The real games begin next Saturday

[AuburnLegacy_1]

UCF will play its first "real" road game next week. While defense travels, none of Thursday's 70 points are going to worth jack squat against ECU.

I want to see UCF dominate an AAC opponent on the road in a hostile environment. Then, I will believe.

 

[BlakNGoldAllDay]

Lets hope the top 25 ranking they get this week doesn’t go to their heads and lay an egg.

 

[jtGoldenKnights]

7:30 in Greenville won't be easy. They will have a packed house. It will be the teams first road test. ECU's game vs Memphis will be interesting and a big swing game for them.

 

[Central Floridave]

Could be our last time playing ECU as well. We've been tied to the hip for a long time.

50,000 strong...LOL...

Beat the Pirates!

 

[jtGoldenKnights]

Could be our last time playing ECU as well. We've been tied to the hip for a long time.

50,000 strong...LOL...

Beat the Pirates!

I'm ok with this being the final game. Send them out with a good memory of us.

 

[PositYourself]

I'd be surprised if UCF's ranked after this weekend.

 

[JagKnight5]

we'll be in the "others receiving votes" category. That's basically somewhere between 26-35.

 

[BlakNGoldAllDay]

Should be ranked. 25.

 

[vroomba]

Based on who we've played, we don't deserve to be ranked...yet. The next four games will prove if the team is worthy of that. Playing at ECU, Memphis, and Tulane then having Cincy at home are going to be a litmus test. I feel slightly more optimistic about the team now, but still think we could have some jekyll/hyde tendencies.

 

[beelit47]

Based on who we've played, we don't deserve to be ranked...yet. The next four games will prove if the team is worthy of that. Playing at ECU, Memphis, and Tulane then having Cincy at home are going to be a litmus test. I feel slightly more optimistic about the team now, but still think we could have some jekyll/hyde tendencies.

Im on board with this. If we win 3 of those 4 we should be ranked

 

[KnightNite]

If we dominate ECU like Temple last night, then the Cinci game could be a matchup of 2 ranked teams!

 

[akahotsizzle]

Based on who we've played, we don't deserve to be ranked...yet. The next four games will prove if the team is worthy of that. Playing at ECU, Memphis, and Tulane then having Cincy at home are going to be a litmus test. I feel slightly more optimistic about the team now, but still think we could have some jekyll/hyde tendencies.

I was a little concerned after the 14-13 start, just a little, for that jekyll/hyde flip-flop. All the Offense did in the end though, was prove they're starting to play as a team. JRP, Kobe, Javon, O'Keefe, Kemore, and Xavier have not played on the same team before this season, and it showed. The last two games have been different in that regard. Individually we have arguably the best skill players in the conference. Now that they're starting to gel some, and so long as the OL can buy JRP time, watch out.

Tulane and ECU have me concerned about our secondary more than anything else. Don't forget that a true freshman was able to put up pretty decent numbers and no picks against us. Points matter most, and we held them, but he was able to pick up yardage when he needed to. Also no sacks, which was one disappointment, especially after how they were able to get after Mordecai.

 

[beelit47]

I was a little concerned after the 14-13 start, just a little, for that jekyll/hyde flip-flop. All the Offense did in the end though, was prove they're starting to play as a team. JRP, Kobe, Javon, O'Keefe, Kemore, and Xavier have not played on the same team before this season, and it showed. The last two games have been different in that regard. Individually we have arguably the best skill players in the conference. Now that they're starting to gel some, and so long as the OL can buy JRP time, watch out.

Tulane and ECU have me concerned about our secondary more than anything else. Don't forget that a true freshman was able to put up pretty decent numbers and no picks against us. Points matter most, and we held them, but he was able to pick up yardage when he needed to. Also no sacks, which was one disappointment, especially after how they were able to get after Mordecai.

Tulane worries me because unlike the rest of aac which is offense driven, Tulane seems to be driven by their defense like cincy. Im not worried about our defense as we shutdown IMO the best offense in conference in SMU. I said before the season that cincy’s personnel losses will be too great and we saw some of that last week when they struggled with temple terrace hs

 

[Ace of Knights]

How the hell is Ahlers still their QB? He’s been there for like 8 years now.

 

[beelit47]

How the hell is Ahlers still their QB? He’s been there for like 8 years now.

Same reason we all still tailgate and drink heavily: never graduate

 

[KnightLife1]

I agree with everyone else that, obviously, the offense was amazing against Temple.

HOWEVER, if our defense cannot figure out in a hurry how to stop underneath passes of 8 to 20 yards, cincinnati, Memphis and Tulane will be salivating over the passing defense that we put on tape during those first two drives. We allowed an offense that was shut out by Duke to go up and down the field twice for 10 points in one quarter, almost entirely using mid range passes. Until we learn to stop underneath air attacks, we just announced to everyone that is our Achilles heel, along with reach and grab corners who readily commit. PI instead of looking back for the ball.

