Right now, in the palm-and-concrete theme park kingdom that is Central Florida, there’s a golden knight who’s looking to stretch his 15 minutes of fame into a half hour of glory. His name is Blake Bortles, and if you don’t know who he is, he’s the 6’4″, 230-pound, 5th-rated quarterback in the country (50-of-70, 816 yards).
UCF is unbeaten now, and if they win again on Saturday (during what is sure to be a sweltering noon game in Orlando, Florida) they’ll be 4-0 for the first time since 1988. UCF garnered buzz after knocking off Penn State last week on the road, and they’re hungry. For several decades the Florida Gators, the Miami Hurricanes, and the Florida State Seminoles have sucked up the network attention, BCS berths and top-notch recruits. UCF is ready to be taken seriously.
O’Leary lamented this grievance to the media this week, reportedly saying that recruiting has turned into a name-dropping game of conference initials—ACC, SEC, and so on. An ariel shot of a win over Spurrier’s Gamecocks in O’Leary’s office would go a long way to help with that.
Let’s be honest though: aside from the Penn State win, UCF has beat Akron and Florida International. Not exactly great preparation for Jadeveon Clowney and a Gamecock defense that has been building momentum like a slow-moving train pulling out of a sleep South Carolina station. Just cause it’s slower than normal doesn’t mean it isn’t still big, or hard to stop, or that it can’t flatten you and your dreams of notoriety.
Both teams had the benefit of a bye week, giving them two weeks to prepare. UCF will be buoyed by the fever pitch hype that’s swept through the city of Orlando. The Gamecocks will be steadied by the ever-calm reassurance of their fearless visor-wearing leader, and their acclimation to the national spotlight. In the battle of Knights versus the Gamecocks, don’t be surprised if Blake Bortles manages to outfight his barnyard opponents.
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