I am writing this as I am on the plane back. I have not had a chance to re-watch the game yet so everything below is based on my in person experience. The replay system in the stadium also sucked so it was hard to see the plays back and I only saw limited tv highlights after the game due to ESPN’s policy of over hyping the Rose Bowl and the fact I drank myself into oblivion working through my processing of the loss. It is also hard as hell to type this on the plane. Here are my thoughts on the game, sorry it is long this week, I had a lot to get off my chest, very cathartic process…
UCF Fast:
· UCF Fanbase: This was not an easy game to travel too. I paid just under $1.3k for my plane ticket and when you add in rental car, hotel, tickets, food, booze, etc… it is an expensive trip, especially if you are bringing a family out. With all that said UCF absolutely matched or beat out the LSU fans in the stadium and dominated them on the streets around Phoenix. UCF absolutely travels as well as some of the biggest programs in the Country. I hope that gets the big boys attention. Well done everyone that traveled and all the family that stayed back to make it possible, especially my wife, for so many of us to come out.
· Entire UCF Team, Coaches, Administration: None of you have anything to be disappointed about. This team fought their asses off for 26 games in a row. Never giving up. We probably played our worst game in the Fiesta bowl with our back up Freshman QB on his 3rd start against LSU and we still had the ball with 48 seconds left in the game to tie (after almost getting an incredible onside kick). That should have been the narrative after the game, despite incredible adversity UCF was Hard to Kill (favorite Seagal movie). We were not an easy out. The national media wanted LSU to roll us and we did not go out on our knees. We clawed and fought every last second and even with everything going against us we weren’t easy to beat. If you are going to lose this is how you want to go out. Fighting for your life, not cowering in the corner like a bull. Well done and thank you all for the ride. These last 26 games have been just EPIC. Some of the best times of my life have occurred because of this team during this run. Thank You.
UCF Slow:
· Charlton Unsportsmanlike Call: This was an absolutely brutal moment for UCF. Here is my take on it… I believe the ref should NOT have thrown the penalty. I was a ref for many years and what you try to do is take in the circumstances of the call. If this was a first down sack play then so be it but on 3rd and long to give them a first down instead of punting on a marginal dead ball foul is really tough. Charlton is a freshman, team was super hyped up and he did a stupid thing but it wasn’t that egregious and wasn’t anything that impacted the actual play. With that said I believe the reason the ref threw the flag was influenced by the series before where we ran back the pick 6 and laid out the QB. The UCF guys let their emotions get the best of them and were flexing above the QB and talking shit. I know it is an emotional moment but I think that JUSTIFIED flag played a role in the ref throwing the Charlton flag. Had that play not just happened maybe they let that go, maybe not, but that was my opinion. Ref shouldn’t have thrown the flat and Charlton shouldn’t have done what he did, both things can be true. As a side note coach O was acting like a mad man spiking head sets into 50 pieces ON THE FIELD and nothing to see over there.
· Targeting Calls Ruining Football: I completely understand the launching with the crown of your helmet and stupid dirty unnecessary plays getting removed from the game. I am all for that but the way the targeting calls are going it is ruining the game. The rules are too broad. The NFL and College have this issue but in College it seems especially bad. The good is that they review the call but the bad is that they eject guys for marginal targets. I feel like you should have to earn an ejection and many of these calls aren’t doing it for me. I was so afraid they were going to call targeting on UCF for the block on the QB during the pick 6 and call back the TD. It seems like anytime someone gets hit hard, especially a QB, some type of call is being made.
· National Media Bias: I get UCF is an easy team to hate that they want UCF to be put back in their spot but I feel like most of the media has gone out of their way to frame this game unfairly for UCF. Here are some examples...
o LSU Players Out: Any talk of LSU players being out for the game should have been completely debunked by the fact KZ was out and we were starting a RS Freshman Mack for his 3rd start ever. Think of it this way, if Burrows was out of the game and they were starting a freshman in his place yesterday and UCF had KZ but was missing Hill & Clark or something like that , do you think UCF would have lost? Burrows was the best offensive player on the field for both teams yesterday, he was absolutely responsible for LSU’s win. Much more then any one LSU defensive player. I would happily give them all their defensive starters if they played their back up QB over Burrows.
o The Game Wasn’t as Close as the Score Indicated: Media saying LSU dominated UCF in yards and despite the score UCF was dominated. That is bullshit reasoning on several levels. First, the only time you bring up this bullshit is when you lose a game but you dominate the yardage, you don’t bring it up when a team wins. The team that has most yards is usually expected to win. There were also some anomalies in this game that lead to the disparity in yards being larger then they should have. The pick 6, the muffed punt changing field position, the large chunks of penalty yards, the dropped 50 yard pass play by Davis, etc… We scored 32 points and had the ball with 48 seconds left to tie the game. We weren’t dominated. People that no better in the media should be smarter.
