Time to Reacquaint With Our Old Autumn Pastime 

When that first cool hits your face, it’s a refreshing jolt to the senses that gives you a rush of energy and lets you know you’re still alive. No, I’m not talking about the crisp fall air you feel once the leaves start changing and the faint sound of pads crashing is dwindled by a coach’s whistle. Not in Florida at least, especially in late August. I’m talking about the chill of a convenience store walk-in cooler off University Ave. on gameday as you peruse the vault of vices, deciding which beer will be your inaugural sip of a new college football season. You stand there in tandem with another fellow, deciding his afternoon much like you are for those awkward 15 seconds as you stare at a new seltzer in your hand, while ultimately deciding on a tried and tested Michelob Ultra twelve pack, water, and a solo tall boy of a pint you’ve been meaning to try out. 

Football is back, baby. 

The pulse of a fanbase bubbling with excitement and that initial happiness you feel, being back on campus. I live in the Orlando area, but East Orlando is reserved for mecca journeys and seven Saturdays in the fall. My beautiful little campus, unassuming from Alafaya with its moat of parking garages, reminds you of how long we’ve come from being a sleepy commuter school flanked by overrun swamp and orange groves. The buildings while all modern architecture by most American campus standards are starting to have a little moss tint. The sidewalks are worn with time. 

The oak trees planted over two decades ago have an overhang now. It is slightly unkempt but provides invaluable shade for these first few matchups on the schedule. Not New Hampshire or Sam Houston State, but the matchup between you and the Florida Sun. It was a hot afternoon last Thursday but that did not keep the mass of students, alumni, and staff from turning an idle afternoon with an early cutout from work and school into a potent gameday atmosphere just by the wave of a fairy godmother’s wand. 

I saw a different attitude from the student population. The kids are alright.  Renewed excitement and maybe a higher caliber of fans across the board. Perhaps they were jovial in that their tickets to the game were already secured and they weren’t left to battle the elements hours before in line to get in and then provide energy for all four quarters. The kids of the kids I used to walk the halls with were also out in full force. For being such a young school, you often forget we’re just coming to realize a double down on generational support for real football. 

It was special to see young kids in the black and gold. Their vibrant energy was just as much a jolt as seeing the old places where we thrived when we were all younger. 

Seeing old faces, sometimes only reserved for the fall when you congregate around a spread of coolers and chairs, all wearing the same laundry, catching up and filling in the gaps of time between Instagram highlight reels of your summer trip to the Caribbean and the 3-year-old’s birthday you both attended is special. The day begins with the sound of Microsoft Teams pings and Slack notifications and then transitions into the buzz of missed calls from friends waiting in D Lot or a text message from a friend you only really see scrolling on Twitter now in the same place as you are a welcomed treat. 

Football is back.

Let me just start by saying I will never complain about a 57-3 blowout win against an FCS team. The crowd was electric and on a Thursday night for an FCS opponent, with threatening weather, Labor Day Weekend planning, and every other excuse Central Floridians muster for not leaving their home, the atmosphere might as well have been a Saturday night game during our undefeated runs. Very impressed. We’re maturing.

Before I get too off track being self-congratulatory, let’s talk about the Hog in the room. KJ Jefferson looked terrible. Sometimes that happens. A dud, a bust, a rust game. This may be a symptom of the portal. Perhaps this is a hallmark of the lack of quarterback development with this staff in the last few years. Looking across the country, I think you’re going to see a lot of these slow starts for teams to take time to gel. There is too much personnel turnover on these rosters. Unless you have decade-long plus coaching continuity like Utah, waves of gods at every position like Georgia, or a NIL war chest outpacing the competition and hitting like Miami. (Writer’s Note: This is what I’m Guslighting myself with until further notice) 

He was objectively statistically terrible. I took the time to rewatch Thursday night’s game. The tape is still alarming, but everything is correctable. Maybe KJ is a guy who goes hard when the lights and stakes are high. I get it. Sometimes at work, you reserve yourself and your energy for the moments that matter. I’ve had shit presentations and a moment of dud. Not necessarily on a first impression, but the point still stands. Limited live reps in pre-season camp, perhaps some SEC West hubris thinking he can simply give 60% and still excel, or a work ethic issue? What could it have been? Let’s see him bounce back Saturday night. I still believe in him. He was too much of a factor in college football’s best conference. We paid him a hefty NIL package for that performance. Important people with their names on buildings here thought Ashton Kutcher was maybe a graduate assistant on this staff.

As far as a TEAM, I think the vibes are the best of any Malzahn team I’ve seen. Genuine excitement for each other and knowing what they need to fix. Not fake “rah-rah” and complacency. Xavier Townsend looks to be an X-Factor in the return game. Boomer looks to have shaken his yips…for now. This game means the same thing as a Kent State blowout to open up the 2023 season. A win is a win.

I can’t remember the last time I enjoyed watching a defense here so much. The media and local pundits were warning me to have my expectations tempered with “Ted ‘Oof”, the perennial journeyman and seeming buddy hire for Malzahn. I saw a competent and passionate coach on the sideline, coaching and correcting. The defense was opportunistic, swarming, and fun. I would have loved to have seen John Walker in this scheme. I’ve always said I need my Defensive Backs with dreads. Deshawn Pace stood out to me. For a portal pickup, he commanded that huddle and had shades of Griffin while inspiring. His interception was violent. Bearcat fans said he’d be a headcase. Good. Again, it’s New Hampshire but I loved his moxie. We need that, especially if QB play is going to be suspect this year. 

Even if KJ’s performance in Week 1 made him an outcast, I’m sorry Ms. Jackson, but this running back room is for real. The youth who never got to see “The Legs That Built the Bounce House” in person, claiming RJ Harvey will go down as UCF’s best running back had me a little miffed in the offseason. RJ looked the part though, but Kam Martin’s running back room is not Michael Jackson and a bunch of Tito Jacksons. The combination of Harvey, Boone, Montgomery, and Johnny Richardson made them the Kings of an Eye Poppin’ 454-yard performance on the ground. Exceptional. 

Listen, I don’t need Jacurri Brown or KJ to be Cam Newton. They’re most definitely not. For this season I need them to rival Kyle Israel’s title for “Best Handoff in the Nation” from 2007 when Kevin Smith ran for 2,567 yards and 29 touchdowns. Our running game can be THAT dominant. Pepper in a QB scramble and just enough effort to pick up first downs and we can bully ball it. Our defense looks leaps and bounds ahead of last year. Again, all against an FCS opponent, but I’m not hitting the panic button on it just yet. I’ve said it all year, the season begins at TCU. Fox primetime game. Like George O’Leary said, “You either get exposure or get exposed.” 

This conference is very winnable but you need to have competent QB play. I’m not scared of this league in the least. The barometer is so warped with this past week’s games against FCS opponents and 30+ point dog opponents. Even after that performance, we looked to be ranked in the FPI Top 25 and the third-best power ranking in the league. Big 12 had a good showing (not you Houston). We had no injuries and we’re 1-0.

We’re going to be okay. 

Let’s talk after Sam Houston State. 

Football is most definitely back.

Is championship-winning football back in East Orlando? Now that’s the question. 

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