Can someone with media credentials ask Gus what the response was from the Big 12, if any, on the 4th and 6 punt penalty at Cincy? I think he mentioned after the game they were going to inquire about it.

Separately, are they going to inquire on the 2 questionable Kobe Hudson calls from last week?

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Will UCF and Houston be battling for "Space" supremacy, the dawning of a new Big 12 rivalry?

That remains to be seen but at least for the Knights there's a lot on the line in this regular season finale.

For our preview, I caught up with Ryan Monceaux of GoCoogs.com. Monceaux has been covering UH for more than 25 years.

UCF and Houston have been familiar foes due to their shared time in Conference USA and the American Athletic Conference. The Knights lead the all-time series 7-3, though the two schools haven't met since 2020.

UCF is 5-6 following last week's loss at Texas Tech, so this is a must-win game for bowl eligibility.

Meanwhile, Houston is out of bowl contention. The Cougars are 4-7, coming off back-to-back losses to Cincinnati and Oklahoma State.

Both UCF and Houston are 2-6 in their first Big 12 season. UCF has wins against Cincinnati and Oklahoma State; Houston has defeated West Virginia and Baylor.

UCF is currently a 13.5 point favorite to win this Saturday.

All four Big 12 newcomers (UCF, Houston, BYU, Cincinnati) were ecstatic to receive the invitation in Sept. 2021, but it was especially sweet for Houston. It has been widely circulated UH was originally to be included in the 1996 Big Eight/Southwest Conference merger that resulted in the creation of the Big 12, but political pressure forced UH to be swapped for Baylor. The Cougars essentially dropped down to college football's second tier and joined Conference USA.

"Baylor, Texas Tech and TCU, those are who you believe to be your peers," Monceaux said. "U of H gets to go back to playing them on a more consistent basis and that was a big deal. This year they played all three plus Texas. You got all four. That was a cool deal. Two at home, two away.

"Getting into the Big 12 mattered a lot, but establishing these rivalries, this is important. This would be like for a UCF fan playing Florida or Florida State. You talk about it 365 days a year. It's that important. Before two weeks ago, Houston hadn't played Baylor in 27 years."



This is the fifth season at Houston for head coach Dana Holgorsen. The Cougars were 12-2 in 2021 (lost in the AAC CCG to Cincinnati) and 8-5 in 2022, their final year in the AAC.

What were the expectations going into this first season in the Big 12?

"I think expectations were fairly reasonable based on getting a brand-new quarterback," Monceaux said. "You just lost a quarterback (Clayton Tune) to the NFL Draft that started 40-plus games. You got a new quarterback (Donovan Smith) that had slid down the depth chart at Texas Tech and having to re-invent who you are. Going into this league and playing these games, I think most people thought 4-8 to 6-6 or 7-5, generally in that area.

"You've got four wins and two of them were ugly. One of your losses was horrific. You lost to Rice in overtime. You cannot lose to Rice. It's a no. It's like FIU for UCF. You just can't lose to them. Rice is three miles down the road. Players see each other at bars, parties, whatever. You can't lose to them. They were up 28-0 at one point and U of H rallied and tied it with 15 seconds left and then lost in overtime.

"That loss sent the expectations up in the air. Then you haven't competed for so many games. TCU game, you didn't score an offensive touchdown. Texas, you were down 21-0. Kansas State, you got shutout 41-0. Didn't play well against Baylor. Cincinnati blew your doors off. And you didn't play well against Oklahoma State even though you had a lead going into halftime.

"The offense has struggled to score touchdowns. The defense has been a problem. But if your offense cannot score touchdowns, you're going to have a huge problem in this league."



Offensively, Houston is averaging 21.9 points in Big 12 play, which is No. 11 in the league.

If Houston wanted to keep hopes alive for six wins and a bowl berth, those chances took a major hit on Nov. 11 when they lost their homecoming game to Cincinnati, 24-14. Monceaux says UH quarterback Donovan Smith seems to get rattled by interior defensive line pressure and UC defensive tackle Dontay Corleone harassed him all game.

