This week is the regular season finale on the road vs UAB. Last year they came to our place and embarrassed us. Let’s not forget that. They can become bowl eligible with a win. Let’s ruin it for them. GO KNIGHTS!!

Last year we played Miami pretty evenly at their place. This year however, Miami seems to be much improved. But looking at their season from a bit further back, who have they really beaten? FSU? They are now so awful that even the most staunch Bowden fans are screaming for his head. Ga. Tech? They are pretty good, but not great. They nearly blew a 24-0 at home vs. Clemson. Clemson is terrible. Oklahoma? A team depleted by injuries to key players who lost to a team the FSU pounded.. I think we have the capability of keeping this game close. But we can’t let harris stand there all day. We must bring the heat. Otherwise, it will get ugly.

Once again a game we could have won. #81 makes a great catch on a deep ball and then once again reminded me why I call him “stone hands” by dropping an easy one in the end zone from inside the 10. Next play was a pick. 0 points. The defense once again played very well. Once again the offense lets them down. To be fair, the officiating was awful. I’m watching the game on BHSN and they are using the feed from ECU. On one play their own annoncers were sure they had committed offensive pass interference. Nope. It goes against us. They get a first down inside the 15 and turn it into a TD. Earlier we get a nice run up the middle in their territory and fumble. It looks like we jump on the ball first, but they unpile everybody and an ECU guy comes out with the ball. They give it to ECU. I’m ok with that. That’s football. Anything goes in one of those piles. You bite someone if you have to. Because normally they give it to whoever comes out with it. But a few minutes later, ECU fumbles. Thet pile ensues. We come out with the ball. And they give it to ECU. If George doesn’t get a fine this week for blasting the refs, he should be fired for that.

Congrats to the team for winning tonight. That was a big one. Since we know Miami and  Texas are losses, at least we will be 2-2 in non conference games.  So this win was big.  Next week would be a huge win. It will even up the conference record and we would have four conference home games left. If we are to win next week, we better cut out some of the stupid mistakes we are still making. Running into the kicker? A delay of game at the goal line? We had two defenders both bite on the out move and had the pass been on target we were looking at being down 24-7. We do these things at ECU, we lose big. So we still have work to do but hey, we won. So let’s be happy.

First game of the season. Hope springs eternal. UCF is undefeated and will most likely stay that way at least for a week. Last year we also started that way. We had SC State for the opener at home. Like Samford, a FCS team that stood little chance of winning. However, even after the Knights’ 17-0 win, I got home in a foul mood. My wife asked if we had won. I told her yes. She couldn’t understand why if we won I was in such a bad mood. I told her it was because “if we can’t beat a 1-AA school any more than that, we won’t beat anybody else.” I was not too far off as it turned out. How we look tomorrow will be as important as whether we win. Strike that. It’s MORE important. If we struggle to put together any offense, it will not bode well for the season. There needs to be some points put up tomorrow before we can feel good. At least 30 in my opinion. Any less than that, and I won’t be too happy.

Tomorrow the Knights take on UAB in the final home game of the season. It’s a vert winnable game. A game quite frankly we SHOULD win. Taking a look at the C-USA standings you will see that East Carolina has wrapped up the East. ECU has 2 losses. Everyone else including UCF has at least four. So do you realize what that means? It means the 13-10 loss in OT we had vs. ECU is the ONLY THING that will cost us another trip to the Championship Game as long as we beat UAB. THAT’S IT!! We win that game and we would have been the East Champs again. We beat ECU, both of us would have three losses right now and WE would own the tie breaker by winning the head to head matchup. As bad as we have been on offense all year, we were THAT close to winning the East and going to the C-USA Championship game. That proves right there that there is NO excuse for UCF not DOMINATING this conference. That game came down to O’Leary not having the guts to go for 4th and inches in the 4th quarter. Had we gotten that first down, gone down and kicked a field goal, we are playing for a championship tomorrow. Now do you think we need a new coach?

