UCF Vs. Boston College Game Set For Prime Time, CBS College Sports
by Brian Favat on Jun 8, 2011 8:06 AM EDT
in Boston College Football
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PrintOn Tuesday, Central Florida and Conference USA jointly announced TV details and kickoff times for the 2011 football season. UCF's September 10 home game against Boston College will be an 8 PM kickoff and will be televised nationally on CBS College Sports.
That's already the fifth nationally televised game for the Eagles and the second prime time slot (after BC's Thursday night home tilt with Florida State).
While many fans are probably excited that a non-conference game against the likes of Central Florida is in prime time, I'm not so sure this is an advantageous time slot for the Eagles. Kindly cue Admiral Akbar.
For one thing, the Knights are no strangers to evening kickoffs. Conference USA has more flexibility in football scheduling with their TV contract with CBS College Sports and as a result, are able to schedule more prime time games than other conferences. This season alone, UCF will play at least eight games with a 6, 7 or 8 PM kickoff.
Last season, each of the Knight's first three home games were late starts, with UCF pasting South Dakota State (38-7) and UAB (42-7), and nearly crawling out of an early 21-point deficit against N.C. State.
Adding to my concern is playing in UCF's new on-campus stadium, Bright House Network Stadium. UCF's new stadium provides much more of a home-field advantage than when the Knights were playing cross-town at the dumpy Citrus Bowl. While the Knights didn't post a sell out in any of their games last season, I'm sure they'll get a good, raucous crowd for UCF's first real test of the season. And unfortunately, we've already established that Coach Spaz doesn't exactly have the greatest track record in road games as a head coach.
Finally, Central Florida is an up-and-coming college football program with a HUGE chip on its shoulder. Knights fans truly believe that their program deserves a call-up to one of the six big money, BCS conferences. This had led Orlando Sentinel beat writer Mike Bianchi to write headlines like "If the Big East were serious about football, UCF would already be invited." I'm sure UCF would like nothing more than to knock off an ACC opponent -- and former Big East member -- in one of their first games of the season to drive the point home.
On the plus side, the Eagles won't have to deal with 90+ degree temperatures playing at night in Orlando. So that's something, I guess.
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While many fans are probably excited that a non-conference game against the likes of Central Florida is in prime time, I’m not so sure this is an advantageous time slot for the Eagles. Kindly cue Admiral Akbar.
For Spaz, every road game is a trap.
Contributor at BC Interruption
Founder of Mass Hysteria Sports
Take it easy...
Spaz has established some consistency and could be the face of BC football for years to come. Granted he did not perform well on the road last year, but I attribute that to an “over the hill” offensive coordinator, who might as well have been running the single wing. The defense was not to blame for most of the disasters last year (which is his domain). Spaz recognized that his team cannot get to the next level without a legit OC. Hopefully, we can see some positive changes. I think that we are going to see a very consistent team this year and not the erratic one we saw last year. All in all, I do believe we are heading in the right direction.
Road blues
Spaz’s road woes weren’t confined to last season. During the 2009 season BC turned in an equally frustrating performance. I’m very much of the “prove me otherwise” opinion when it comes to Spaz performance in road games, and he gets six big opportunities to prove me wrong this season.
Defense is Spaz’s domain, sure. But it’s no longer his entire charge. He also has to take accountability/responsibility for offense and special teams. Finally, I’m not so sure it was Spaz who recognized Tranq wasn’t a legit OC. It was his hire, after all.
BC Interruption, SBN's Boston College Eagles blog
Hit the nail on the head
You can’t give Spaz a pass because Tranquill was so awful last year, Spaz hired him. If he couldn’t tell that Tranq wasn’t going to be able to produce a quality offense, it’s on him for not acting upon it.
And Spaz’s road woes are well documented, but it’s not just the losses. It’s the way we lost. The Clemson and Virginia Tech games from 2009 were some of the most pathetic performances I have ever seen from any college football team. Negative yards total offense in the first half of both games.
Sorry but I have to disagree
As BC detractors are quick to point out our football team has consistently declined in the amount of wins we have from year to year. Could this all be Tranq’s inability to run an offense? Possibly but I doubt it. It’s Spaz’s job to maintain the entire game plan, and doing things like taking a knee with 2 minutes on the clock is all on Spaz, not Tranq. BC won 7 games last year, playing a piece of cake schedule, this year is going to be alot harder for the (i.e their road schedule). Will Rogers be able to help the offense progress? I think that is the ten million dollar question.
Contributor at BC Interruption
Founder of Mass Hysteria Sports
Have a little Confidence Brian
C’mon… you already are selling heavy doubt about BC’s chances here. This is UCF we are talking about, not USF or FSU.
and if you look at last year’s stats, UCF’s game is made for BC’s defense. They have a poor passing game (87th in nation) and the run-to-pass ratio is 600-300. These guys like to run. PERFECT for the BC defense.
and last year UCF had a good defense (for CUSA), but only returns 4 starters. I think BC will handle these guys easily. BC beat these guys in 2008 34-7 with Crane at QB and UCF is 1-12 agains the ACC.
