Another tough loss for the Knights under Gus Malzahn
It took me a while to get to the keyboard this week. I didn’t have much appetite for Sunday NFL action either. I didn’t want to see a football. A little sunburnt, sad, and spent, I washed up, went to Sunday Service, and decided to get right for the week. As I pulled the brass handle of the Lord’s House’s door, I was greeted by one of my favorite ushers, Joel. Joel is a mid-sixties Cuban man with an impeccable white goatee and jet-black hair who has been a part of my congregation since I was a child. He is a lovely family friend, and his son and I have done business in the past. We always talk about sports as he roots for the other side of New York’s teams (Mets/Jets), and I’ve recently explained to him betting lingo and novice strategy. He’s enjoyed it since he responsibly wagers enough for a weekly tank of gas, a cheat meal during the work week, or a little something to sprinkle on the collection plate every Sunday.
“What happened with Gustavo, papa?”
“Not now, brother. I’m still pissed off.” I remarked in disbelief with a shaking smirk.
I’m literally in the pew, shaking my head and muttering under my breath…”Unbelievable.”
Mass was fine. It is a good come down to get reset for the week and a stark reminder of fellow Floridians dealing with real-life woes. Hurricane Helene impacted many in our great state. There are much bigger things than a football game. Even so, sports still have their place in the cosmos, the human experience. Don’t tell me it’s just a game. Console me, and let’s work through the pain.
Family, what the hell was that Saturday afternoon? This week’s writer’s block was heavy; I had no interest in revisiting that debacle. I decided to review previous renditions of this column for any inkling of inspiration or spark. It’s Florida week, for crying out loud! I’ve been looking forward to this week for almost three years now. As I looked back on other pieces, I realized a theme:
“We had a great tailgate and atmosphere…”
“It was so great to see old friends…”
“This is Year_ of a rebuild…”
BUT…
But it was another showing of an uninspired team that looked flat, undisciplined, and tired—the seeming hallmark of a Malzahn-led UCF team. Our boys looked starstruck and in awe. We had a stage and launch pad to polish the brand, which has been a little worn since 2018. The ironic part is that WE looked like the team playing for clicks, not WINS. This administration is more eager to drop a slick AD edit package or post about the 20th rocket launch this month 45 miles east of campus than the actual substance of actually getting better. So much snarky social content was left on the cutting room floor because Deion Sanders, the persona of Coach Prime and the Colorado Buffaloes, pulled a proverbial Rick James on the Chappelle’s Show.
“F-ck yo couch.”
The Boulder bullies walked in with their muddy cleats from an overcast and rain-delayed kickoff and wiped them all over our white couch of a 3-0 start to the season. Big Noon Kickoff, the league commissioner, elite athletes, and entertainers that dominate the Zeitgeist were on our campus and enjoyed our energy, vibe, and people.
For Gus Malzahn to lay that type of egg on this stage is inexcusable. Four million people tuned in for that showcase. Listen, I know we’re going to lose some of them. Undefeated seasons are hard to come by. The Florida Gators never had one. But to be outclassed and dominated at home like we were this past Saturday was embarrassing and frankly hurtful. Fans did everything right. Kingdom outfit was hustlin’, getting upgrades in commitment for NIL efforts. You had a billionaire booster who has chosen our brand as his pet project to be an honorary head coach. You had the day on a silver platter as -14.5 favorites with a raucous home crowd and a juice that we’ve been trying to recalibrate since 2018 teetering, and you get rocked. No adjustments. No boost for your brand.
THIS is the Future of College Football? Disgusting.
I’m tired of feeling like absolute shit after a Malzahn loss. Fight. Compete. Stop with the lip service. Coach Prime is a motivator and leader who uses the game of football as an instrument to connect with people and be an agent of change. Gus has made this his life’s work and climbed the coaching hierarchy his entire career. He’s seen the peak of this sport. This is his profession and vocation. He was outclassed, outwitted, and outplayed. Make no mistake, there was premier NFL talent on that other roster. But we’ve matched up with Goliaths like that before. We’ve always thrived in the David role, but it’s been Dave and Busted with any iteration of this Frankenstein’d staff lately. If all you want to do is play games and “BOOM” tweet your way into another season, perhaps I don’t have the appetite anymore for this brand of football.
