#14 UCF Football (7-0) @ SMU

[craig01]

Bortles throwing on the move is a great asset as the Jags are finding out.

On a UCF note: has anyone been to any practices?

[UCFJayBird]

UCF 26th in the AP.

Less than two weeks now until Penn State.

[UCF]

Had blake stayed being 26 would have upset me. Without blake I think they are rewarding us for good season. Also, it must really get the gator fans worked up being behind us in the rankings

[Optimus_Steel]

Blake tore it up Thursday night. Some of those bullet passes while on the run were amazing and accurate. Plus, he had he soft touch when needed too. He is going to be something special.

When I saw his first start at UCF i felt like he could be a real good NFL quarterback. He has it, the talent, the tools, leadership, the mentality. He has the "it" factor.

[recko321]

I fly out Monday. I'm hoping this volcano doesn't ruin the thousands of dollars I and others have spent on this trip. Anyone else gonna be over there.

[craig01]

Bortles looked really in command last night against the Lions.

He might just force the starting issue as it appears he is quickly earning the job.

[UCFJayBird]

I fly out Monday. I'm hoping this volcano doesn't ruin the thousands of dollars I and others have spent on this trip. Anyone else gonna be over there.

Have fun out there. The team flies out Tuesday so I think once they're there it will be played even if it does erupt. Hopefully nothing happens.

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[UCFJayBird]

Of course I write that this morning and now a small eruption has begun and could get bigger. We'll see how it impacts everything.

[UCF]

Temple showed up and kicked vandy's butt. Go AAC!

[AdamTheGreek]

Yeah, Temple looking good last night.

The football field is going to look amazing on t.v. tomorrow. Not like UCF's helmets with the pot of gold and the clovers though.

[UCFJayBird]

ESPN will finally display UCF into of C. Florida. WOO!

[AdamTheGreek]

I want it to be Holman.

Too bad O'Leary took a full half to figure it out.

Fun game either way.

[UCFJayBird]

Heartbreaking loss. A few things to take away IMO.

1. You never really know how good a player will be until they get their first action in college. DiNovo earned the job because he wouldn't make mistakes, and the coaching staff clearly thought he'd be able to move the ball enough. But he's the type of QB who would need A LOT of time to throw. It looked like every time he got pressure, he tucked the ball and tried to run (right into our offensive line). Holman on the other hand was considered the riskier player, with higher upside, but could make mistakes. But the guy came in and is a gamer. He has "it" IMO. Thought he did in his limited snaps last season. Coaches picked the wrong guy to start the season, and it likely cost us the game.

2. Holman is likely our QB for the next three years. Not quite ready to crown him, but he looked fantastic. Would be highly disappointed if he's not starting against Missouri. Our offense just looked 10x better with him at the helm. Should Holman continue to play well, DiNovo may be playing backup his entire career here, or transfer out.

3. Our defense is better than what we saw today. The defense was pretty good for most of the game. Just gave up a few huge plays, specifically that TD in the second half where we bit on the pump fake. Can't have that happen.

4. UCF's offense will be good this year if Holman is consistent and we get healthy (we were without our top RB and top WR).

5. GOL led teams cannot have "game manager" QBs. When they do they become the most predictable offense in the world. We saw this for years before Bortles. The second our QB is questionable we stop being aggressive and run 75% of the time, which is a recipe for disaster.

6. Perhaps the biggest blunder of the game was not getting the TD on 4th and Goal from the 1. The team ran three straight run plays and then DiNovo threw the ball out on 4th down. We get it through we likely win the game.

7. Officiating was terrible on all sides. Several blown and bad calls for and against both teams. Of course my mind instantly pops to the roughing the kicker that led to a TD for PSU in the first half, but that's no excuse for giving up that huge throw to Hackenberg. Our secondary should be better, and Hack went off.

edit:

8. I think we can win our next 11 games if it wasn't a fluke from Holman.

[bondom34]

Good game guys, looks like you may have found a solid QB for a few years.