o UCF Proved They Cannot Hang with the SEC Week in and Week Out: This one infuriates me. We are NOT in the SEC you dumb bastards. We aren’t supposed to be able to compete week in and week out, we don’t have the resources, recruiting, depth, funds, etc… but the fact we can play with anyone in the nation and win the way we do with what resources we do have is why we deserve the recognition and ultimately a chance to be invited to play in a P5 conference or get a shot at the CFP. The argument shouldn’t be if we would win 25 straight if we were in the SEC. No one is claiming that. It isn’t UCF’s fault we aren’t in the ACC. We are not refusing an invite to a bigger conference. Look at those recruiting stats, for the last however many years the top SEC schools are routinely in the top 10 recruiting ranking and UCF was mid 60’s. That is the difference. LSU has gotten around seventy 4 and 5 star players in the last 5 years and UCF has gotten 4. If UCF was in the SEC I think we would have gotten more then 4.
· Shooting Ourselves in the Foot: Charlton penalty, Mack fumble, not scoring TD on muffed punt, Gabe dropped pass, missed wide open receiver in end zone, we just had too many self inflicted wounds in this one to make up ground against a team like LSU on that stage with our back up QB. As I said above, probably played our worst game in the last 26 and still had a chance at the end. That is pretty amazing all things considered but it was frustrating watching us screw ourselves.
· Hating on Mack: I knew the winning streak wasn’t going to go on forever but with KZ at the helm I legitimately felt it may stretch long into 2019 (his senior season) but when he went down I thought for sure it would end with Memphis and surely with whoever we faced in a bowl if we figured out how to beat Memphis. But the way Mack played against Memphis and how the team found a way it brought that confidence back and I went into this game probably more confident then I should have been. The reality was that we were starting a RS Freshman with only 2 career starts against LS fing U in the Fiesta bowl. That is a tough lift for any third start college QB. I don’t give a shit if the QB’s last name is Montana. So folks who are shitting on Mack need to get some perspective there. I thought Mack did admirably all things considered. That drive right before half where we started inside our 5 yard line and LSU had all the momentum and ears pinned back coming at Mack he engineered and amazing drive out of the end zone culminating with one of the prettiest passes I have ever seen thrown in my life. A pass that I don’t think KZ could make. That was ridiculous and kept us in a game that was slipping away. Mack got the least help our WRs have provided any UCF QB in a long time. The O-Line was having trouble and the most damaging thing was the way the first half played out the O had no chance to build any rhythm. I am not saying Mack didn’t screw up with the fumble and some missed passes and bad sacks but taking it all in he did well enough for us to win that game and that is a crazy thing to consider in his 3rd start against LSU in the Fiesta Bowl with everyone watching.
· Play Calling: I thought overall the play calling was good all things considered. My only beef is that I didn’t like the fake inside hand offs on obvious passing downs. I get why we do it to keep the defense honest and suck up the LBs but with the secondary issues LSU was having, the struggles our offensive line was having, our skill position strengths, etc… I would have just had Mack get the snap and throw. We wasted at least a second every time we did that and the pass rush was clearly and issue for Mack. It also looked clunky, as if he clearly was just going through the motions and the defense had to know that. I think we played into their hands doing that as much as we did.
This is the first write up I have done post loss in a long time. It felt odd losing as, almost as if I had forgotten what that felt like at UCF to lose a game which is crazy for someone who has been around as long as me to say. Very odd how winning so many games for so long can change how you process the game. I got some perspective right afterwards when I was walking out of the stadium and called my wife back home who said my 7 year old was crying after the game and wanted to be alone in his room. It hit me he doesn’t remember what it is like to lose a UCF game. All he really has known is UCF winning. I got a buddy whose kid is a RS Freshman on the team and he had never lost a UCF football game. So many people have been impacted by this win streak well inside and outside of the program. What we all do from here will define us as a program. My hope is that the team can process it and come out the other side stronger for it. As we get more removed from that 0-12 season less players are around that have that perspective to share with the team. One weird by product of the streak was the National Media hate of UCF. I get the National Champions thing riled people up but for me I think the real thing that got their goat was the streak. The fact we never lost and were never put back in our place for two season was starting to drive the establishment bonkers. They had to create alternative facts to argue against why winning isn’t the most important thing. Watching these supposed experts to backflips to come up with a way 25 straight wins is only good for 8th in the CFP rankings was incredible. In some ways I wanted it to keep going to continue to drive them nuts but in other ways it may be better to get that behind us and start fresh. I remember the national media loving on Boise and TCU and Utah and other schools when they challenged and beat the big boys, I felt that love at times last year but this year I thought it took an ugly turn and I think it was the fact we beat Auburn, called them all out on it and then continued to win and win and win and win and win. I still think they weren’t truly satisfied with how we lost to LSU but my hope is some of that nonsense will subside and we can start a new streak. Thanks to all of you for reading my verbal vomit each week. I love doing it, Go Knights!!!!