"They couldn't finish drives, just a lot of frustrating drives," Monceaux said.

Donovan Smith has become more of a dual-threat quarterback in this latter half of the season. While he was mostly mistake free in the first half of the year, he's become more turnover prone of late with an interception in each of the last five games.

"He's got to make smarter decisions," Monceaux said. "You look at his completion percentage and it's pretty good. But the yards and yards after catch aren't there. The big plays aren't there. You had one big play in the last game vs. Oklahoma State, a true freshman had a 60-yard catch. Then there was a trick play where Donovan caught a ball and scored. And then one more drive. That's only three touchdowns in that game.

"Same with Cincinnati. Against Baylor, you had two touchdowns in regulation. No touchdowns against Kansas State. You're just not scoring."

Monceaux said the right side of the offensive line has struggled at times. The starting center (Jack Freeman) missed the last game with an injury. Left tackle Patrick Paul will be a first-round NFL Draft pick. Tight ends are primarily used for blocking.

UH's No. 1 running back is true freshman Parker Jenkins, a former four-star recruit. He's a smaller back. No. 1 wide receiver Matthew Golden is out for the year, leaving Sam Brown (WVU transfer and a one-time UCF commit) and Joseph Manjack IV (USC transfer). Dalton Carnes has emerged of late. He's a walk-on freshman that has started the last several games.

"(Carnes is) a guy willing to go over the middle and make the tough catch," Monceaux said. "He's a generous 5-foot-9. The pieces maybe are there, but you're struggling with injuries. There have been several concussions in the last few weeks. The offense hasn't been moving in the direction you'd hope."

Defensively, Houston is giving up 35.9 points per game in Big 12 play, which is next to last (No. 13) in the conference.

"Nelson Ceasar, No. 9, he's the bandit which is a defensive end position, he can do some things," Monceaux said. "He can even cover receivers which he did in the Oklahoma State game. He has 9.5 sacks on the year. He might be leading the Big 12 or one back.

"The defensive backfield has struggled this year. They gave up 15 catches to a kid at Oklahoma State who is 5-foot-8. That was a major overhaul this year. You brought in a kid from New Mexico and one from Texas Southern, an FCS school here in Houston. It's been a struggle.

"It's been a struggle at linebacker though they're getting better. You've had some injuries at nose tackle. He's a pretty good player, Chidozie Nwankwo, but he's in and out with foot/leg injuries. He wins that battle up front. He usually has to be double teamed."



Is Dana Holgorsen on the hot seat? Could a loss to UCF send him packing? Monceaux explained the Houston dynamic with billionaire boster and UH Chairman of the Board of Regents Tilman Fertitta.

"He is in charge, basically, and he loves Dana," Monceaux said. "He does not believe the fanbase is interested in changing coaches. I see a whole different thing, just social media, our website and interacting with people. The only thing people want to ask me is, 'When is Dana getting fired?'

"I don't think it's happening this year. If it did, I'd be mildly surprised because of everything that's been said and how they've handled firing and coaching changes here."

Houston's 2024 recruiting class only has eight commits and is ranked dead last in the Big 12. Holgorsen plans to go all in via JUCOs and the Transfer Portal.

"42 new players this year," Monceaux said. "And it will be more in 2024. They like JUCO players. I think there's some value there because of all the FBS guys getting a COVID year. With the 85 scholarships, a lot of players that could have gone FBS instead go to JUCO. They're not doing much in terms of high school recruits."

Could this become a future "space" rivalry? UH head coach Dana Holgorsen recently took issue with UCF's embrace of space. During a recent radio show, Holgorsen brought it up in the context of watching Oklahoma State facing UCF in the annual Space Game.

"I don't know what the heck they are, but (UCF was wearing) some blue unis," Holgorsen said. "Some Space City thing. I thought we were Space City... (The launch pad) is like 45 minutes away (from Orlando). It's not close. They don't say, 'Orlando, we got a problem.'"

While other Houston teams have embraced the "Space City" moniker - the MLB's Astros being the big one with their "City Connect" alternate jerseys - Monceaux said UH really has not.

