2021 Schedule

[OvilleNative]

Any speculation on who else we are scheduling OOC next season? Who else would be looking for a game, at this point.

Presumably DW is trying to get that 7th home game. I'm working under the assumption that the goal of two P5s a year won't be met next season.

 

[surfer98]

If we can't get a ACC school than I would take a school like App. State, GA Southern, etc.

 

[Knight Strength]

I'd bet on it being an FCS team like OP said to get the home game. FAMU makes sense since we didn't get to play in 2020.

I'm cool with any regional program that has a good fan base.

 

[CBlackwellRN]

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but if we don’t get our acts together and get the COVID-19 vaccines distributed and administered, we may be looking at another 2020 football season in 2021.

 

[BlakNGoldAllDay]

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but if we don’t get our acts together and get the COVID-19 vaccines distributed and administered, we may be looking at another 2020 football season in 2021.

That’s pretty much a given. The vaccines aren’t 100% effective and now the excuse of different strands are making the current vaccine even less effective.

 

[Colonel Mortimer]

I'm almost 100% positive the 4th OOC game will be an FCS school.

 

[Gwoz]

It's going to be an FCS school as usual, and realistically the team needs that type of game. A lot of unknowns with the defense and offensive experience/depth.

 

[UCFVanWilder]

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but if we don’t get our acts together and get the COVID-19 vaccines distributed and administered, we may be looking at another 2020 football season in 2021.

Hopefully we are less than two weeks from getting our act together and having some solid plans

 

[SCKnight]

Given the true nature of the playoffs does anyone really believe that a P5 OOC game will move the needle in our favor? As much as I would like to have another game against the P5, I don't see many in our future now that except for a handful of teams, one loss or even a close game against a P5 is a playoff killer. In order to get those games scheduled we would need to do a solid nose dive like the cows. I doubt you see Cinci getting those games anytime soon either

 

[Gwoz]

Given the true nature of the playoffs does anyone really believe that a P5 OOC game will move the needle in our favor? As much as I would like to have another game against the P5, I don't see many in our future now that except for a handful of teams, one loss or even a close game against a P5 is a playoff killer. In order to get those games scheduled we would need to do a solid nose dive like the cows. I doubt you see Cinci getting those games anytime soon either

Its not just about making the playoffs, which won't happen. But its about perception and excitement in the program. After this year, I'm doubting anyone is viewing UCF as a giant killer. Otherwise just schedule FAU and FIU for the next 10 years and call it a day.

Another year of not going to NY6 or winning conference will cement the program perception of being an also ran in G5, and games against Boise St, UConn, Liberty is not going to bring the fans out.

For Danny White's scheduling strategy to pay off the team needs to be competing/winning conference every year.

 

[Willie Knightime]

Its not just about making the playoffs, which won't happen. But its about perception and excitement in the program. After this year, I'm doubting anyone is viewing UCF as a giant killer. Otherwise just schedule FAU and FIU for the next 10 years and call it a day.

Another year of not going to NY6 or winning conference will cement the program perception of being an also ran in G5, and games against Boise St, UConn, Liberty is not going to bring the fans out.

For Danny White's scheduling strategy to pay off the team needs to be competing/winning conference every year.

What?? Boise State will definitely bring the fans out. Fans of both schools have anticipated a matchup for years. So would Liberty if they have another season like they did in 2020. Hugh Freeze is a good coach.

 

[Poolside Knight]

Given the true nature of the playoffs does anyone really believe that a P5 OOC game will move the needle in our favor? As much as I would like to have another game against the P5, I don't see many in our future now that except for a handful of teams, one loss or even a close game against a P5 is a playoff killer. In order to get those games scheduled we would need to do a solid nose dive like the cows. I doubt you see Cinci getting those games anytime soon either

You don’t want to see your Program actually challenge themselves regardless of the postseason ?