UCF Fast:
· UCF Fanbase: This was not an easy game to travel too. I paid just under $1.3k for my plane ticket and when you add in rental car, hotel, tickets, food, booze, etc… it is an expensive trip, especially if you are bringing a family out. With all that said UCF absolutely matched or beat out the LSU fans in the stadium and dominated them on the streets around Phoenix. UCF absolutely travels as well as some of the biggest programs in the Country. I hope that gets the big boys attention. Well done everyone that traveled and all the family that stayed back to make it possible, especially my wife, for so many of us to come out.
· Entire UCF Team, Coaches, Administration: None of you have anything to be disappointed about. This team fought their asses off for 26 games in a row. Never giving up. We probably played our worst game in the Fiesta bowl with our back up Freshman QB on his 3rd start against LSU and we still had the ball with 48 seconds left in the game to tie (after almost getting an incredible onside kick). That should have been the narrative after the game, despite incredible adversity UCF was Hard to Kill (favorite Seagal movie). We were not an easy out. The national media wanted LSU to roll us and we did not go out on our knees. We clawed and fought every last second and even with everything going against us we weren’t easy to beat. If you are going to lose this is how you want to go out. Fighting for your life, not cowering in the corner like a bull. Well done and thank you all for the ride. These last 26 games have been just EPIC. Some of the best times of my life have occurred because of this team during this run. Thank You.
UCF Slow:
· Charlton Unsportsmanlike Call: This was an absolutely brutal moment for UCF. Here is my take on it… I believe the ref should NOT have thrown the penalty. I was a ref for many years and what you try to do is take in the circumstances of the call. If this was a first down sack play then so be it but on 3rd and long to give them a first down instead of punting on a marginal dead ball foul is really tough. Charlton is a freshman, team was super hyped up and he did a stupid thing but it wasn’t that egregious and wasn’t anything that impacted the actual play. With that said I believe the reason the ref threw the flag was influenced by the series before where we ran back the pick 6 and laid out the QB. The UCF guys let their emotions get the best of them and were flexing above the QB and talking shit. I know it is an emotional moment but I think that JUSTIFIED flag played a role in the ref throwing the Charlton flag. Had that play not just happened maybe they let that go, maybe not, but that was my opinion. Ref shouldn’t have thrown the flat and Charlton shouldn’t have done what he did, both things can be true. As a side note coach O was acting like a mad man spiking head sets into 50 pieces ON THE FIELD and nothing to see over there.
· Targeting Calls Ruining Football: I completely understand the launching with the crown of your helmet and stupid dirty unnecessary plays getting removed from the game. I am all for that but the way the targeting calls are going it is ruining the game. The rules are too broad. The NFL and College have this issue but in College it seems especially bad. The good is that they review the call but the bad is that they eject guys for marginal targets. I feel like you should have to earn an ejection and many of these calls aren’t doing it for me. I was so afraid they were going to call targeting on UCF for the block on the QB during the pick 6 and call back the TD. It seems like anytime someone gets hit hard, especially a QB, some type of call is being made.
· National Media Bias: I get UCF is an easy team to hate that they want UCF to be put back in their spot but I feel like most of the media has gone out of their way to frame this game unfairly for UCF. Here are some examples...
o LSU Players Out: Any talk of LSU players being out for the game should have been completely debunked by the fact KZ was out and we were starting a RS Freshman Mack for his 3rd start ever. Think of it this way, if Burrows was out of the game and they were starting a freshman in his place yesterday and UCF had KZ but was missing Hill & Clark or something like that , do you think UCF would have lost? Burrows was the best offensive player on the field for both teams yesterday, he was absolutely responsible for LSU’s win. Much more then any one LSU defensive player. I would happily give them all their defensive starters if they played their back up QB over Burrows.
o The Game Wasn’t as Close as the Score Indicated: Media saying LSU dominated UCF in yards and despite the score UCF was dominated. That is bullshit reasoning on several levels. First, the only time you bring up this bullshit is when you lose a game but you dominate the yardage, you don’t bring it up when a team wins. The team that has most yards is usually expected to win. There were also some anomalies in this game that lead to the disparity in yards being larger then they should have. The pick 6, the muffed punt changing field position, the large chunks of penalty yards, the dropped 50 yard pass play by Davis, etc… We scored 32 points and had the ball with 48 seconds left to tie the game. We weren’t dominated. People that no better in the media should be smarter.
