Like Gus, I’ve got no answers for you

by | Oct 15, 2024 | 0 comments

Home E Football E Like Gus, I’ve got no answers for you

Knights drop their third straight game

Welcome back, fellow Knight Nerds.

We’ve reached the halfway point of the 2024 football season for the UCF Knights. What once seemed like a promising season has, depending on your perspective, turned into a struggle to stay relevant in the conference. At worst, it could be considered a lost season where even bowl eligibility might be out of reach. Personally, I lean towards the latter view, but I’m a pessimist when it comes to UCF Football. It’s not out of lack of love for the Knights. On the contrary, my happiness is directly linked with their success. So, when they lose, I take it harder than most. So far this season, I haven’t seen anything that convinces me the Knights can secure three more wins, especially given the tougher half of the schedule ahead.

This week, for instance, UCF travels to Ames, Iowa—UCF Yankees Mike’s favorite city—to face the top-10 ranked Cyclones. Yes, you read that correctly: a top-10 team. The Cyclones have been performing exceptionally well this season, making this an incredibly challenging matchup for the Knights. The upcoming games will be crucial in determining whether UCF can turn things around or if this season will indeed be written off as a disappointment.

So how did we get here? Honestly, I just don’t know. I wish I had some answers for the many questions that UCF fans have been asking all season. Where’s the offense? Why can’t the defense get off the field on third down? Why did UCF lose a slew of players to the transfer portal? Why has UCF been ONLY wearing black and white?? Okay, maybe that last one was just for me, but all of the other questions have had me scratching my head for several weeks now.

The team’s issues became glaringly apparent during the Florida game last week. In a loss that I took particularly hard, the team looked flat and was simply “out-talented” by a Gators team that has looked poor all season long. UF had their way with the Knights the entire game. This week, UCF hosted Cincinnati inside the Bounce House for what should have been a bounce-back game for the Knights. Instead, we saw more of the same from UCF. The offense managed a mere 13 points, and the defense was chewed up all game long. We saw more clock management issues from the sidelines and absolutely zero tempo towards the end of the game, where the Knights were down by two scores.

All these issues combined can lead to a lot of frustration for fellow Knights’ fans. It’s tough to watch this team struggle, especially when expectations have been high since the start. The questions you’re asking are valid and reflect a deep concern for the team’s future.

It seems the UCF coaching staff is just as baffled as the fans. Coach Malzahn genuinely believed, before the season kicked off, that this team had the chops to compete for the Big 12 title. I don’t think he was pulling anyone’s leg. The real kicker (no, not Boomer, he’s gone) isn’t just that UCF is on a three-game losing skid; it’s that this slump follows the coaches’ confident assertions (or at least the impression they gave) that the team was stronger than it has shown to be. Moreover, the coaches’ current struggle to pinpoint and fix these issues is a major red flag.

So, what can I say this week other than, “We’ll see what happens.” I’m not holding my breath for the Knights to leave Iowa with a win, but hey, crazier things have happened. Gus has a knack for pulling off surprise victories now and then. We might get a closer look at UCF’s freshman quarterback EJ Colson, who made his starting debut last week. We’ll likely see more of Jacurri Brown, the Miami transfer who looked quite promising last week, too. At the very least, we might get a glimpse of what the 2025 team has in store at the quarterback position.

Charge On!

About Brian W. Peterson
Brian W. Peterson | UCF Class of 2010 (B.S.B.A Accounting) Brian is a past UCF Student Body President (2009-2010) and former member of the UCF Board of Trustees. He’s also a practicing CPA in the State of Florida, Husband, Father, Professor, Dog-lover, and Wendy’s Connoisseur. Views are his own and not representative of the University. @BrianWPeterson on Twitter/X @BriWPeterson on Instagram

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