Perk up!
I never said BC isn’t going to win here. Just that the time slot isn’t very advantageous to the Eagles based on time, date and circumstances. This game is still the easiest of BC’s six road games.
But citing BC’s 2008 win over UCF? This team has made a lot of strides since then, despite the mass exodus on the defensive side of the ball.
BC Interruption, SBN's Boston College Eagles blog
hmmm
Spaz can prove me wrong I remain skeptical
or
I never said BC isn’t going to win here. This game is still the easiest of BC’s six road games.
(ps: my 2008 point, was just a side point)
I meant in the original post I never said that. BC can (and should) win this game, but time, location, etc. give me pause. This team played NC State close last year and the Pack were a much better team than BC.
Hell, where is JBQ to put phrases in quotes and cryptically back me up here?
BC Interruption, SBN's Boston College Eagles blog
by Brian Favat on Jun 8, 2011 11:33 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Please put on your blogger rose colored glasses
especailly when posting months before the season — we are going to win every game. Right. Or at least go 11-1 and go to the Orange Bowl. Of course, its still June and everyone is a winner
George O'Leary
G. O’L is the coach (late of ND). He will have UCF ready to play. Spaz couldn’t get BC ready to play at home against ND. They were flat and blown out in the first quarter. Remember that Central Florida means Disneyland. They will have a young and enthusiastic crowd.
by JBQ on Jun 8, 2011 7:58 PM EDT up reply actions
Handle Easily?
Passing numbers werent great because the QB, who was a freshman, didnt take over as starter till game 4. He is also a dual threat QB, hence the large amount of team rushes. With him being a Soph he will have a better grasp of the offense and passing numbers will go up. Prob going to pass for 225 yards or so and UCF will have 200+ yards running. The shoe also fits on the other foot, BC is a run only team and that fits right into our gameplan. And no we arent FSU but we are better than USF. We have been a qb away from being good since 2002. We have that good QB now.
by Pittstoner74 on Jun 9, 2011 10:58 AM EDT up reply actions
I don't buy the "road Spaz" stuff
Dave Shinskie, who appeared to be colorblind when not at Alumni Stadium, was our starter for most of those road games. Not sure you can pin Shinskie being a headcase on Spaz. The team played much better on the road when Rettig was the starter, and he was a true freshman nonetheless. If you want to throw in the bowl game as a road game (since it practically was), I believe Rettig was 3-2 on the road as a starter. The 3 wins weren’t exactly against great teams, but the 2 losses were by one possession to nationally ranked teams in Nevada and FSU. FSU was Rettig’s first EVER road start too, and BC almost pulled that one off as a 20+ point underdog. Who was our starter in our one blowout road loss last year to NC State? Oh that’s right, Dave Shinskie.
Ahh, the head case defense
“Not sure you can pin Shinskie being a headcase on Spaz.”
Whose job is it to evaluate talent and put the best QB on the field?
Whose job is it to coach up the QB and put him in a position to succeed?
I’m also not buying the Florida State road game as a “moral victory.” BC was +4 in turnovers. Even a half-decent coached team / offense beats FSU by two TDs when you turn the Noles over four times and protect the football.
BC Interruption, SBN's Boston College Eagles blog
Sadly, Shinskie was our best option in most of those games...
Rettig was unable to play due to injury in the NC State game. And unfortunately he was still in high school during the 2009 season. Is Marscovetra better than Shinskie? From what I saw last year from him, I doubt it. Sure he didn’t turn the ball over as much but he couldn’t throw the ball more than 5 yards. That’s a completely different argument though. And why did Rettig throw so many less interceptions than Shinskie did as a true freshman? Did they decide they wanted to coach Rettig differently than Shinskie? They wanted to put Rettig in more situations to succeed but they didn’t care if Shinskie looked horrible?
I’m not exactly a Spaz apologist, and there are things he does that frustrate me as a head coach, but I think it seems a little lame to blame our lack of QB’s (let’s face it, our QB situation was atrocious in 2009, and everyone, not just Spaz, thought Shinskie could be at least serviceable for the 2010 season in order to gain an extra year of eligibility for Rettig) on Spaz. Now, if Rettig doesn’t develop this year like we think he should, start blaming Spaz. But how about putting it in perspective. For the 2010 team to go 3-2 on the road, especially after they could’ve packed it in the way they started the season, with a true freshman QB, a bunch of true freshman WR’s, and WITHOUT Montel Harris for the last two road games (again I’m including the bowl), is not the worst thing in the world. Like I said, the opponents weren’t impressive, but really, how good was this BC team last year? This had to be our least-talented and least-experienced roster (especially offensively) since the pre-TOB days. I mean really, before 2009, when was the last time BC was forced to start a freshman QB for the majority of a season?