IF Temple scored 10 points in one quarter with the underneath passing, without a run game deserving of much respect, then teams with a balanced attack will surely seek to exploit our mid range pass vulnerability in games where we have to respect both the run and the pass.

 

[Shark19]

Have no idea why anyone is concerned by ECU....Ahlers looks like a QB but is wildly inaccurate. Check the final scores from our games the last 4-5 years.

Make no mistake, our conference season begins when the fighting nipples come to town.

 

[CBlackwellRN]

7:30 in Greenville won't be easy. They will have a packed house. It will be the teams first road test. ECU's game vs Memphis will be interesting and a big swing game for them.

My dad and I decided to make ECU our annual father-son away game trip this season and we will be cheering loud and proud for our Knights!

 

[Nautiknight]

I see the defense as solid and should hold up against the Pirates. It was the offense and our struggle to make passes. We seem to be better in that department. ECU should be a W but it's away and stuff happens. They will be a challenge and I don't expect to score 70. I see it at as a 38- 24 type game .

 

[Nautiknight]

My dad and I decided to make ECU our annual father-son away game trip this season and we will be cheering loud and proud for our Knights!

My son is 21 and is a MK. We currently do and have been doing a father son fishing trip since he was 9. It is my hope when he is out of college that we do this . In the Big XII the destinations are a bit cooler travel wise. It's good that you do this with your dad .

 

[hemightbejeremy]

Have no idea why anyone is concerned by ECU....Ahlers looks like a QB but is wildly inaccurate. Check the final scores from our games the last 4-5 years.

Make no mistake, our conference season begins when the fighting nipples come to town.

Their WR CJ Johnson is a beast who will probably play on Sundays. He almost singlehandedly dominated the cows. If we keep him contained we will win. But we haven’t really faced a dynamic receiver like that yet.

 

[U C to the F]

I agree with everyone else that, obviously, the offense was amazing against Temple.

HOWEVER, if our defense cannot figure out in a hurry how to stop underneath passes of 8 to 20 yards, cincinnati, Memphis and Tulane will be salivating over the passing defense that we put on tape during those first two drives. We allowed an offense that was shut out by Duke to go up and down the field twice for 10 points in one quarter, almost entirely using mid range passes. Until we learn to stop underneath air attacks, we just announced to everyone that is our Achilles heel, along with reach and grab corners who readily commit. PI instead of looking back for the ball.

IF Temple scored 10 points in one quarter with the underneath passing, without a run game deserving of much respect, then teams with a balanced attack will surely seek to exploit our mid range pass vulnerability in games where we have to respect both the run and the pass.

🤔

Our defense has played great this year. Even against Louisville, the defense played well. SMU has a pretty elite offense and is like the king of underneath passes and screens. Our defense gave them a little but ultimately shut them down. I am not worried about anyone we go up against in conference that our defense couldn’t handle. It’s possible they could have a down game, but I just don’t see it with what they have done to date.

 

[The Knightman Cometh]

I'd be surprised if UCF's ranked after this weekend.

Me too but I'd welcome it. Allows us to move up further up the rankings if we beat ECU (IF, don't overlook anyone), and sets up a really big showdown against two potentially ranked AAC teams that are in competition for the AAC title, AND FURTHER if no other major two ranked schools are playing.....why the hell not run it again (2017) and bring in Gameday again???! "Knightman you're getting way ahead of yourself there." I'll do as I please.

 

[Shark19]

Their WR CJ Johnson is a beast who will probably play on Sundays. He almost singlehandedly dominated the cows. If we keep him contained we will win. But we haven’t really faced a dynamic receiver like that yet.

Rice with SMU is much better and has a better QB throwing to him. Did we contain him? No, but we shut down other options and put heat on Mordecai.

 

[KnightLife1]

🤔

Our defense has played great this year. Even against Louisville, the defense played well. SMU has a pretty elite offense and is like the king of underneath passes and screens. Our defense gave them a little but ultimately shut them down. I am not worried about anyone we go up against in conference that our defense couldn’t handle. It’s possible they could have a down game, but I just don’t see it with what they have done to date.

To what do you attribute the two long scoring drives by a weak Temple offense?

 

[hemightbejeremy]

To what do you attribute the two long scoring drives by a weak Temple offense?

Soft pass coverage early.

 

[beelit47]

To what do you attribute the two long scoring drives by a weak Temple offense?

The first couple of drives in every game are very scripted and designed to throw off the opposong defense. We adjusted and reeled off 56 unanswered points

 

[OtterKnight]

The first couple of drives in every game are very scripted and designed to throw off the opposong defense.