OOC games are my favorite and with 3 losses becoming the norm DW’s schedule strategy looks worse

 

[SCKnight]

Its not just about making the playoffs, which won't happen. But its about perception and excitement in the program. After this year, I'm doubting anyone is viewing UCF as a giant killer. Otherwise just schedule FAU and FIU for the next 10 years and call it a day.

Another year of not going to NY6 or winning conference will cement the program perception of being an also ran in G5, and games against Boise St, UConn, Liberty is not going to bring the fans out.

For Danny White's scheduling strategy to pay off the team needs to be competing/winning conference every year.

I think you missed my point. I think the nature of the playoffs keeps P5 teams from wanting to schedule us. UCF can get to NY6s without huge P5 games. That has been proven. We just need to be better than the rest of the G5s. As for the fans they will come regardless. I think our attendance is based more on the culture of the tailgating and student involvement. While big names will draw more, not sure it makes a significant difference in home game attendance. Winning does.

I think what separates UCF from the rest of the G5 is that our momentum continues to move forward even when we are down. Part of that is the size of the university and part of that is the culture. There are some who hate it when us old timers are nonchalant about not excelling every year. But when UCF has a crappy year (or two) we are still pretty good about filling the stands. We have a pretty solid base of die hard fans. Unlike the cows for example, we continue to have a decent showing every year. Our season ticket holders are steady. There is a base of fans that are accustomed to the roller coaster. So I am not worried about what others think of UCF. DW's strategy is to grow this type fan base. He is not overly concerned about the Orlando community or the national perception. He knows that his best asset is to please the 70,000 students that go to UCF every year as well as the current season ticket holders. He is not going to do that by selling home games to UF. Better to have games at home against FAU than fewer home games so we can play at UF.

 

[SCKnight]

You don’t want to see your Program actually challenge themselves regardless of the postseason ?

OOC games are my favorite and with 3 losses becoming the norm DW’s schedule strategy looks worse

I don't think it is necessarily our choice. I think the playoff system creates a situation where teams are not going to want to play UCF, certainly not at home. Given that the OOC schedule does not really affect our ability to make the playoffs or the NY6 why sell out home games? I am a fan of the 1-off games. I have traveled all over the country going to UCF games. I have been in some of the best football environments there are to watch UCF most get beat. It was fun. But if we are going to grow a true program we have to continue to build a solid season ticket fanbase. That means home games, not away games.

 

[Gwoz]

What?? Boise State will definitely bring the fans out. Fans of both schools have anticipated a matchup for years. So would Liberty if they have another season like they did in 2020. Hugh Freeze is a good coach.

Boise St is not the draw they used to be, people will attend games this (if they can) simply because they couldn't last year. No way Hugh Freeze is at Liberty if they have a repeat season.

 

[Gwoz]

I think you missed my point. I think the nature of the playoffs keeps P5 teams from wanting to schedule us. UCF can get to NY6s without huge P5 games. That has been proven. We just need to be better than the rest of the G5s. As for the fans they will come regardless. I think our attendance is based more on the culture of the tailgating and student involvement. While big names will draw more, not sure it makes a significant difference in home game attendance. Winning does.

I think what separates UCF from the rest of the G5 is that our momentum continues to move forward even when we are down. Part of that is the size of the university and part of that is the culture. There are some who hate it when us old timers are nonchalant about not excelling every year. But when UCF has a crappy year (or two) we are still pretty good about filling the stands. We have a pretty solid base of die hard fans. Unlike the cows for example, we continue to have a decent showing every year. Our season ticket holders are steady. There is a base of fans that are accustomed to the roller coaster. So I am not worried about what others think of UCF. DW's strategy is to grow this type fan base. He is not overly concerned about the Orlando community or the national perception. He knows that his best asset is to please the 70,000 students that go to UCF every year as well as the current season ticket holders. He is not going to do that by selling home games to UF. Better to have games at home against FAU than fewer home games so we can play at UF.

In 2017, when UConn came in and the team was 9-0, the attendance was 29k.
In 2016, when Maryland came in and team had lost 14 of its last 15 games (win vs. FCS) crowd was 43k.

