversations about who the second best Florida team was (as a footnote to USF). They were being overlooked, and yet drawing huge attention. And they were ready to take the next step.

They are a team that probably feeds off the home crowd too much, and definitely makes too many mistakes. They still have big goals they can attain - win their division and conference (though they now need ECU to lose to someone). But a world-shattering season in Orlando has now been demoted to just a stellar year. But don't count them out South Florida, or you'll be the ones licking your wounds come this time next week!