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Jernigan

By Jernigan
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jrs2 Metropolis

jrs2

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20 hours ago, spenser1058 said:

You may be right about Gus and Beaunicks - I haven’t paid a lot of attention to the nuts and bolts of Auburn and more to how the politics has sorted out. I will say this - any coach who could beat Saban three times is likely a better bet than what they’ve got now. But hey, we’re benefiting from Auburn’s folly.

It’s hard for me to understand Gus messing up their recruiting though, because in less than a year he’s transformed ours. Some of that is because we can say we’re going to the Big XII but the hs coaches around town are singing Gus’ praises, especially compared to Heup who completely ignored the talent in his own backyard.

Auburn, of course, is b***thurt because the Tide has the state government wrapped around their finger. No it isn’t fair but, hey, it’s Alabama. And Tuscaloosa is paranoid, to the point where they shut down UAB’s football program as if they were some sort of threat. It was a ridiculous case of doing it just because they could.

Once upon a time, when you went to UF, pledged ATO and signed on to Blue Key to join our state’s power structure, Gainesville had that kind of pull. They’re still getting used to not having that, starting with Jeb! and all the Republicans that have no ties to the state.

Oh well, all I can say is I’m happy as can be with events, especially since Duh Cows are absolutely miserable. Florida appears to have four competent head coaches now, so it’s likely to be fun again!

next year is gonna be interesting in Florida.  Mario at Da U, FSU, Napier, and Gus.  UCF in the Big XII with a seasoned P5/SEC coach in Gus can really move things along even faster for that program.  

UAB lost to food, but recovered by recently beating No.12 BYU.  Wow.

Auburn...after Bear retired, Pat Dye really got them going.  But his reign had its downfall coinciding with the retirement of Vince at UGA.  Then he clashed with SOS in 1990 and got slapped silly.  Terry came in for the 1993 campaign and was an immediate spark and they dominated.  Gene at Bama tempered that a bit, so when Majors left UT, you had Terry, Steve, Gene and Phil and the big coaches in the SEC for a few years straight.  I think the advent of Saban has really made a lot of programs rethink their own programs- somewhat unrealistically me thinks.  UCF benefited from this.  But even when Chiz was coaching Auburn and Gus was OC, Cam was one and done and the combination of him on offense and Fairley on defense, Auburn was a serious force.  I would say Gus' biggest mess up was throwing a prevent defense at Crab Legs with a minute left in regulation.  That really hurt (the Gators).

Aside from that, Gus is a good offensive mind.  And if he's getting the recruits and not being lazy about it (like Mullen (or as UGA fans refer to him...Cousin Eddie)), then he adds even more value to the program.

UCF did well notwithstanding losing Gabriel when they did, and went 9-4. They can definitely improve on that in Year 2 under Gus.

If Napier can flip the losses to SoCar, Mizzou, and Kentucky and still beat UT, then UF can go 9-3 in the regular season with losses to UGA, maybe LSU and maybe the SECW team they play (not Bama).  But they still need to beat FSU in Tally which, may be harder now that they proved they have a QB in Travis that can't be contained.

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spenser1058
spenser1058

I think what you’re missing is that just about every program has a spark that changes everything. It’s what happens after that spark that matters. When did football at The U ever matter before Ho

dcluley98
dcluley98

Ya'll should both just combine and absorb Florida Polytechnic University as it was originally planned, call yourself University of South Central Florida Knighty-Bulls and build a giant Taj Mahal Stadi

Jernigan
Jernigan

Congrats to the UCF Knights for their 2017 National Championship!  13-0, what a season.

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spenser1058 Gigalopolis

spenser1058

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19 minutes ago, jrs2 said:

next year is gonna be interesting in Florida.  Mario at Da U, FSU, Napier, and Gus.  UCF in the Big XII with a seasoned P5/SEC coach in Gus can really move things along even faster for that program.  

UAB lost to food, but recovered by recently beating No.12 BYU.  Wow.

Auburn...after Bear retired, Pat Dye really got them going.  But his reign had its downfall coinciding with the retirement of Vince at UGA.  Then he clashed with SOS in 1990 and got slapped silly.  Terry came in for the 1993 campaign and was an immediate spark and they dominated.  Gene at Bama tempered that a bit, so when Majors left UT, you had Terry, Steve, Gene and Phil and the big coaches in the SEC for a few years straight.  I think the advent of Saban has really made a lot of programs rethink their own programs- somewhat unrealistically me thinks.  UCF benefited from this.  But even when Chiz was coaching Auburn and Gus was OC, Cam was one and done and the combination of him on offense and Fairley on defense, Auburn was a serious force.  I would say Gus' biggest mess up was throwing a prevent defense at Crab Legs with a minute left in regulation.  That really hurt (the Gators).