And also with your argument about the FSU game. Man, a less than half-decent coached team was able to force the Noles into 4 turnovers last year?! The same FSU team that lit up Miami’s defense the week before? Wow, that’s pretty impressive for Spaz being a horrible coach. Everyone is so quick to jump on the Fire Spaz bus for the offense…but no one can seem to give him proper credit for our defense being one of the best in the country. It was his fault for hiring Tranquill, and thank God that guy is gone. But he’s a first time head coach and I’m willing to give him another shot with a different OC. Now, if Rogers turns out to be a bad hire, Spaz, meet hot seat. And if Spaz is meeting the hot seat, you gotta think GDF is too…
breakaway speed
i still say we win that game if montel didn’t die after 40 yards on that huge run. We were outmatched, and our offense didnt do us any favors, i believe the D saw the majority of the field. Our anemic offense was the reason we lost that game, stop blaming the coach.
Chicken or egg?
Was the anemic offense “anemic” in spite of the coaching?
BC Interruption, SBN's Boston College Eagles blog
Blaming the loss on a guy who rolled up 191 yards on the ground (nearly 72 percent of BC’s total offense on the day) … classic.
BC Interruption, SBN's Boston College Eagles blog
Again, like I said, Spaz can prove me wrong, and has plenty of opportunities to do so this season. But even in his limited body of work on the road, with …
- the way in which BC lost some of those games — ’09 Virginia Tech, ’09 Clemson, ’10 N.C. State, and
- the unimpressive wins against terrible teams — ’09 Virginia, ’09 Maryland, ’10 Wake Forest, ’10 Duke
I remain skeptical.
BC Interruption, SBN's Boston College Eagles blog
Spaz Apologist
so i got on this late- but
1) i still trust spaz can do a serviceable job and still provide us with a top 10 defense in the country. I do question his hiring of Tranquil, but that problem has been eliminated moving forward. He had some questionable timeout calls or coaching moves throughout his 2 years, but again i dont think he “cost” us any games because of his moves- road games or not.
2) He got the shaft when jagz left and had to bring in shinskie. We all know my opinion of shinskie. After game 3 of his first year, i called for him to be replaced. Now i don’t think anyone can blame keeping shinskie in on SPaz, because a majority of you were still on Uncle Dave’s bandwagon even into the next season.
For a reality check we are one matt ryan away from an elite team- but i guess that’s what they said after flutie. Our expectations rose after having a superstar qb, and now we just have to get by with what we have. I think Rogers is an improvement from what we had. With a serviceable offense and our consistent D I’d expect to finish with 8 or more wins (3 or more on the road).
4-2 or better on the road seems like a waterwater-like, June blogger pipe dream.
BC Interruption, SBN's Boston College Eagles blog
3-3 on the road seems reasonable
3 losses being VT, ND, and then probably 1 out of 3 from MD, Miami, or Clemson
3 wins being UCF, and 2 out of the 3 from MD, Miami, Clemson
I don’t think Clemson is going to be that good next year – breaking in a new QB and OC, lost one of their RB’s, no Bowers, and we beat them last year anyway. They seem to be losing too much from a team that went 6-7 to expect them to be much better.
Not sure Miami is going to be all that good either, especially breaking in a new coaching staff. Plus playing at Sun Life won’t really feel like a road game (over/under 20,000 people show up for that game?), and their QB’s seem to be prone to make bad decisions (hello turnover-filled game). However the game is at the end of the year so you’d think Miami would be over the turnover bug by then.
Maryland is a good team and beat us last year as well but they seem to be a bit of an enigma since they’ll also be breaking in a new coaching staff. Not sure they’re a top-25 team hence I think they’re beatable.
Not expecting this team to win in Blacksburg or South Bend but either could be possible. Va Tech is losing a lot from last year but we always seem to struggle against them, especially in Blacksburg. One thing that works in our favor is that we get them at the beginning of the year, meaning their team will be less-experienced and won’t have as much time to gel. We saw the difference between an early-season young VT team vs a late-season young VT team in 2008. BC always seems to bring it when they go to South Bend too but many expect this ND team to finally break through (but how is that different from any year). It’ll be late in the year though so we’ll get a better idea of how good ND really is by the time we face them. Will it be a chance for an upset or a chance to beat yet another hapless, underachieving ND team?
eww
CBS college sports? How many of you guys have that channel?
The only predicament is, deciding what to put on....The Big Boy. VAN GUNDY!!!! hahahaha
Now Ronaldo, long way out, WHAT A GOAL! not too far out for him, on a night Manchester United had to score they have scored inside 6 minutes, and its the man from Portugal who has hammered it home and hammered a 1-0 lead for United
I do!
Fortunately, or sadly, depending on your point of view. (C-USA football … Eww!)
BC Interruption, SBN's Boston College Eagles blog
Solid Channel
The amount of random college games on that channel is decent entertainment (if you have nothing else to do/watch). And i am being slightly serious . i watch the channel occasionally…
If I remember correctly, they have a lot of other random college sports you wouldn’t be exposed to otherwise. Like the NCCS College Flag Football Championship.
BC Interruption, SBN's Boston College Eagles blog
2 wins
not a bad year for a team with a horrible QB
by Pittstoner74 on Jun 14, 2011 12:06 PM EDT up reply actions
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