The kid who got the t-shirt from JRP:







Tacko and Kelvin Sampson:

Number 11 In this guys top 15 photos of P5 stadiums.


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Interestingly, UCF didn't have media availability prior to this game. Really surprised by that, given the importance of this game and the ranking of Houston. Also pretty lame both of UCF's games vs. Houston will be on ESPN+.

Live Stats:

Looks like The Athletic might start a mailbag focused on Florida recruiting with Manny Navarro.

Here are a few highlights ( nothing really new )


Any new potential signings at QB for UCF? Having a converted WR as a QB potentially missing out on spring practice because of baseball season is not the most ideal situation leading into Year 1 of the Big 12. — Christopher S.

Not a fan of John Rhys Plumlee are you, Chris? Obviously the change at offensive coordinator makes Plumlee’s decision to play baseball this spring a little more interesting than it would’ve been had there not been a coaching change. As it stands, Plumlee has told UCF beat reporters he plans on playing both football and baseball this spring with the teams supposedly trying to accommodate his schedule by practicing at different times.

I’ll say this, if Gus Malzahn thought he needed a quarterback, a move would’ve been made by now. He seems to be content with USF transfer Timmy McClainand sophomore-to-be Thomas Castellanos providing competition for Plumlee. This looks like a “We’ll wait to see what happens this spring and go from there” scenario. The most interesting thing to watch will be the health status of Plumee and his hamstring. He spent the last month of the season dealing with it, and a heavy workload this spring might not be the best thing for it.


Does Florida State’s prolific use of the portal damage recruiting top high school players who want to play sooner rather than later? — Todd T.

Excellent question, Todd, and though on the surface your thought process makes perfect sense, recent results on the trail suggest otherwise. First, some facts. Since Mike Norvell took over as coach (and beginning with the 2020 recruiting class), FSU has signed 73 high school recruits, two players from the junior college ranks and 45 transfers. So, high school recruits haven’t been scared away. In fact, Norvell has signed eight blue-chip recruits in the 2023 cycle, more than each of his first three recruiting classes, which suggests highly touted prospects are buying in more after FSU’s 10-win season.

Here’s something to keep in mind, though, 17 of the 39 high school recruits from the first two recruiting classes have already hit the portal, including nine of the 14 blue-chip prospects the Seminoles signed in the 2020 and 2021 classes. That’s not a good look. Neither was losing top 2022 recruit Sam McCall to Texas A&M this offseason. Now, if FSU continues to win and make progress, nobody will care how Norvell does it. But it is fair to at least be alert to the fact this roster hasn’t had many shining examples of Norvell’s high school recruits turning into stars.


And there was a mention of Kevin Smith being brought up by beat writers and others as one of the best recruiters on the Miami staff, but not overwhelmingly so.

At the ball game. Rumor has it she is pregnant. Tacko is going to be a dad. Very cool!

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I’ve been asking for the canon on every season ticket survey since we left the citrus bowl. Great news if true!

The caption is “33 out 🫶🏾🫶🏾🫶🏾🤭” Is he declaring for the draft? Transferring? Coming back? I feel like we haven’t heard anything about him for over a month now.

Someone told me today they heard from “some person in the Athletic’s office “ that UCF would add men’s track in the Big12. Is that true? I would be surprised.

"Defensively, you have to be locked in because they have a lot of weapons and they’re playing really good basketball," says UCF Men's Basketball Head Coach Johnny Dawkins of the Knights' Wednesday match up with the Houston Cougars.

Click here for more from the Sons of UCF's John Weis.

Go Knights!

Looks like it’s not only Comcast..

Think this was a handshake wink wink when he signed his agreement and the audit busted them? Ha.

Where's our staff? Don't see any. nm.*

If Josh Heupel took the South Carolina job shortly after the 2020 season, which would have been well before the fallout that led to Danny (and eventually) Heupel going to Tennessee.

Column from Marc:

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Can’t make it

Section 106 row v seats 2 & 3

$35 each obo

The War on I4, hoops edition, tips off on Saturday. "I believe you will see an angry, hungry UCF squad take their frustrations out on a struggling USF bunch", writes John Weis for the Sons of UCF.

Click here to read more from John in this preview:

My son is in need of a house/apartment to rent in the next few weeks and I figured I check here to see if anyone owns or manages properties in Central Florida. He works in Lake Mary and can be anywhere from Winter Springs to Deland. Can be an apartment but would prefer a house.

Any help would be appreciated. DM me with any questions.

We won't be welcoming the number 1 team to the house after all. Sucks.

I've seen a few posts suggesting UCF does not have a lot of NIL money (university wide). Does anyone have insight into how we handle NIL -vs- other schools in Florida or the Big 12?

I know his intentions aren’t the purest but straight murdered my boy.

Looks like it happens with coaches

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I was leaving campus this afternoon when I spotted this Atlanta Falcons van on Libra Dr. It didn't turn right towards the football stadium it ended up turning left onto Gemini towards the RWC. I never ended up getting any closer to it so I wasn't able to inspect it any more than what I saw from afar.

So did someone from the Falcons come to UCF today? The van itself doesn't really strike me as a vehicle a superfan would just be driving around town. Falcons content team filming something related to Richie Grant? Something to do with a draft eligible player?

Micah Bowens, who transferred to OU two years ago after redshirting at Penn State, reportedly has entered the transfer portal.

Bowens posted his announcement on Twitter. The news was first reported by On3.

"The last two years of my life have been so amazing because of the people I met, relationships I made and the love I received from Sooner fans all around the world," Bowens wrote. "Being a part of this football team and living in Norman, Oklahoma was a dream come true and I cannot thank the Oklahoma family enough."

Bowens, a third-year sophomore from Las Vegas, added a new dimension to the Sooners’ offense with his mobility, but he could never translate that into playing time.

The 5-foot-11, 190-pound Bowens arrived in Norman in 2021, but never made it into a game.

LOL

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