"U of H has done nothing to be Space U or Space City whereas UCF has," Monceaux said. "They've embraced it and made it their thing. Yeah, Houston has just as much claim to that as the Orlando area but UCF went and did it. U of H is coming back after the fact and griping about it."

Lastly, Monceaux spoke of the excitement surrounding Houston men's basketball and this inaugural season in the Big 12. Kelvin Sampson's Cougars are currently ranked No. 6.

"It's going to be a blast," Monceaux said. "The way the schedule works out, in the last two or three weeks you get Baylor, Texas and Kansas all coming to Houston. That's stout. This team is really good. Kelvin Sampson thinks they're really good and he's not built to think that. But he does. He likes this team. There's depth. There's frontline shooting. They're tough. If they play defense the way they've played defense over the last eight years, it's going to be a fun year."

Check out Ryan and his work at GoCoogs.com. He also has a Youtube channel with live streams following football and basketball games.

We don't play till tomorrow but the Clearwater Invitational starts today.

Here's our schedule:
Friday, February 17: vs. No. 25 Michigan (3 p.m.)
Friday, February 17: vs. Texas A&M (7 p.m.)
Saturday, February 18: vs. No. 17 Duke (10 a.m.)
Saturday, February 18:vs. No. 12 Alabama (2:30 p.m.)
Sunday, February 19: vs. Mississippi State (8 p.m.)

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We’re gonna get wrecked. *

Random thing I thought about it tonight:

In the modern era of UCF football playing in conferences with bowl tie-ins, UCF has never entered the final weekend needing to win to become bowl eligible.

UCF finished 5-7 in 2011, but were already out of bowl contention. They beat UTEP to end that season.

New Podcast is ready for your ears:

- Recap of the Texas Tech game
- We introduce you to Noah, a high school senior considering attending UCF
- Basketball can't find a tv camera

Click here for more from the Sons of UCF.

New Podcast is ready for your ears:

- Recap of the Texas Tech game
- We introduce you to Noah, a high school senior considering attending UCF
- Basketball can't find a tv camera

Click here for more from the Sons of UCF.

College Football Playoff committee Top 25

1. Georgia (11-0)

2. Ohio State (11-0)

3. Michigan (11-0)

4. Washington (11-0)

5. Florida State (11-0)

6. Oregon (10-1)

7. Texas (10-1)

8. Alabama (10-1)

9. Missouri (9-2)

10. Louisville (10-1)

11. Penn State (9-2)

12. Mississippi (9-2)

13. Oklahoma (9-2)

14. LSU (8-3)

15. Arizona (8-3)

16. Oregon State (8-3)

17. Iowa (9-2)

18. Notre Dame (8-3)

19. Kansas State (8-3)

20. Oklahoma State (8-3)

21. Tennessee (7-4)

22. North Carolina State (8-3)

23. Tulane (10-1)

24. Clemson (7-4)

25. Liberty (11-0)

IRS delays (again) the requirements to issue 1099's for ticket sale transactions over $600 and raises limit for next tax year to $5000

Welcome to The Knighted One’s Podcast, Episode Unlucky number 13. We are the ONLY podcast that features a former UCF National Champion, a former UCF radio host, and several podcasters shooting the breeze, talking UCF Sports.
This week we talk about getting Blue-Belled, Tre makes a point about the size of our opponents, and Allen forgets position names!

Please comment for subjects that we should cover in our student reeducation segment!

• Introductions: The boys are back and Josh is collared!
• Text Talk:
- Halftime clock snafu's
- Rob gets blamed for No Subject Texts
- When well enough isn't good enough
• Blue-Belled by the Bellringers
- Allen gets cookin’ while censoring his rage
- Nauts Vs Zebras
- Tre Yells at a cloud a little early
- Does size matter?
- Was this the worst second half of football
- Noah goes down the hall during the show
- Breaking down the stats
- Rating the season after Coogin the Coogs
• Intern Re-Education: The Cow Rivalry
- Where's the “Beef”?
• Cougars In Our Area – Houston game preview
- Are we going bowling?
- Keys to the game and roster preview
- Shoutout to Alex aka AGLand
• Tre Yells At a Cloud (again)
- Babers fired from Syracuse
- Tre tells a story from after the “Temple Tantrum” and who was up next in the coaching search
• Views From Courtside
- Ken Pom review
- Reviewing the last two games and calling a win live
• Allen’s oxymoronic stats of the week
- Houston loves to go for “seconds”.

