UCF - the best in Florida football

[The Svengali]

Just the fact that they wouldn't let UCF in a major P5 conference despite the fact that they are the largest university in the US speaks volumes.

If UCF was allowed to join a P5 conference and didn't, then one could have an argument that they were avoiding competition.

We made it through as an independent for years but those days are far gone.

The only volume I hear is members of the P5 cartel screaming to not allow them in, because they didn’t want to split the financial pie with any other teams that didn’t feel had enough “tradition”. It had nothing to do with athletic competence, and everything to do with money and so called tradition. The P5 traditional football conferences have a monopoly and everyone else was crushed.

It’s the same reason UCONN, winners of 3 NCAA titles in Men’s hoops in the last 20 years was left out.

 

[For_The_U]

Do you feel the same way about Miami, after we won out title in 2001, while playing in the Big East? We only had to get up for two games because the conference was trash. We only needed to get up for VT and FSU.

Do those Big East Miami teams fall into the same category as UCF?

In fact, UCF has been light years better than Miami for a decade (the past 9-10 years) not just the past 3 years.

Remember the Louisville team (led by bridgewater) that beat the breaks off Miami in 2013??? Louisville embarrassed Miami in that game. But guess what? UCF beat that Louisville team. It was Louisville’s only loss that season.

UCF is the new Miami - there getting similar to what we were in the 80s. No one respects them because they’re an upstart but all they do is beat everyone.

And the parallels don’t stop there. The fact that they’ve gone through 3 different coaching regimes in the past 6-7 years and still continue to win big is equally impressive (like Miami in the 80s...schnelly, JJ snd Erickson)

The 2001 Miami Hurricanes opened the season vs Penn State in Happy Valley where they won by almost 30. They went on the road and faced a top 15 FSU team in Doak, winning by over 20. They faced three other top 15 teams in three consecutive weeks: humiliating #14 Syracuse 59-0, welcoming #12 Washington to the Orange Bowl where they beat the living snot out of them by almost 60 points, then got a W over #14 VT in Blacksburg. Every one of those teams finished the season ranked: Cuse at 14, FSU at 15, VT at 18, Washington at 19, and even Boston College who Miami also beat that year finished the season ranked #21. Yep, pure trash. And of course, they finished the year with one of the most dominating championship game performances in history. But you're right, that team clearly only had to get up for 2 games all year. Shame on them!

Let's compare that to UCF's 2017 slate consisting of: FIU, MD, Cincy, ECU, Navy, Austin Peay, SMU, UCONN, Temple, USF and Memphis. But they beat ranked teams too!! Yep, they sure did, notching wins over that powerhouse program from Tampa and Mighty Memphis! Did a single team that UCF beat that regular season finish the year ranked? Yeah, one did, Memphis at #25. But unquestionably that one Memphis team bringing up the rear should equate to the 5 final ranked teams Miami beat, that makes perfect sense.

Clearly those schedules are one in the same. How dare anyone question how absolutely unbelievable that 2017 Knights team was, they beat every one put in front of them! In fact, you're right Svengali, not only was it a crime that UCF didn't get a playoff spot after running through that gargantuan regular season schedule where they were clearly the rightful National Champions, it's ridiculous that they aren't crowned as the greatest team to ever play the sport. Fvck the '01 Canes!

 

[caneworld]

So you're saying Richt and Manny were lazy cheap hires?

We were very fortunate to get Richt (Our only outright Coastal title , IPF etc) ....despite how he later failed at the end.

At least he had enough class to know that his time had past and didn't make us buy him out....so I bear him no ill will.

And you don't think that getting Manny was a good choice?

While IMO the jury is still out on him after 3 games....his flaws are correctable....and his enthusiasm is extremely difficult to match.

So not only do I think we wouldn't have done much better seeking a replacement....I like our future prospects with him as/if he corrects his deficiencies. ( which I've noted in other posts)

So..no problem....we simply disagree

The process was lazy and incompetent... any wonder why we are where we are since 2004

 

[The Svengali]

The 2001 Miami Hurricanes opened the season vs Penn State in Happy Valley where they won by almost 30. They went on the road and faced a top 15 FSU team in Doak, winning by over 20. They faced three other top 15 teams in three consecutive weeks: humiliating #14 Syracuse 59-0, welcoming #12 Washington to the Orange Bowl where they beat the living snot out of them by almost 60 points, then got a W over #14 VT in Blacksburg. Every one of those teams finished the season ranked: Cuse at 14, FSU at 15, VT at 18, Washington at 19, and even Boston College who Miami also beat that year finished the season ranked #21. Yep, pure trash. And of course, they finished the year with one of the most dominating championship game performances in history. But you're right, that team clearly only had to get up for 2 games all year. Shame on them!

Let's compare that to UCF's 2017 slate consisting of: FIU, MD, Cincy, ECU, Navy, Austin Peay, SMU, UCONN, Temple, USF and Memphis. But they beat ranked teams too!! Yep, they sure did, notching wins over that powerhouse program from Tampa and Mighty Memphis! Did a single team that UCF beat that regular season finish the year ranked? Yeah, one did, Memphis at #25. But unquestionably that one Memphis team bringing up the rear should equate to the 5 final ranked teams Miami beat, that makes perfect sense.