I know what you’re thinking out there. You’re thinking that I’m going to say that I was hoping we’d lose so we can get rid of O’Leary. Well you’re wrong. I don’t root against the Knights. I hope we win out and finish 5-7. I congratulate the team and the coaches on their win today. That includes O’Leary.  If he does that more consistently, I’d be in his corner.

However, he does not do this consistently. This game proves that we have NO BUSINESS being 3-7. Marshall was at home fighting to become bowl eligible. It was Homecoming. And it was nasty out there. We had every reason to get crushed. And we win rather easily. So now we are 3-7. We’ve got two winnable games left. So now let’s look back at the season and think about why we’ll be home for the Holidays. Two Overtime losses, a 20-14 loss at Miami, a 17-6 loss at home vs So Miss that was closer than the score. ONE of those games goes in the win column and we would still be alive. That’s not even bringing up the fact we were up at the half against BC and Tulsa. It also doesn’t bring up that we got blown out by a team that hadn’t won a game in over a year in UTEP. We had a defense this year capable of winning eight or nine games. A mediocre offense to go with it and we win 7 easily. This is why we need new coaching.

UCF is a 7.5 point underdog vs. Marshall. Has UCF been within 30 points on the road out of the state this year?  Nope. So here’s a Christmas present from me to you. Or at least a tip for helping you make some Christmas shopping cash. Find someone who will give you Marshall and give the points. No way we cover.

Same story different day. We’ve been what? Five games without an offensive score after halftime? That’s just downright pathetic. Hey Coach! Ever heard of a screen pass? How about some gadget plays? A draw? Do something!! Anything!! What you’re doing now? IT AINT WORKING!! And why is it our opponents make this game look easy but we look like we’re trying to invent a time machine out there? Here’s a clue genius. When the Southern Miss punter runs to his right EVERY SINGLE TIME and kicks a low line drive that hits 15 yards in front of Burnett, you’re only weapon, how about trying to rush the punt and BLOCK ONE!! I get home and turn on the Gator game and guess what? Vanderbilt is doing the SAME THING and guess what UF did? YEAHHH!! They rushed in and blocked not one but TWO Vandy punts. WOW!! Amazing huh? Or here’s another suggestion. Have Joe move to his left and up about fifteen yards. This is not BRAIN SURGERY!!

Here’s another brilliant idea. You know that slant you threw to #9 last week that went for a touchdown? HOW ABOUT WE TRY THAT PLAY AGAIN AT LEAST ONE EFFING TIME!! It’s not like we have a plethera of plays that we have go for touchdowns. It wouldn’t seem like you would forget the ONE PLAY that works!!

I’m sitting in the cool damp air on Sunday night at the Trampoline watching the Knights take on the Pirates. It’s a defensive struggle (duh) and the Knights have the ball around midfield half way through the 4th quarter. Watching this game unfold a nagging question kept popping into my head. “How were we going to find a way to lose this one” just kept repeating itself over and over in my brain. On third down I got my answer. Greco scrambles for a first down. Or so we thought. “upon further review” the refs decide to move the ball back a couple of feet and call it 4th down. I said to the man next to me “we need to go for it here”. He agreed with me but other people around us said we needed to punt.  “No way” we said.  “We have to keep the ball, and at least burn some more clock and hopefully get close enough to kick a field goal.” We said. The “punt” people said “no we don’t. we need to pin them back deep.” Now there are valid arguments either way. But I ask myself what do successful teams do in this situation. What would Spurrier do? What would Meyer do?  What would Carroll do?  What would Stoops do? Those coaches in that situation I believe would go for it. If you can’t look your guys in the eye and tell them we need a half yard to win this game, and have the confidence you can do it, then you’ve got no business playing or coaching this game. Coaches who punt in that situation? I’m guessing Fulmer would. Maybe Rich Brooks. Ron Zook. Of course the botched punt a few minutes later would be blamed for the loss. But if we go for the first down and make it, then kick the field goal, that play wouldn’t matter. If you go for it in that spot, you’re telling your defense who has only given up three points in 50+ minutes of football “I know you won’t let them in the end zone” if we don’t make it. I believe we need a coach who feels this way.