Aside from that, Gus is a good offensive mind.  And if he's getting the recruits and not being lazy about it (like Mullen (or as UGA fans refer to him...Cousin Eddie)), then he adds even more value to the program.

UCF did well notwithstanding losing Gabriel when they did, and went 9-4. They can definitely improve on that in Year 2 under Gus.

If Napier can flip the losses to SoCar, Mizzou, and Kentucky and still beat UT, then UF can go 9-3 in the regular season with losses to UGA, maybe LSU and maybe the SECW team they play (not Bama).  But they still need to beat FSU in Tally which, may be harder now that they proved they have a QB in Travis that can't be contained.

Did you know Chizik was once a UCF assistant and was interested in being HC when TMo hired Gus?

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spenser1058

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Great article by Matt Baker at theTampa Bay Times about Cincy’s success. A couple of things will surprise the conventional wisdom crowd in college football.

First, Coach Luke Fickell figured out it was pointless to attempt to beat out Ohio State on recruits. Hence, here we have a CFP team that runs on 3-star recruits and is cleaning up with them. 

Second, they’re recruiting players close to home - in fact, the majority are from Cincy. One standout player loves his hometown so much he has a tattoo of the city. So many folks online are convinced every coach is just looking for the next job, wherever it may be, for the money. Obviously, he took the song about his town to heart: “…Got tired of packin’ and unpackin’, town to town, up and down the dial…”

Coach Fickell is showing he can be successful growing his program right at home where he wants to be and his players are picking up on that. UCF’s Dillon Gabriel may have had a great arm but what good is it if he’s not loyal to the program? Lane Kiffin may have a dazzling offensive mind but what happened at Tennessee, USC and FAU when he abruptly left? Yep, it’s old school thinking and Fickell shows it still works.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/os-sp-what-usf-bulls-can-learn-from-cincinnati-playoff-run-1231-20211230-pd4h2wq3ajabzab5hq5panv6ae-story.html
 

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jrs2 Metropolis

jrs2

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23 hours ago, spenser1058 said:

Great article by Matt Baker at theTampa Bay Times about Cincy’s success. A couple of things will surprise the conventional wisdom crowd in college football.

First, Coach Luke Fickell figured out it was pointless to attempt to beat out Ohio State on recruits. Hence, here we have a CFP team that runs on 3-star recruits and is cleaning up with them. 

Second, they’re recruiting players close to home - in fact, the majority are from Cincy. One standout player loves his hometown so much he has a tattoo of the city. So many folks online are convinced every coach is just looking for the next job, wherever it may be, for the money. Obviously, he took the song about his town to heart: “…Got tired of packin’ and unpackin’, town to town, up and down the dial…”

Coach Fickell is showing he can be successful growing his program right at home where he wants to be and his players are picking up on that. UCF’s Dillon Gabriel may have had a great arm but what good is it if he’s not loyal to the program? Lane Kiffin may have a dazzling offensive mind but what happened at Tennessee, USC and FAU when he abruptly left? Yep, it’s old school thinking and Fickell shows it still works.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/os-sp-what-usf-bulls-can-learn-from-cincinnati-playoff-run-1231-20211230-pd4h2wq3ajabzab5hq5panv6ae-story.html
 

Coach Luke at Cincy is a great fit and story.  He fits there and has them rolling.  Probably won't win tonight as he's down 27-6, but then again, who would win against Bama this year (other than Jimbo)? 

SOS at UF was kind of similar.  I had Tennessee fans bragging at me about UT's recruiting prowess in the mid-2000's making reference to SOS in that he "could do more with less..." yeah, whatever. I think UGA took those jabs too in the '90's during those Goff years.

I worried when SOS left UF b/c I felt that unless a coach had a vested interest in a program's success, that he just wasn't going to give it the 110% necessary.  Meyer made me believe that if you want to make a name for yourself, and you're good, and your program is lucky enough to be the host program for that coach, then you're in good shape.  You are for only a short period of time though.

Gus may stay at UCF for a while now that they're in the Big XII.  He may stay there to prove his detractors wrong. Whatever the reason, if UCF benefits from good coaching then ride it as long as you can.  Hopefully, Napier gets it going at UF and decides he's happy there.

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spenser1058

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After UK’s win today at the Citrus Bowl, it’s worth noting that Mark Stoops, like Luke Fickell, is another coach staying in place and building a much better program than anyone ever expected.

BTW, it’s worth noting that Stoops’ contract only expects him to win like 7 games/year. Basketball will always rule the roost there but creative thinking by the AD and coach show the path to success.

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jrs2 Metropolis

jrs2

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On 1/1/2022 at 5:19 PM, spenser1058 said:

After UK’s win today at the Citrus Bowl, it’s worth noting that Mark Stoops, like Luke Fickell, is another coach staying in place and building a much better program than anyone ever expected.