Clearly those schedules are one in the same. How dare anyone question how absolutely unbelievable that 2017 Knights team was, they beat every one put in front of them! In fact, you're right Svengali, not only was it a crime that UCF didn't get a playoff spot after running through that gargantuan regular season schedule where they were clearly the rightful National Champions, it's ridiculous that they aren't crowned as the greatest team to ever play the sport. Fvck the '01 Canes!

The same Cincinnati team that beat Miami a few years ago??? That Cincinnati???

UCF has been beating the so called “weak” teams Miami has been losing to. Not just losing, but losing soundly (Cincy, Louisville, etc)

You don’t see that??

 

[For_The_U]

The same Cincinnati team that beat Miami a few years ago??? That Cincinnati???

You present an opinion (a ridiculous one, but one you clearly spent a lot of effort crafting), my response to it leaves you as a chalk outline on the pavement and you come back with that?!?



Cincinnati finished the 2017 season with a 4-8 record, including going 2-6 vs those same sh-t AAC teams. **** of a notch on UCF's belt that year. Crown 'em!

 

[Waffle Honcho]

The same Cincinnati team that beat Miami a few years ago??? That Cincinnati???

UCF has been beating the so called “weak” teams Miami has been losing to. Not just losing, but losing soundly (Cincy, Louisville, etc)

You don’t see that??

So it's cool to bring up our 2014 and 2015 seasons, but completely ignore that UCF went 0-12 in 2015 and lost to an FCS school. These arguments aren't biased at all.

And by the way that 2015 Cincy team that beat us 34-23 beat UCF 52-7 later that month.

 

[Salt]

You present an opinion (a ridiculous one, but one you clearly spent a lot of effort crafting), my response to it leaves you as a chalk outline on the pavement and you come back with that?!?



Cincinnati finished the 2017 season with a 4-8 record, including going 2-6 vs those same sh-t AAC teams. **** of a notch on UCF's belt that year. Crown 'em!

that's a good point. If you want to compare them with Miami that season then fine. But to make the further claim they are championship material from that result is a bit of a stretch.

 

[hoops156]

So it's cool to bring up our 2014 and 2015 seasons, but completely ignore that UCF went 0-12 in 2015 and lost to an FCS school. These arguments aren't biased at all.

hes prolly a UCF grad so this is his hard on time

 

[For_The_U]

that's a good point. If you want to compare them with Miami that season then fine. But to make the further claim they are championship material from that result is a bit of a stretch.

Exactly. If Miami was the benchmark for whether a CFB team is elite, then those posts would make a lot of sense. But Miami hasn't been that in almost two decades. More importantly, the topic we were on wasn't about Miami, it's about UCF being considered one of THE best in the sport. I personally don't think running through a regular season slate that includes one ranked team (and #25 Memphis at that) and then winning a bowl game warrants that kind of talk. Yet we have posters here like Svengali gleefully running to his keyboard to come and tout UCF's win over 4-8 Cincy that year as proof they do. Wtf?!?

 

[Salt]

they play Pitt @ Pitt this weekend. Judging from their game against Stanford I came away thinking how bad Stanford looked than how great UCF is. Stanford looked like a shell of its former self. Secondary was terrible and qb play was very bad. Not one of Shaw's better teams this year.

Pitt gave Penn State all they could handle. And it will be an interesting game within a game when Whipple's offense goes against Shannon's defense. I would bet Whipple would not mind lighting them up if he can. Needless to say he knows Shannon's defense and tendencies pretty well I think. You can also say vice-versa.

Still, UCF has played their schedule and won. Can't really knock them for that. But they do remind me a bit of Boise State back in the day when they were winning playing in a weak conference and clamoring for national recognition. They went on to beat Stoop's OU team in a bowl game one year which shut everyone up. But look at them now. I see UCF in the same vein.

I do like their offense and their qb looks legit. Eventually their time will run out though.

 

[For_The_U]

they play Pitt @ Pitt this weekend. Judging from their game against Stanford I came away thinking how bad Stanford looked than how great UCF is. Stanford looked like a shell of its former self. Secondary was terrible and qb play was very bad. Not one of Shaw's better teams this year.

Pitt gave Penn State all they could handle. And it will be an interesting game within a game when Whipple's offense goes against Shannon's defense. I would bet Whipple would not mind lighting them up if he can. Needless to say he knows Shannon's defense and tendencies pretty well I think. You can also say vice-versa.

Still, UCF has played their schedule and won. Can't really knock them for that. But they do remind me a bit of Boise State back in the day when they were winning playing in a weak conference and clamoring for national recognition. They went on to beat Stoop's OU team in a bowl game one year which shut everyone up. But look at them now. I see UCF in the same vein.

I do like their offense and their qb looks legit. Eventually their time will run out though.