This year won't be a good gauge as no idea what restrictions will be in place or maybe its fully open up and people just finally have the opportunity to attend.

Most view 2018-2019 as the attendance season ticket holder benchmark as if two undefeated seasons didn't skew interest amongst the fanbase. Along with two big OOC games in Pitt and Stanford.

 

[PhDee]

2021 is a good year to take a game in Gainsville. Not sure who their QB is going to be in '21

 

[Poolside Knight]

Boise St is not the draw they used to be, people will attend games this (if they can) simply because they couldn't last year. No way Hugh Freeze is at Liberty if they have a repeat season.

I don’t care about Boise and definitely don’t want our league to help elevate them

 

[SCKnight]

In 2017, when UConn came in and the team was 9-0, the attendance was 29k.
In 2016, when Maryland came in and team had lost 14 of its last 15 games (win vs. FCS) crowd was 43k.

This year won't be a good gauge as no idea what restrictions will be in place or maybe its fully open up and people just finally have the opportunity to attend.

Most view 2018-2019 as the attendance season ticket holder benchmark as if two undefeated seasons didn't skew interest amongst the fanbase. Along with two big OOC games in Pitt and Stanford.

Connecticut game in 2017 was a Wednesday night game. Maryland 2016 was a Saturday night. A better reference would be Temple the next Saturday when we had 39k. So Maryland would account for an additional 4k. While a fair amount, still not enough to sell out a home game and do a 2-1

2018-2019 was coming off a national championship. If that is your benchmark then we may never reach our benchmark again.

2019 FA&M 44k
2019 Stanford 45k
2019 East Carolina 43k

2018 FAU 44k
2018 Pittsburg 45k

2014 Bethune Cookman 45k
2014 BYU 42k

Winning. P5s do bring people but not as significant enough to give 2 for 1. We averaged 20k during the the worst losing streak ever in 2004 in the Citrus Bowl on a 17 game losing streak.

We averaged 30k in 2015 0-12. We have a base. No need to panic.

 

[Gwoz]

We averaged 30k in 2015 0-12. We have a base. No need to panic.

We also know that 30k was not in the stands in 2015.

 

[SCKnight]

We also know that 30k was not in the stands in 2015.

But we sold 30k in tickets. And those fans bought again in 2016 and 2017 despite 0-12 and 6-6. We had more in the stands in 2015 than many other g5 programs who had decent seasons.

 

[CBlackwellRN]

That’s pretty much a given. The vaccines aren’t 100% effective and now the excuse of different strands are making the current vaccine even less effective.

That’s not true. The vaccines have close to 100% efficacy and current data suggest they are indeed effective against all recent mutant strains.

 

[CBlackwellRN]

Hopefully we are less than two weeks from getting our act together and having some solid plans

I sure hope so brother. My hospital system (Orlando Health) has done a phenomenal job of getting team members and our families (>65) vaccinated. I couldn’t be more grateful to them. The plans for administration of the students and Faculty @ UCF also appear to be very feasible and expeditious. UCF has a realistic plan to administer about 20K doses within the first week it becomes available.

 

[BlakNGoldAllDay]

That’s not true. The vaccines have close to 100% efficacy and current data suggest they are indeed effective against all recent mutant strains.

60 Minutes must be lying then. They said 95% effective. Which just so happens to be the same amount ofc people that don’t get the Vid without the vaccine.

 

[Knight Strength]

I sure hope so brother. My hospital system (Orlando Health) has done a phenomenal job of getting team members and our families (>65) vaccinated. I couldn’t be more grateful to them. The plans for administration of the students and Faculty @ UCF also appear to be very feasible and expeditious. UCF has a realistic plan to administer about 20K doses within the first week it becomes available.

Good to hear

 

[KnightBreaker]

60 Minutes must be lying then. They said 95% effective. Which just so happens to be the same amount ofc people that don’t get the Vid without the vaccine.