BTW, it’s worth noting that Stoops’ contract only expects him to win like 7 games/year. Basketball will always rule the roost there but creative thinking by the AD and coach show the path to success.

...and now, the default view of UK football is not that they suck; now, people are seeing that they are a consistently competent squad.  that stability with Mark has really helped with this.  He is a god there; he has job security there.  Leaving for a bigger program would job put his head on the chopping block with a timer ticking away.

I think UK lost three games in a row too.  They kept it together and got back on track.  They lost to Kirby, Air Raid, and Josh.  But they blew out Louisville on the road, and then Iowa in the bowl game.  

Their QB, Levis (um, named after jeans), was running up the middle getting good yardage while UF's Jones was throwing late passes to opposing defenses.  I'll never understand how Mullen didn't let Jones play to his strengths and kept having him force passes when he clearly couldn't make the reads in time.

But, like you said, the consistency at HC is paying off.  UT can learn something from this.  Hopefully UF doesn't get as bad as UT with that carousel culture- but they're close.

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spenser1058

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I talked about loyalty and that DG was a little lacking in that department. Well, he just switched schools again. I know he was chasing Lebby around the country but dang.

It always seemed the maturity KZ and Bortles had was something to expect and DG just didn’t seem to have it but we thought he could grow into it. Obviously, that was wrong.

Oh well, hopefully OU will be a good fit and he doesn’t get a rep for being flighty. Of course, I guess the NFL doesn’t care because once he signs a contract he’ll have to sit tight until he becomes a free agent.

We probably now know why Gus didn’t seem disappointed when he flew the coop.

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jrs2 Metropolis

jrs2

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17 hours ago, spenser1058 said:

I talked about loyalty and that DG was a little lacking in that department. Well, he just switched schools again. I know he was chasing Lebby around the country but dang.

It always seemed the maturity KZ and Bortles had was something to expect and DG just didn’t seem to have it but we thought he could grow into it. Obviously, that was wrong.

Oh well, hopefully OU will be a good fit and he doesn’t get a rep for being flighty. Of course, I guess the NFL doesn’t care because once he signs a contract he’ll have to sit tight until he becomes a free agent.

We probably now know why Gus didn’t seem disappointed when he flew the coop.

so, DG is at OU and that former commit, Evers, from UF, is going there too.  this new NIL culture and the whole getting to the big money quicker is playing a major role in these players wanting to start now and get the contract now and the money now.  no  more loyalty to a school, to a logo, to a legacy or history of a program.  those days are long gone unfortunately.

I think DG went to UCF because of the legacy KZ created with Frosty.  But perhaps when KZ transferred out, maybe that made it ok for DG to do the same.  I think if KZ was still there- even on the sidelines, DG would have stayed...

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spenser1058

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6 minutes ago, jrs2 said:

so, DG is at OU and that former commit, Evers, from UF, is going there too.  this new NIL culture and the whole getting to the big money quicker is playing a major role in these players wanting to start now and get the contract now and the money now.  no  more loyalty to a school, to a logo, to a legacy or history of a program.  those days are long gone unfortunately.

I think DG went to UCF because of the legacy KZ created with Frosty.  But perhaps when KZ transferred out, maybe that made it ok for DG to do the same.  I think if KZ was still there- even on the sidelines, DG would have stayed...

The irony is KZ left so he didn’t have to compete with DG. Had he stayed at UCF, he would have gotten the top slot again when DG broke his collarbone. Oh well, the funny part is KZ is beloved at UCF and the attitude on DG is he shouldn’t let the door hit him on the way out.  And so it goes…

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spenser1058

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Isn’t it interesting that the two worst programs in the state, Duh Cows and The Magic, are both trying to convince us 10-year plans will solve everything.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/college-gridiron-365/os-sp-usf-athletics-michael-kelly-20220105-6vvnyr5lnve4bh5elksfxlx62q-story.html

From The Sentinel 
 

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spenser1058

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Our Knights were obliterated last night at Yuengling by those doggone Duh Cows. For some reason, we have an awful time winning in that arena (of course, visiting Temple Terrace is a depressing thought in general).

Fortunately, we play them at home in about three weeks and are on a win streak at A+.  Meanwhile, it’s a conference loss so our lads have their work cut out for them.

Charge On!

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spenser1058

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Darren “Goldie” Robinson decommits from the Gators. Is the 2023 WR from Seminole High headed to UCF with his buds?

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/florida-recruiting/os-sp-darren-goldie-lawrence-seminole-decommits-florida-20220116-nhqextiiizfr5eorfch5h7jcfy-story.html

From The Sentinel 

Stay Tuned and Charge On!


 

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