[craig01]

Interesting game, defense wasn't very good....especially the two blown assignments by the secondary.

Stanback was sorely missed as Ucf does not have anyone else of his calibre.

Starting DiNovo was a terrible mistake. I get the game manager thing, but seriously....I see mediocre HS QB's weekly with better arm strength. His weak arm was evident during the spring game, and I just don't see how coaches could think he could manage his way through a game. Eventually he would have to throw the ball anyway.

Oh well, hopefully Holman remains the starter from now on and DiNovo can carry a clipboard. Patti has a much better arm than PDN too although not as good as Holman's.

[UCFJayBird]

Not feeling too good about Stanback's turf toe. Had it in the spring as well, so if it's still giving him problems (enough not to play in a big game) than it may be heading towards medical redshirt territory.

Not as worried about the defense. I think Penn State is going to put up big yardage against every team they face just because of Hackenburg. Can't have those big play mistakes though. Take those two big mistakes out and the defense played fairly well IMO (but not as good as we had been touting it to be).

[UCF]

Our running game missed him and storm badly. Can't help but wonder just how great this team would have been with Blake and storm back for their fourth year of eligibility.

[Optimus_Steel]

Interesting game, defense wasn't very good....especially the two blown assignments by the secondary.

Stanback was sorely missed as Ucf does not have anyone else of his calibre.

Starting DiNovo was a terrible mistake. I get the game manager thing, but seriously....I see mediocre HS QB's weekly with better arm strength. His weak arm was evident during the spring game, and I just don't see how coaches could think he could manage his way through a game. Eventually he would have to throw the ball anyway.

Oh well, hopefully Holman remains the starter from now on and DiNovo can carry a clipboard. Patti has a much better arm than PDN too although not as good as Holman's.

You have to seriously question GOL's thought process because DiNovo has no arm. He can't throw. He cant run. It was an embarrassing performance and to start him in the game, in Ireland as a rookie and first game of the season, and then start him again after half cost us this game. Holman is legit. He is a real qb. How the coaches missed this is shocking.

[UCFJayBird]

Interesting game, defense wasn't very good....especially the two blown assignments by the secondary.

Stanback was sorely missed as Ucf does not have anyone else of his calibre.

Starting DiNovo was a terrible mistake. I get the game manager thing, but seriously....I see mediocre HS QB's weekly with better arm strength. His weak arm was evident during the spring game, and I just don't see how coaches could think he could manage his way through a game. Eventually he would have to throw the ball anyway.

Oh well, hopefully Holman remains the starter from now on and DiNovo can carry a clipboard. Patti has a much better arm than PDN too although not as good as Holman's.

You have to seriously question GOL's thought process because DiNovo has no arm. He can't throw. He cant run. It was an embarrassing performance and to start him in the game, in Ireland as a rookie and first game of the season, and then start him again after half cost us this game. Holman is legit. He is a real qb. How the coaches missed this is shocking.

If you ask people who went to practice though, Holman had fallen off since the Spring and DiNovo had played well in practice. You could tell Holman had better physical tools, but apparently his accuracy was poor. By the time the starting QB was named, Holman was deflated and visibly upset. While DiNovo was able to run the plays in practice and move the ball.

People who attended more than a few practices were not that surprised. I think it's clear that GOL places a lot of emphasis on poise in the huddle, fieldsmanship, etc. Probably too much so.

Clearly though, Holman has shown he is a gamer. Someone who might not practice that well but thrives in a real game situation (unless Saturday was a fluke, but I doubt it given I felt he looked just as good last season in limited action). You hope DiNovo's was more of a fluke and the freshman jitters. But his arm clearly isn't ready. Some guys take a few years to get there physically, so maybe in a year or two DiNovo will be a really good QB. But as of right now, I think it's clear the decision going forward is Holman.

[UCF]

In scheduling news... UCF finally adds future games. 2015 @ Stanford, 2019 at Home vs Stanford.