With all the headlines that have swirled around the UCF athletics program over the last couple of months, there has been no shortage of issues to discuss.
From the NCAA recruiting scandal, to the dissapointment of the UCF football season to the basketball team’s win over UConn, there are plenty of issues to debate.
So, the KnightNews.com Sports Department teamed up to give their insights on all the story lines currently surrounding UCF sports, starting with football on Tuesday.
KnightNews Sports Editor Allen Levin, and assistant sports editors Nick Wilke and Anthony Scalco go 1-on-1-on-1 in the first edition of the KnightNews Sports Roundtable.
Look out for the UCF Basketball debate on Wednesday.
Tell us who you think wins the debate:
1. After a 5-7 finish, should UCF football coach George O’Leary be fired?
Allen Levin: A large number of UCF fans have wanted Coach O’Leary canned for quite a while now. He is often criticized for his conservative play calling and coaching style. Still, there is no denying that he has led the Knights to two Conference-USA championships and three bowl games in the last five years, and has been at the helm during the program’s most successful seasons.
That being said, I still am part of the “Fire O’Leary” bandwagon, not because I think he’s a bum of a coach, but because I think it’s time for UCF to move in a new direction. After the recent recruiting scandal and subsequent resignations of Athletic Director Keith Tribble and David Kelly, it’s the opportune time to clean house.
The Knights have great talent returning and some promising recruits for next season, and with a move to the Big East still likely, a new coach and a new vision could be in the team’s best interest.
Nick Wilke: No. I agree with what he said after the UTEP game. The team had their chances to win every game except the SMU game. UCF kept every game close except the SMU game. If it wasn’t for a few plays going UCF’s way, the Knights could easily be 8-4 and headed to a bowl game. It just comes down to the players on the field.
They had their chances to make big plays in each game, which would have swung the momentum UCF’s way. Many times the players didn’t execute. Each loss, the Knights made bad mistakes on the field, which led to a loss.
Anthony Scalco: It seems like the sentiment around campus is that students have wanted O’Leary fired since I stepped on this campus four years ago. It now seems that within the confines of the athletic department itself, a rumbling for his firing has started to grow. With an inconsistent tenure at UCF, it is hard to come up with a clear cut argument for him to stay or go.
On one hand, UCF won its first bowl game last season along with an impressive 11-3 and finished as the No. 20 team in the country. He’s also lead UCF to two Conference-USA titles and prior to this season, two straight bowl games. But, he did play a large part in the death of Ereck Plancher, and his play calling and decision making in the past has been highly questionable.
Overall, I think that despite this year’s dud, UCF has a good recruiting class coming in along with another year for this team to gel. With a slew of young receivers and changing of the guard for the front seven on defense, next year could end up being the bounce back performance O’Leary needs. Despite most fans displeasure with the embattled coach, I do not see any high profile coaches jumping at the UCF coaching spot, so unfortunately I say O’Leary is the best option for coach at this time.
2. Who should be UCF’s starting QB next year? Godfrey or Bortles?
AL: I think it’s ridiculous that a lot of UCF fans have already jumped ship from Godfrey and thrown their loyalties to Bortles. Remember, Godfrey is just a year removed from being the first true freshman in FBS history to lead his team to a conference championship. He was the spark and leader of the best season in UCF history. How could he already be tossed under the bus?
Bortles had an impressive freshman season, leading some memorable near-comebacks and displaying great promise under a favorable playbook, but he didn’t necessarily outperform Godfrey. Godfrey was still the primary factor and dominant quarterback in four of five of UCF’s wins this year. While Godfrey also had the majority of snaps in some UCF losses this year, Bortles’ play didn’t contribute to any extra wins either besides the season finale against UTEP.
Godfrey, with a more flexible playbook adjusted to his strengths, should be the team’s starting signal caller in 2012 until he proves otherwise. If he doesn’t regain his freshman year form, then give Bortles the job.
NW: O’Leary has already said that he plans on using both quarterbacks next season, but I think that’s a bad idea. Look what happened this season when he used both QBs. Bortles should be the starter next season. The offense clearly worked better and ran smoother with Bortles as QB.
I feel like Bortles should have been the starter for the last three games of the regular season because he gives the team the best chance to win. Godfrey can still be part of the offense because he is very athletic. If O’Leary really wants to still use Godfrey, then try him at slot receiver or a running back in the wild cat offense.
AS: The question that should really not be a question. Godfrey lead the Knights to a conference title in his first year- the only true freshmen to ever do so. He may not have the strongest arm, but he does not turn the ball over and can create plays with his legs, which Bortles can not. Both are accurate and neither blows you away statistically.