I definitely don't knock them; ****, I even acknowledged at the start of this thread that they are playing the best football in the state of Florida right now. Like I said above, there are 100 degrees between knocking them and anointing them as some CFB goliath. Anyone with half a brain falls somewhere in the middle, not on either extreme end of the spectrum. I have a very high opinion on what UCF has accomplished over the last 5 years, everybody does and rightfully so. I just think it's ridiculous to put them on the same level as Bama or Clemson over the same time period. They simply don't have the resume to justify that kind of talk. That's my entire point, and it doesn't equate to saying they suck or knocking them. They're a good team, and they deserve full credit for what they've achieved over the last few years. But the reality is, if they had to play 6+ tough games every year they wouldn't have undefeated seasons.

 

[Fightinibis]

The rest are pretenders

How can anybody disagree with this, whether you hate UCF, their fans, or anything else?

UF sucks, we lost to UF, and F$U speaks for themselves. Are we arguing USF, FIU or FAU are the best in Florida?

Seriously...MAYBE we give UCF a decent game toward the end of the year once hopefully our coaching catches up and we gel some, but even then....I'm not so sure. I know right now (or at least 2 weeks ago) they would make our defense look Stanfordesque....

 

[DTP]

I went to UCF and I've seen a ton of their games. Offensively they can hang with almost everybody. Huepel's system is solid. His only weakness is that it tends to rely too much on big plays. Where as Frost could beat you 10 yards at a time, Huepel is seemingly always setting up the big gainer. They struggled against Cincy last season at home when Milton couldn't connect on deep passes and the Bearcats managed to keep everything in front of them.

On defense they're garbage. They get lit up by any AAC team that has an offense, they just manage to outscore them most of the time.

P5 teams like Pitt and Stanford who have below average offenses are tailor made for them. You're not going to beat them 14-10. If you can't at least go punch for punch with them on offense, you've got no shot.

 

[Waffle Honcho]

Still, UCF has played their schedule and won. Can't really knock them for that. But they do remind me a bit of Boise State back in the day when they were winning playing in a weak conference and clamoring for national recognition. They went on to beat Stoop's OU team in a bowl game one year which shut everyone up. But look at them now. I see UCF in the same vein.

I do like their offense and their qb looks legit. Eventually their time will run out though.

The only thing I'd argue is that their win over OU shut anyone up. They went undefeated again a few years later in 2009 and still finished the regular season at #6. But I'd agree that UCF will suffer the same fate if they go undefeated again. There's just no way they'd jump a 1 or 2 loss SEC team.

 

[MainLineCane]

No. ..But a good AD can hire somebody who can teach how to coach, block, tackle etc... instead of looking for lazy, cheap coaching hires.

You do realize that almost every University utilizes a committee system in their selection process for HC's.

No AD finds, interviews and selects the candidates all on his own

The AD doesn't make his decision ALONE in a vacuum. While he usually has the most prominent voice as to the final selection.....he's getting plenty of input and advice from many others.

That's why although he's ultimately responsible there are plenty of limitations and other considerations such as budget; Personal Integrity; Univ. & player fit along with coaching acumen etc etc from which he's getting plenty of input from many others that helps to narrow the list of available choices.

Whenever a bad choice is made there is plenty of blame to go around.

Whether you choose to accept that or not doesn't change the fact that that is the world an AD operates in.

 

[Salt]

The only thing I'd argue is that their win over OU shut anyone up. They went undefeated again a few years later in 2009 and still finished the regular season at #6. But I'd agree that UCF will suffer the same fate if they go undefeated again. There's just no way they'd jump a 1 or 2 loss SEC team.

That was the main game I recall but yes, they had a nice run. Petersen was a good coach for them. Hueppel will eventually get a power 5 offer like Frost did. Things go in cycles and as a UM fan don't we know that very well!

 

[SFbayCane]

LOL Well played, sir.

UCF @ Pitt this Saturday.


Juuuus-sayin'

 

[The Svengali]

So it's cool to bring up our 2014 and 2015 seasons, but completely ignore that UCF went 0-12 in 2015 and lost to an FCS school. These arguments aren't biased at all.

And by the way that 2015 Cincy team that beat us 34-23 beat UCF 52-7 later that month.

Agree or disagree: UCF has had a better football program than Miami the past decade

Let’s just simplify this: agree or disagree with that statement

 

[Waffle Honcho]

Agree or disagree: UCF has had a better football program than Miami the past decade

Let’s just simplify this: agree or disagree with that statement

If we had an annual rivalry we would’ve beaten them the first 9 years, but probably not last year.

 

[Salt]

Agree or disagree: UCF has had a better football program than Miami the past decade

Let’s just simplify this: agree or disagree with that statement

what is your specific metric that makes a program "better" than another? If you want to say UCF has a better team than UM the last decade that is arguable. Last time we played UCF was in '08 and we beat them head to head. Haven't played since. Both play in two different conferences. have different strength of schedules, etc. Not saying they aren't a better team right now, but so many variables to consider when you say better "program" vs. just "team".

Also if you just look at which program churns out NFL ready products, even if the past decade, which program is better?