#ucf #ucffootball #ucfbasketball #ucfhoops #ucfvolleyball
- New position names?
- Josh murders his keyboard
- Allen's brain buffers
• Josh’s Sometimes Funny Fact of The Week (from Wikipedia)
- Mascot name origins: a dad joke
• Listener Love
• UCF Sports Recap
- Women’s basketball ramping up the competition
- A great program getting better
- Men's soccer limps out of the postseason
• Big 12 Super Recap By Allen
• Pick Your Poison Score Prediction
- Tre likes to win
- UCF Football + Destiny’s Child = Win?
- Roger tells it like it is
• Final Thoughts – No Scrubs in The Bowl And Gus Rumors, "No Sip For You"

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I personally think it’s going to be a huge year for both Gus and TMo. If we can’t find success in 24, what will be the attitude around UCF?

Terry obviously locked Gus up with a fairly huge buyout (at least historically huge for UCF). UCF isn’t going find a few ultra high net worth individuals they didn’t already know about to support the NIL and Stadium efforts. We’re more or less stuck with the infrastructure and environment for the next several years.

Thoughts on 24? We have a good recruiting class on paper but are going to have to keep key guys and fill some very key positions.

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JMU is in its 2nd year as a FCS-to-FBS transition program. They played a full FBS schedule last year with a waiver, but was not eligible for any postseason games, per rule. The NCAA has already ruled twice this year that they are also not eligible for postseason games this year, unless there aren't enough 6-6 teams to fill bowls (so no CCG and would have to wait until all 6-6 or better teams are given bowl spots before being selected). JMU is trying to argue that they should be eligible for the NY6 or even their CCG, so they are making yet another appeal to the NCAA. They put together some fancy data showing how cool they are.


What do you think the NCAA response will be?

I knew this before but it popped up on my FB feed so I thought I would share for people not familiar with the story.
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Looking for an extra parking pass. Taking my one year to his first UCF game to hopefully create a new, life long fan. Feel free to make an offer. Thanks in advance!

No matter how many different documentaries I've seen over the years, the sequence of events just makes my jaw drop and gives me chills to this day.

One of the latest documentaries centers solely on the assassination and the next couple days after.

It's called JFK: One Day in America and it has interviews from some of the last surviving witnesses, including the then-19-year-old co-worker of Oswald that typically drove him to work. The last two survivng secret service agents are also featured in the documentary. It's on Disney+.

Next season UCF takes on TCU in neighboring Fort Worth. Visiting the Sixth Floor Museum is an absolute must for anyone interested in American history. Give yourself a few hours.

I’m thinking about getting Softball season tickets.

With weekend series against KU, BYU, TX and OK, that’s a heck of schedule!

Mrs Z puts up with football season, not sure she would appreciate me disappearing for more weekends.

Just $25 (tax deductible) donation to www.brookestrong.org. Text me 407.325.4183

This rivalry week feels a little different though. We’re not playing on Black Friday and the cows are fighting for their lives, just like us for the opportunity at postseason play.

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I’m starting to warm up to the idea of a Gasparilla Bowl matchup with them by the way. The only bowl game Gus Malzahn has won at UCF was against an in-state foe at Raymond James Stadium.

Happy Thanksgiving to Mikey Keene, Tatum Bethune, Ryan O’Keefe and Matt Lee.

My latest. ⤵️

Next game is tonight (Monday): UCF tips off against Charlotte at 8:30 p.m. on FM 96.9

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UCF quarterback John Rhys Plumlee looks back on his two-year career in the Black & Gold, his future goals and aspirations and how much he wants to finish his football career with a bowl game.

