UCF Knights Ready for USF Bulls and 'War on I-4'?
It’s that one week of the year, UCF Knights versus the USF Bulls.
There have been few rivalries with less love for one another than this one in Central Florida. Before going headlong into the statistics for both teams during the week, and all the analytical data for matchups, five opening points about the game.
1) UCF must place the Navy game behind.
There’s no time to cry over the 17-14 loss to Navy. That must be 100% behind the Knights. If not, a horrible yet motivated USF team with absolutely nothing to lose can ruin UCF’s season. College football has always been in large part about emotion. That started with UCF’s meetings yesterday. Lock in, do your job.
2) To the above point, get back to playing UCF offensive football.
For whatever the reason, UCF did not look itself on offense. There’s been open discussion from UCF head football coach Gus Malzahn that quarterback John Rhys Plumlee’s shoulder was ailing. Even so, after the change to Mikey Keene, UCF had too many mental errors with blocking, catching the football, and simply carrying out assignments.
If UCF defeats USF, it will likely be because the Knights got back to being a dominant football team at the line of scrimmage. That’s then led to chunk-yardage passing plays coming from the rushing attack setting the table for much of the 2022 season.
3) UCF needs to create more turnovers.
Navy was a good football team with not having bad ball security. USF, meanwhile, has not been that way in 2022. The Bulls have lost nine fumbles and eight interceptions. Simply put, the UCF defense must create havoc; that’s especially true during the early stages of the contest to take the USF crowd out of the game and make the Bulls play from behind on the scoreboard.
4) Sudden change must favor UCF.
Whenever the Knights do gain a turnover, no time to waste. Play-action deep shots, trick plays and even just double moves on the outside. Defenses often struggle during the first play after a turnover. They are generally not ready to truly take the field, mentally speaking.
Hit the opposition when it’s least expecting it. The Knights can conceivably win this game by having just a couple of bombs work in their favor after turnovers.
5) When something does not go UCF’s way, stay the course and play football.
Not every play will be perfect. USF will make plays, get first downs, and score points. That does not mean that it’s time to panic. The Knights are an experienced football team. There’s no reason to do anything other than stay the course and keep playing UCF football.
If the Knights do that, they will be in great shape come the end of the fourth quarter. UCF is far superior to the USF squad it is facing. Now go play like it.
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