It comes down to are you more of a fan of a QB who can extend plays with his legs or one with a larger range? Personally, I go with a QB who can get me wins and although Godfrey was not able to deliver wins, they were not all his fault. He completed 69% of his passes with 14 total touchdowns (five passing, nine rushing) with five interceptions.
I understand sports is a “What have you done for me lately?” culture, but I still like the kid going further. If Godfrey can continue to develop his arm strength and get back to the plays and big runs everyone was accustomed to in 2010, then there should be no debate on who the starter is. Godfrey has the greater upside. The question will be whether he can deliver on that.
3. What was the main reason for UCF’s disappointing 5-7 season?
AL: A bunch of factors led to this unexpected season. There were the muffed punts, ill-timed turnovers, mental errors and lack of execution on both sides of the ball at critical moments. However, I think it comes down to the back-to-back losses on the road to FIU and BYU that derailed the Knights season.
UCF was coming off an impressive 2-0 start and was on the verge of the top 25 after routing Boston College, and they were fully expected to pound FIU. But, I think the shocking loss to a weaker Panthers team rattled the Knights confidence and noticeably affected their play the rest of the way out. At the end of the day, UCF lost six of seven games by seven points or less, meaning they had the talent to win each of those games. Inexperience may have hurt them, but those losses just as easily could have been wins.
NW: Home and away. The Knights looked like two different teams at home and away. They were 5-1 at home and 0-6 on the road. I can’t think of any reason why it’s so hard for the team to win on the road.
AS: I don’t know if I would say there is one main reason for the Knights losing seven more games than expected coming in. Perhaps the pressure within the campus and nationally hurt them moving forward. Projected as potential BCS busters, coming off an impressive 11-3 season with a bowl win over an A.J. Green-lead Georgia team, saw a lot of hype surrounding the Knights program.
After two games of sheer dominance, some glaring weaknesses started to show up. Turnovers, special team blunders and conservative calls in dire situations all plagued the Knights in their first two losses at FIU and BYU. UCF was unable to win on the road as well, despite winning five road games in 2010, including the neutral site bowl game in Memphis.
A young defensive front, young receiving corps that lacked size, and a lot of youth and inexperience also hurt. Several red shirt freshman had to play and even a walk-on defensive player was used this season adding to the depth issues the Knights faced during the 2011 campaign.
Moving forward, the Knights will have to grow from this season if they want to compete going forward. Going 0-6 on the road makes it impossible to contend for a title, let alone a BCS birth. Perhaps the sports world’s expectations of continuously building on a successful season were too much for the young Knights to deal with this season. We’ll see what lessons were learned come the spring game.
4. With the NCAA investigation into UCF’s recruiting practices, do you think the long-rumored Big East bid will still happen?
AL: Being how the Big East has been shredded apart over the past year with multiple big-school departures, I don’t think they have much of a choice. Obviously, the Big East will want to see the penalities imposed on UCF, but at this point, they don’t appear like they’ll be too harsh. A.J. Rompza has already been reinstated and minimal punishment seems more likely.
UCF has the ingredients to be a BCS-conference program. All that’s hurting the Knights is the talent they miss out on from being in Conference-USA.
I think the whole scandal situation needs to blow over, and the Big East needs to continue to weigh its options. But, UCF has solid talent in place, a prime recruiting location, a massive student body and new facilities- they have appeal. So, I’d bet the Big East eventually still extends UCF a bid.
NW: I think the Knights will still get an invite to the Big East even though they had some recruiting violations. President Hitt stated that the violations will not affect the program’s move to the Big East.
I think it will affect Jones’ recruiting process. UCF will have to settle for the lower-rated recruits. Unfortunately for UCF, the highest-rated recruits look to play for well-known and established basketball programs. This could make it tough to compete in the very competitive Big East.
AS: Unless the ruling is incredibly unfavorable towards UCF, I think the move will happen. The Big East is the titanic right now and the targeted C-USA programs are the best life boats still available. Especially with the big win over UConn, the Knights can continue to look like a viable candidate and Houston reaching No. 6 in the BCS standings helps the legitimacy of the move for all parties involved.
UCF is not a big enough player in the grand spectrum of things to really be made an example of. I doubt the university has done anything too severe to kill its Big East hopes because at this point it does not seem like any better candidates have arisen. UCF may take some penalties and scholarship deductions, but overall the Big East move will most likely stay intact.