Welcome to The Knighted One’s Podcast, Episode Unlucky number 13. We are the ONLY podcast that features a former UCF National Champion, a former UCF radio host, and several podcasters shooting the breeze, talking UCF Sports.
This week we talk about getting Blue-Belled, Tre makes a point about the size of our opponents, and Allen forgets position names!

Please comment for subjects that we should cover in our student reeducation segment!

• Introductions: The boys are back and Josh is collared!
• Text Talk:
- Halftime clock snafu's
- Rob gets blamed for No Subject Texts
- When well enough isn't good enough
• Blue-Belled by the Bellringers
- Allen gets cookin’ while censoring his rage
- Nauts Vs Zebras
- Tre Yells at a cloud a little early
- Does size matter?
- Was this the worst second half of football
- Noah goes down the hall during the show
- Breaking down the stats
- Rating the season after Coogin the Coogs
• Intern Re-Education: The Cow Rivalry
- Where's the “Beef”?
• Cougars In Our Area – Houston game preview
- Are we going bowling?
- Keys to the game and roster preview
- Shoutout to Alex aka AGLand
• Tre Yells At a Cloud (again)
- Babers fired from Syracuse
- Tre tells a story from after the “Temple Tantrum” and who was up next in the coaching search
• Views From Courtside
- Ken Pom review
- Reviewing the last two games and calling a win live
• Allen’s oxymoronic stats of the week
- Houston loves to go for “seconds”.

#ucf #ucffootball #ucfbasketball #ucfhoops #ucfvolleyball
- New position names?
- Josh murders his keyboard
- Allen's brain buffers
• Josh’s Sometimes Funny Fact of The Week (from Wikipedia)
- Mascot name origins: a dad joke
• Listener Love
• UCF Sports Recap
- Women’s basketball ramping up the competition
- A great program getting better
- Men's soccer limps out of the postseason
• Big 12 Super Recap By Allen
• Pick Your Poison Score Prediction
- Tre likes to win
- UCF Football + Destiny’s Child = Win?
- Roger tells it like it is
• Final Thoughts – No Scrubs in The Bowl And Gus Rumors, "No Sip For You"


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UCF head coach Gus Malzahn looks ahead to this week's season finale against Houston. It's Senior Day, the final home appearance for several key players such as QB John Rhys Plumlee. And at 5-6, it's a must-win game for UCF to attain bowl eligibility.

Opening statement:

"We're glad to be back home for the last game. It'll be senior day, last home game, a chance to get bowl eligible. Really, that's what's on our mind. Obviously, that was a tough loss. It was the fifth game that was three points or less decided. We were 2-3 with that. But right now, we're putting all that behind us, and it's about this week. It's a one-game season, that's what we told our players.

"Playing a Houston team that had similar close games. I think they had four games, about three points or less. So we're gonna have to play good football for a chance to be bowl eligible. Their quarterback's a dual-threat guy. He throws it, he can run it. Defensively, they do a lot of different things. At times, they've played well. We're expecting their best and we need to play good football to win the game."

It's also Senior Day on Saturday amid everything else. What will this group mean to you?

"Yeah, Senior Day is always really special. For me as a head coach, all the guys that have laid the foundation, have done so many things for our program and everything that goes with it. So that's always a really special thing. It's also a special thing for them and their families. And then just appreciation from the fans of what these guys have done for our program. You always have that extra want to send these guys out on a positive note.

"I told our younger guys that last night, in the team meeting, that when they move up and they're up at the front and it's their last go around, those are memories that these guys will have forever. And so that was our message to our team. I'm confident that we'll rebound and we'll have a good week of practice and get ready to go."

You mentioned this being a one game season essentially. How do you kind of look at things this week? What's the focus of them trying to make sure they get that one game?

"Yeah, the focus is having the ability to put another tough loss behind us. We've done that this year. We've had quite a few of them, I think everybody knows that, but these guys have rebounded every time. Just by their attention in our meetings last night and everything, I'm confident they'll do that. Playing for these seniors, playing for a chance to go to a bowl, last home game, they'll be motivated."