o UCF Proved They Cannot Hang with the SEC Week in and Week Out: This one infuriates me. We are NOT in the SEC you dumb bastards. We aren’t supposed to be able to compete week in and week out, we don’t have the resources, recruiting, depth, funds, etc… but the fact we can play with anyone in the nation and win the way we do with what resources we do have is why we deserve the recognition and ultimately a chance to be invited to play in a P5 conference or get a shot at the CFP. The argument shouldn’t be if we would win 25 straight if we were in the SEC. No one is claiming that. It isn’t UCF’s fault we aren’t in the ACC. We are not refusing an invite to a bigger conference. Look at those recruiting stats, for the last however many years the top SEC schools are routinely in the top 10 recruiting ranking and UCF was mid 60’s. That is the difference. LSU has gotten around seventy 4 and 5 star players in the last 5 years and UCF has gotten 4. If UCF was in the SEC I think we would have gotten more then 4.
· Shooting Ourselves in the Foot: Charlton penalty, Mack fumble, not scoring TD on muffed punt, Gabe dropped pass, missed wide open receiver in end zone, we just had too many self inflicted wounds in this one to make up ground against a team like LSU on that stage with our back up QB. As I said above, probably played our worst game in the last 26 and still had a chance at the end. That is pretty amazing all things considered but it was frustrating watching us screw ourselves.
· Hating on Mack: I knew the winning streak wasn’t going to go on forever but with KZ at the helm I legitimately felt it may stretch long into 2019 (his senior season) but when he went down I thought for sure it would end with Memphis and surely with whoever we faced in a bowl if we figured out how to beat Memphis. But the way Mack played against Memphis and how the team found a way it brought that confidence back and I went into this game probably more confident then I should have been. The reality was that we were starting a RS Freshman with only 2 career starts against LS fing U in the Fiesta bowl. That is a tough lift for any third start college QB. I don’t give a shit if the QB’s last name is Montana. So folks who are shitting on Mack need to get some perspective there. I thought Mack did admirably all things considered. That drive right before half where we started inside our 5 yard line and LSU had all the momentum and ears pinned back coming at Mack he engineered and amazing drive out of the end zone culminating with one of the prettiest passes I have ever seen thrown in my life. A pass that I don’t think KZ could make. That was ridiculous and kept us in a game that was slipping away. Mack got the least help our WRs have provided any UCF QB in a long time. The O-Line was having trouble and the most damaging thing was the way the first half played out the O had no chance to build any rhythm. I am not saying Mack didn’t screw up with the fumble and some missed passes and bad sacks but taking it all in he did well enough for us to win that game and that is a crazy thing to consider in his 3rd start against LSU in the Fiesta Bowl with everyone watching.
· Play Calling: I thought overall the play calling was good all things considered. My only beef is that I didn’t like the fake inside hand offs on obvious passing downs. I get why we do it to keep the defense honest and suck up the LBs but with the secondary issues LSU was having, the struggles our offensive line was having, our skill position strengths, etc… I would have just had Mack get the snap and throw. We wasted at least a second every time we did that and the pass rush was clearly and issue for Mack. It also looked clunky, as if he clearly was just going through the motions and the defense had to know that. I think we played into their hands doing that as much as we did.
This is the first write up I have done post loss in a long time. It felt odd losing as, almost as if I had forgotten what that felt like at UCF to lose a game which is crazy for someone who has been around as long as me to say. Very odd how winning so many games for so long can change how you process the game. I got some perspective right afterwards when I was walking out of the stadium and called my wife back home who said my 7 year old was crying after the game and wanted to be alone in his room. It hit me he doesn’t remember what it is like to lose a UCF game. All he really has known is UCF winning. I got a buddy whose kid is a RS Freshman on the team and he had never lost a UCF football game. So many people have been impacted by this win streak well inside and outside of the program. What we all do from here will define us as a program. My hope is that the team can process it and come out the other side stronger for it. As we get more removed from that 0-12 season less players are around that have that perspective to share with the team. One weird by product of the streak was the National Media hate of UCF. I get the National Champions thing riled people up but for me I think the real thing that got their goat was the streak. The fact we never lost and were never put back in our place for two season was starting to drive the establishment bonkers. They had to create alternative facts to argue against why winning isn’t the most important thing. Watching these supposed experts to backflips to come up with a way 25 straight wins is only good for 8th in the CFP rankings was incredible. In some ways I wanted it to keep going to continue to drive them nuts but in other ways it may be better to get that behind us and start fresh. I remember the national media loving on Boise and TCU and Utah and other schools when they challenged and beat the big boys, I felt that love at times last year but this year I thought it took an ugly turn and I think it was the fact we beat Auburn, called them all out on it and then continued to win and win and win and win and win. I still think they weren’t truly satisfied with how we lost to LSU but my hope is some of that nonsense will subside and we can start a new streak. Thanks to all of you for reading my verbal vomit each week. I love doing it, Go Knights!!!!