I always see this said. Help me understand:
1. If it works so well to script the first drive, why not run the script the whole game?

2. If it's scripted, then does that mean if you call a run on first down, then you run the same play afterward whether its 2nd and 1 or 2nd and 8 (or third down or goal line or whatever)?

It doesn't make sense to me.

 

[Shark19]

The first couple of drives in every game are very scripted and designed to throw off the opposong defense. We adjusted and reeled off 56 unanswered points

Warner played within himself the first 3-4 drives with short passes executed very quickly.....then as they started falling behind, his play caller screwed him by calling longer more time consuming patterns....really the same thing that happened with SMU.

 

[beelit47]

I always see this said. Help me understand:
1. If it works so well to script the first drive, why not run the script the whole game?

2. If it's scripted, then does that mean if you call a run on first down, then you run the same play afterward whether its 2nd and 1 or 2nd and 8 (or third down or goal line or whatever)?

It doesn't make sense to me.

Ill use a baseball analogy

statistically the batter hits for a higher average the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th time through the lineup against a starting pitcher because they have seen all of his pitchces. Football is a game of adjustments, you script out your plays to get your qb in rythym, establish run game, etc. once the defense picks up on the script, they make adjustments, like louisville did to us.

 

[CBlackwellRN]

My son is 21 and is a MK. We currently do and have been doing a father son fishing trip since he was 9. It is my hope when he is out of college that we do this . In the Big XII the destinations are a bit cooler travel wise. It's good that you do this with your dad .

So true man. My dad’s the best guy on the planet! Crazy glad we started this father-son tradition. This will be our 23rd year doing an annual away game together. We’ve also done a nice number of bowl games on top of it (including that ‘13/‘14 Fiesta Bowl win). You’ll have that great tradition with your son too brother.

 

[BlakNGoldAllDay]

Ill use a baseball analogy

statistically the batter hits for a higher average the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th time through the lineup against a starting pitcher because they have seen all of his pitchces. Football is a game of adjustments, you script out your plays to get your qb in rythym, establish run game, etc. once the defense picks up on the script, they make adjustments, like louisville did to us.

It’s probably more fatigue than seeing him. In 162 games they’ve seen the pitcher quite a bit. Even pinch hitters hit better when a starter has 100 plus pitches. He didn’t face him in game but his stuff has fallen off a bit.

 

[Wings0fred]

I always see this said. Help me understand:
1. If it works so well to script the first drive, why not run the script the whole game?

2. If it's scripted, then does that mean if you call a run on first down, then you run the same play afterward whether its 2nd and 1 or 2nd and 8 (or third down or goal line or whatever)?

It doesn't make sense to me.

My questions as well, never made sense to me.

I think it is less about a script and more about depth and adjustments. UCF seems to play very conservatively initially and then tightens the screws progressively as they get a feel for the game.

 

[jtGoldenKnights]

My dad and I decided to make ECU our annual father-son away game trip this season and we will be cheering loud and proud for our Knights!

Nice!! Been up for a game a long time ago. I think Hodges was our QB at the time. Fun time fans were cool.

 

[beelit47]

It’s probably more fatigue than seeing him. In 162 games they’ve seen the pitcher quite a bit. Even pinch hitters hit better when a starter has 100 plus pitches. He didn’t face him in game but his stuff has fallen off a bit.

I meant within the individual game, pitcher goes through lineup untouched and suddenly starts getting hit in 4th inning. Our defense plays conservative early on, figures out tendancies, then adjusts

 

[KnightLife1]

The first couple of drives in every game are very scripted and designed to throw off the opposong defense. We adjusted and reeled off 56 unanswered points

I agree with you that this is what happened in the game. Where I disagree is that I don't feel that, just because we were easily able to come back and win this game, that we should become complacent/habitual about allowing two easy scoring drives to start off a game. If this becomes a habit it can come back to haunt us, especially in games where the margin of error is very slim.

 

[KnightLife1]

🤔

Our defense has played great this year. Even against Louisville, the defense played well. SMU has a pretty elite offense and is like the king of underneath passes and screens. Our defense gave them a little but ultimately shut them down. I am not worried about anyone we go up against in conference that our defense couldn’t handle. It’s possible they could have a down game, but I just don’t see it with what they have done to date.

Ahlers completes 30/36 for 83% and 311 yards. Over 200 yards in the first half alone.

You still think our defense has no problem stopping underneath passes? Or do you now see/understand what I was trying to explain BEFORE this game?

 

[beelit47]

This team lacks a true leader. Someone who can get the team going when things arent going the right way. We were spoiled with Milton. Watching the game last noght and everyones body language was defeated