What do you think the legacy is of this senior class?

"There's a lot of good things that's happened. A lot of these guys have been with me since I got here. A lot of these guys transferred in after the first year. A lot of good memories. A lot of tough things they had to overcome and been resilient and just real proud of them for the things they've done for this program."

You mentioned about putting some of the tough losses behind. How do you go about doing that?

"Well, I think you learn life lessons through football. That's what I always believed. You know, being able to rebound, this team has done that. The leadership, two of the guys that are going to talk to you in a minute have been a big part of that. Being able to rebound and rally the younger guys. It's always tough when younger guys, they're still growing and still learning and everything, but we got great leadership that is stuck together. There's been no finger pointing and guys not playing and sitting out. Guys are playing for their teammates and that's a lot about their leadership."

What pops out on film about Houston's quarterback, Donovan Smith?

"He is a dual-threat guy. He can make plays with his feet. Big guy. They throw it, so they'll have a lot of called quarterback runs I feel like. But at the same time, they like to push the ball down the field. I think he's a very solid quarterback."

BYU has a chance to become bowl eligible at Oklahoma State. UCF and BYU are the only two new teams that can become bowl eligible.

"We're not too worried about anybody else. Just trying to send these guys off on a positive note at home for our home crowd that's been there. We really appreciate our home crowd. I know it's Thanksgiving. Hope we have a great crowd, great turnout. And get bowl eligible. And get these seniors one more game for us and then keep our bowl streak going."

What does John Rhys Plumlee mean to you and this program?

"He's had ups and downs, but he has been there since day one for his teammates and for our program. Like I said earlier, it would have been real easy. He had a pretty good injury. It'd been real easy for a quarterback to say, I want to sit out this year. Not only did he not do that, he came back probably earlier than he should.

"And he's a true leader. He is our team leader. There's no doubt. And he's done a lot for our program. And if you look at his record, when he starts games and finishes games, he's been really good. He's had a lot of injuries and tough things not go his way. But he's a great competitor and he's as good a team guy that I've ever coached."

Would becoming bowl eligible make this a successful first year in the Big 12?

"I think getting bowl eligible would be a great shot in the arm is what it would be. We've had some growing pains and lost some tough ones, close ones, I think everybody knows that. But this would be a really good thing for not just the senior class, but for our program. Going into next year with some momentum, that's always really important."

When you look at the Texas Tech game, what were some of the areas that you feel like you really need to improve on this week?

"When you look back, missed opportunities. We've said that before. I think that's coaching. We got to do a better job coaching our guys. The penalties, it was a little uncharacteristic since the halfway point. We've been better with the penalties. We had some huge ones. And then obviously at the end, the blocked extra point. We hadn't had a kick blocked in a long time. And the timing of that was tough.

"But our guys, we got to find a way. That's in the rear-view mirror now. We got to find a way to move forward. So one-game season like I said earlier."

How important is it to get those extra bowl practices?

"Yeah, I think it's very important in the big picture like you just said. Not just momentum for your program, but you get those extra practices. So it's a big deal."

How has Amari Kight stepped up at right tackle to stabilize things?

"Yeah, he's done a really good job. Our two tackles have been the really consistent thing since we moved Kight to starting right tackle. That's been the consistent. Inside, it's been musical chairs. That's always a challenge. That was our fourth center. I think I said that before. I've never had that. We had new guards again too. We said that we had good quality depth and it has showed. That is the good thing. It's just, you know, having those five guys and building something, that's always the best case."

I know it's Senior Day for the players out of eligibility, but it could be the last game for other players. There's players with pro potential, especially on offense. When do those discussions take place, whether they'll come back or not?

"As far as the formal conversations, it'll be after this last game. Informal conversations. From our players standpoint, coaches standpoint, we're putting everything we have into this last game. We'll have those conversations, they're set up ready to go and we'll see what happens."