That's not how efficacy works. It is 95% effective against people that would normally get it. So, in the 30,000 people double blind study, for every 20 people that got the virus with the placebo, only 1 got it with the vaccine. In addition, the ones that got it with the vaccine, the symptoms were milder.

 

[BlakNGoldAllDay]

That's not how efficacy works. It is 95% effective against people that would normally get it. So, in the 30,000 people double blind study, for every 20 people that got the virus with the placebo, only 1 got it with the vaccine. In addition, the ones that got it with the vaccine, the symptoms were milder.

Same as before the vaccine. A lot of people tested positive with no or real mild symptoms. Only 5 % tested positive and less than 1% died. Pretty similar to the vaccine numbers.

 

[knight_tracker]

What?? Boise State will definitely bring the fans out. Fans of both schools have anticipated a matchup for years. So would Liberty if they have another season like they did in 2020. Hugh Freeze is a good coach.

I'm sorry, but how can I get excited playing Liberty. I'll give you Boise State.😎

 

[KnightBreaker]

Same as before the vaccine. A lot of people tested positive with no or real mild symptoms. Only 5 % tested positive and less than 1% died. Pretty similar to the vaccine numbers.

Again, I don't think you understand. It's not 5%, it would be 5% of the 5%, basically 5% of those that would normally test positive or .25%

 

[BlakNGoldAllDay]

Again, I don't think you understand. It's not 5%, it would be 5% of the 5%, basically 5% of those that would normally test positive or .25%

How would they know who would normally test positive?

 

[Black_Knight07]

Seems like Cinci's entire team is coming back next year. Mark that one down as an L to a ranked team on the road.

 

[KnightBreaker]

How would they know who would normally test positive?

They basically gave 15,000 a placebo, and 15,000 the vaccine and nobody (including doctors) knew who got what. Then, they let them go back to their normal life. After a few months, they checked to see how many got the disease, and found that for every 20 diseased people with placebo, only 1 got the disease with the vaccine.

 

[Poolside Knight]

Seems like Cinci's entire team is coming back next year. Mark that one down as an L to a ranked team on the road.

that QB waiting in the wings might be better than Ridder

 

[Knight Strength]

that QB waiting in the wings might be better than Ridder

Yea there's a lot of hype around him. UCF fans shouldn't get too excited that Ridder is leaving.

 

[surfer98]

Ridder is returning next season. There goes that potential conference championship!

 

[BlakNGoldAllDay]

Ridder is returning next season. There goes that potential conference championship!

I don’t think he’s that good. Decent Oline and defense. He doesn’t typically kill you with interceptions. I don’t think he should have won AAC OP Award.

 

[Gwoz]

I don’t think he’s that good. Decent Oline and defense. He doesn’t typically kill you with interceptions. I don’t think he should have won AAC OP Award.

Regardless 31-5 record, coming back to start for a 4th year. Tons of experiences, and sends a really strong message in terms of commitment and leadership in the program.

UCF struggled to contain him both in the air and with his legs.

 

[BlakNGoldAllDay]

Regardless 31-5 record, coming back to start for a 4th year. Tons of experiences, and sends a really strong message in terms of commitment and leadership in the program.

UCF struggled to contain him both in the air and with his legs.

Our D couldn’t stop many guys. 2 QBs did better against us and a couple other did similar. White did heads and tails better.

 

[Gwoz]

Our D couldn’t stop many guys. 2 QBs did better against us and a couple other did similar. White did heads and tails better.

He's not heisman guy, but you are talking about a 4 year starting successful QB. There is a reason why senior heavy teams have loads of success in college football and basketball. They don't make mistakes and the team has chemistry.

 

[BlakNGoldAllDay]

He's not heisman guy, but you are talking about a 4 year starting successful QB. There is a reason why senior heavy teams have loads of success in college football and basketball. They don't make mistakes and the team has chemistry.

They beat us by 3 with the worst defense we’ve ever had. No way that happens again.