Ted Roof’s energy on this week’s performance pissed me off even more. It’s not a surprise we need to get better. But to be surprised by 11-man fronts? Are you going to give the best player in college football 10 yards of cushion every play? To be ranked in the 120’s for sacks four games into the season with an FCS and G5 team making up 50% of that schedule is gross. If Ted Roof trots out another unit as he did against Colorado, leave him in an Alachua County rest stop. Don’t bother using your keycard at the Wayne Densch. Maybe we embrace the up-and-comers who will use This Place as a stepping stone to launch their career and not a place for a career-long journeyman to enjoy zero state income tax in their twilight.
This weekend’s Florida game is paramount for fan morale and program building. Gus even said it himself with his dyed hair and “this is beneath me for now” energy from that first introductory presser over three years ago. “I’ll play out in the parking lot…I just wanna play ‘em and I wanna beat them.” If we cannot pull this win, with Florida being as down as ever as they’ve been, there is no future of college football here. It’s all slick talk and no real substance. That Gasparilla Bowl win three years ago, our last bowl win, looked like a point of inflection for this program and its trajectory. With a new conference affiliation, growing fanbase, and university investment, the BOOMS would always come, no matter WHOM was at the helm. And even when your crop of special four stars gets to East Orlando, will they even get to play or be developed? Win this game in The Swamp at night, and call me UCFickle. There is much more to play for this season, but the first step will be this Saturday at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
I stayed until the clock hit 00:00 last Saturday night and made the long walk to the Celeste, thinking about the season and trying to grade the most bummed I’ve been leaving a stadium, let alone my own. I remembered the feeling of being blanked 42-0 in the Swamp during my sophomore year at UCF in 2006. I had snuck into the student section to sit with my Florida friends to be an extra in the B-roll footage for the emergence of Tim Tebow starting their championship DVD reel. I remember feeling so small and inferior and seeing the massive energy of The Swamp and how passionate their fans were. This was before the Bounce House, Kevin Smith, conference championships, major bowl wins, and a brand that has evolved. The rise I’ve gotten to experience as a fan is something I’ll always cherish. Unfortunately, I’m starting to see the cracks and stall as well.
Joel asked me who I’d be picking this week. I told him I needed a week off. If Malzahn can do it, so can I.
This is what I texted him instead with a cautious advisement:
Gustavo can either redeem himself or cream himself. God bless!
UCF Losses as a Favorite under Gus
2024: CU 48 UCF 21 (-12.5)
2023: GT 30 UCF 17 (-6.5)
2023: WVU 41 UCF 28 (-5.5)
2023: Baylor 36 UCF 35 (-7.5)
2023: Kansas 51 UCF 22 (-2.5)
2022: Navy 17 UCF 14 (-14.5)
2022: ECU 34 UCF 13 (-5.5)
2022: Louisville 20 UCF 14 (-5.5)
2021: Navy 34 UCF 30 (-16.5)
2021: Louisville 42 UCF 35 (-7)
Nasty right? You remember all the hits. The momentum stallers, the putrid footnotes in UCF Football history, the missteps that prevent you from hosting a championship title game on campus your last year at the Group of Five level. The one that stalled College Gameday coming to campus after a terrible loss at East Carolina. Gus loses to the Gators, that’d make him 9-9 over the last two seasons thus far. Mediocrity.
I need this one Saturday. 19-year-old me needs this one. 36-year-old me needs this one, too. Knight Nation at large needs this one. George O’Leary always said, “Every time you lose, you die a little bit.” It’s true. That is the blessing and the curse of being a fan. Lose this one Saturday, and anything short of a trip to Arlington will lose a large chunk of this fanbase’s faith in Gus. Be sure of that.
I’m Ride or Die, but a man can only take so much dying.
BEAT FLORIDA. If not…Mamma Mia! It will be a “tough and together” ride on the Gus Bus until 2027.
Hugs and kisses.
Dali
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