We talked about the mistakes against Texas Tech. It came a week after a dominating performance against Oklahoma State. What do you attribute the inconsistency across the season?

"When you lose close games, I always take it back to coaching. That's my responsibility as far as winning close games. And when you lose close games, we got to do a better job coaching our guys on those details that it takes to win a game."

How is Colton Boomer doing? He showed off his wheels on that fake, but he's doing kickoffs and field goals. Is he 100 percent?

"I think he is, but this is his first year to kickoff. I've had experience with other kickers, really talented kickers like him. The first year that somebody does do both, you worry about their leg and everything that goes with it. He's done a really good job for us. He hasn't missed very many in his career. He won the Boise State game for us, so we have a lot of confidence in him.

"This is the first year he's doing dual roles and so there's usually a learning experience that goes with that. I wish we had done a better job protecting on the extra point. I think that would help. We're tickled to death he's our kicker and we still feel like he's one of the best in the country."

Going off that a little bit, how do you keep Colton's positivity up? Coming off the missed field going, then you mentioned the extra point block.

"Yeah, he's a really good competitor. He's not your normal field goal kicker. He's a great competitor. I think he's mentally tough. He'll be ready to go this week, there's no doubt in my mind. Like I said, he hadn't missed very many since he's been here. There's one that hit the upright, he'll rebound, I'm confident of that."

It was mentioned about talking to players with pro possibility. Does that also happen as far as the transfer portal?

"We'll have those conversations too. There's been some informal things, but we won't have those formal until we get through this last game and see where everything's at."

You had the five conference games on the road and Boise on the road. Has it been a grind, looking back on the road schedule?

"We had more travel miles than any team in college football, six real road games. I mean obviously. After the season, I'll evaluate big picture. We knew it was going to be a challenge. Yeah, it was a real challenge, yes. And there's six real road games. It's not like you're going on the road to play a cupcake or anything. These are real road games. We knew we were going to have to win close games. If you remember, we worked hard on end of the game scenarios.

"And like I said, when you have five games decided by three points or less and you're 2-3, it goes back to coaching. We got to do a better job helping our guys finish these situations. That's really what's been frustrating. But like I said earlier, we're putting that right over here in the back pocket.

"We're focusing on this one. Houston is a team that we're going to have to play well against. They've been in most of the games. They've had four games decided by three points or less too. So that's our focus, on Houston, and doing everything we can to win this game."

When you look at the Houston defense, what opportunities do you see for your offense?

"They do some odd fronts, some bear, some even. They'll play some two-mike, they'll play some man. They do a lot of different things. We've got to be able to execute and not turn the ball over. Like I said, I think that's really the big thing when you look back at the games. When we haven't turned the ball over, we've played really good so we'll have to continue to do that."

Kind of like when you guys played Cincinnati, Houston's a team that came with you from the AAC. Obviously they were in the other division, but is there some institutional knowledge of how they play?

"We haven't played since I've been here and I've never coached against him. I mean, I've watched him from afar and he's really good at what he does. There's no doubt about that. So this is our first time, coaching against him."

Thanksgiving obviously on Thursday, what is the team schedule like on that day? Will you celebrate with the team?

"Yeah, we will. Wednesday after practice, we'll have our families and our players and we'll do a little Thanksgiving celebration with that. Thursday morning, we'll have our same Thursday routine. We'll practice in the morning, we'll let our guys go home. Then our coaches will wrap up our stuff and let our coaches go home and celebrate with their families and then Friday we'll get up and it'll be our same routine.

"We have an early game on Saturday. Obviously when you're at home, if you're playing an early game, that's usually good that you don't have to travel early. So we'll get up early Saturday and be ready to play."

What are you most thankful for?

"I'm thankful that I get to coach a lot of unbelievable, outstanding young men. I'm thankful for my family and I'm thankful for really the health of my family. That's what I'm thankful for."

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After beginning his career at Eastern Illinois, linebacker Jason Johnson made the move to UCF prior to the 2022 season. He quickly became one of UCF's most valuable players on defense, often playing every snap of the game.