UCF Fan’s Perspective - Week 2

Mmilton10

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I just wanted to start out by saying that I was pleasantly surprised with the way GT played yesterday. From an outsiders’ perspective, Sims looked like the real deal and you have an impressive stable of RB’s. I also liked how aggressive the defense was, especially towards the end of the game. From year 1 to year 2 of the Collins’ era there has already been a noticeable jump in talent and overall athleticism. Your fanbase should be very excited for what lies ahead.

As far as our game on Saturday, there’s definitely some more energy with you guys coming off of a big win against FSU on the road. It will be interesting to see the difference between a team that has a game under their belt, and one that is a week behind. I certainly expect some rust on our end in the 1st quarter especially.

I’ll provide a quick rundown of our team (with position grades) to give some insight into UCF in 2020:

QB (A) - Dillon Gabriel is coming off of a stellar Freshman campaign. Our fans are excited to see his progression heading into year 2. Throws a beautiful deep ball, and has decent mobility. Gabriel found himself in trouble a handful of times on the road when faced with a solid pass rush. It will be interesting to see if he’s improved on the road.

RB (A) - Fantastic depth, and position balanced with speed and power. Primary RB’s are Greg McCrae, Otis Anderson, and Bentavious Thompson. All 3 guys would start on at least half of D1 teams in the country. Greg McCrae will receive a majority of carries, and is primarily known for excellent vision and above average speed.

WR (B-) - Our fans have been raving over this position group, but I am not as high on them as most are. The main targets on the outside are Marlon Williams and Tre Nixon. Tre Nixon is our primary deep threat - running sub 4.4. With that being said, he's an underwhelming route runner and mostly one dimensional. Marlon Williams is a big bodied WR who is great at creating extra yardage after the catch. He's not a burner like Tre Nixon, but he's fast enough to run by people. The biggest question mark will be who gets the nod to start in the slot. We did acquire Oklahoma transfer Jaylon Robinson, who is supposedly an excellent route runner and sub 4.5 speed. I haven't seen him play personally.

TE (C) - Our starter should be Jake Hescock, who is mostly utilized for blocking. The offense isn't really tailored to use TE's.

Offensive Line (B) - We return 3 out of 5 starters from last year. Our interior linemen should be very solid. The biggest question mark will be Right Tackle, which we backfilled with Tennessee Graduate Transfer Marcus Tatum. As a fanbase we are not overly concerned about our offensive line, but a new addition to one of our tackle positions leaves some uncertainty.

Defensive Line (C+) - Experienced group, but the interior line is our biggest concern. Pass rush has been inconsistent, and so has our rush defense. We've also had a few opt outs at this position, which has hurt our depth. This game will be a good test for our defensive front.

Linebackers (B-) - Our 1st team all conference selection LB Nate Evans graduated, but there is above average depth at the position and we are relatively fast sideline to sideline. This group has been exposed previously by teams that utilize TE's in the passing game.

Secondary (A) - Fantastic, experienced group. Opt out Tay Gowan (CB) hurt us a little at this position, but there are multiple NFL players at this position such as Richie Grant, Antwan Collier, and Aaron Robinson.

Special Teams (???) - We will breaking in a new kicker (Redshirt Freshman) and the punting game is pretty average. Really not sure what to expect at this time.

Overall, the expectation is that this will be a very good year for us. However, unprecedented circumstances and a better than anticipated opponent in Georgia Tech provides a great challenge for us to start the season.


Score Prediction: UCF 37 Georgia Tech 27

Let me know your thoughts and please ask any questions you might have about our team. I'd be happy to answer them. I look forward to visiting your beautiful campus this weekend.
 

Techbert

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Welcome. Thank you for the capsules.

I expect our team to clean up a number of their problems from Week One, as that is what teams do. It is sometimes tough to open your season a week after your opponent. And if we clean up our Week One problems without exposing new problems we are going to be tough.

Good luck for the season, save for this Saturday!
 

BainbridgeJacket

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I sincerely doubt we give up 37 pts unless we have a lot of players out. How aggressive does your defense tend to play? Lots of zone or mostly man?
 

GTCrew4b

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37 points seems like a lot. UCF did throttle Temple though who obliterated last season.

I think it’ll be in the 20s for both teams. Would love to see the Jackets do something like 24-20.

UCF is very good so it would be a great win for GT.
 

Mmilton10

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I sincerely doubt we give up 37 pts unless we have a lot of players out. How aggressive does your defense tend to play? Lots of zone or mostly man?
The reason for UCF's higher scoring output is a result of running so many plays per game. On average, we snap the ball 10-12 seconds after every play. This all started with Scott Frost when he came over from Oregon. The offense is lightning fast. However, it can also backfire with quick 3 and outs which result in little rest for the defense. Our defense is very conservative - a bend but don't break zone defense (Randy Shannon is our DC)
 

gtm1ke

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I'm so tired of trash talk from fans of this glorified high school thinking winning games in the AAC matters to anybody but commuter school failures.
 

Mmilton10

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I'm so tired of trash talk from fans of this glorified high school thinking winning games in the AAC matters to anybody but commuter school failures.
I came in here with good intentions. I just don't think calling us scared makes any sense when discussing a team that won every single game in 2017.
 

BackstreetBuzz

GT fan for 60+ years
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Good summary, thanks. I had pretty much chalked this up as a loss for GT, but after FSU, I think it will be a close game.

You guys probably have the advantage at QB, LB and ST. We are probably better at RB, WR and DL, even at TE and DB.
 
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