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WHO: Missouri Tigers vs. UCF Knights
WHAT: ffffffFFFFFFOOTBAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWLLLLLL.
WHEN: Saturday, September 13 – 11:00am CST
WHERE: Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium
TELEVISION: SEC Network and WatchESPN
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p>Crew for first-ever <a href="https://twitter.com/SECNetwork">@SECNetwork</a> broadcast of <a href="https://twitter.com/MizzouFootball">@MizzouFootball</a> (vs. UCF, Saturday, 11 AM): <a href="https://twitter.com/DaveNealSports">@DaveNealSports</a>, Andre Ware & <a href="https://twitter.com/LauraMRutledge">@LauraMRutledge</a>.</p>— Patrick Crawford (@p_crawf) <a href="https://twitter.com/p_crawf/status/508739557706047489">September 7, 2014</a></blockquote>
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(of the useless variety)
- UCF lays claim to the nation's second largest university campus by enrollment with 59,770 students.
- Disney World isn't REALLY in Orlando, it's 18 miles outside the city limits.
- Orlando is weird.
- In 1994, the Knights were the preseason No. 1 team in the nation. (in Division I-AA)
- UCF's stadium, Bright House Networks Stadium, is known colloquially as "The Bounce House" because the stadium flexes when fans jump to the tune of Zombie Nation's "Kernkraft 400."
- Orlando is weird.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>help. <a href="http://t.co/vqDRyt1DQh">pic.twitter.com/vqDRyt1DQh</a></p>— Jack Peglow (@JackPeglow) <a href="https://twitter.com/JackPeglow/status/508312540280262656">September 6, 2014</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Pinkel: "We're not a great football team, but we're a lot better than we were last week."</p>— Dave Matter (@Dave_Matter) <a href="https://twitter.com/Dave_Matter/status/508344702383693824">September 6, 2014</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Another Week , Another INT <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MoneySeason?src=hash">#MoneySeason</a></p>— #RIPLEZZY (@Miz_Amp_11) <a href="https://twitter.com/Miz_Amp_11/status/508371365268062208">September 6, 2014</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Lucas Vincent, with a thought on takeaways and, you know, the universe: "The ball is life."</p>— David Morrison (@DavidCMorrison) <a href="https://twitter.com/DavidCMorrison/status/508359503750758400">September 6, 2014</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>In honor of Maty Mauk's 325 yard 5 TD performance yesterday I made something <a href="http://t.co/uNjn6H4R2Y">pic.twitter.com/uNjn6H4R2Y</a></p>— #WᴇSᴏRᴀʜ (@FullbackU) <a href="https://twitter.com/FullbackU/status/508617485336051712">September 7, 2014</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Through two games, Markus Golden on pace for 96 tackles, 30 TFL. Michael Sam & Kony Ealy combined for 91 tackles and 33 TFL a season ago.</p>— Gabe DeArmond (@GabeDeArmond) <a href="https://twitter.com/GabeDeArmond/status/508596535299702784">September 7, 2014</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Markus Golden said he was a pretty decent hockey player when he was young. I can't even imagine the damage he could do as a hockey enforcer.</p>— David Morrison (@DavidCMorrison) <a href="https://twitter.com/DavidCMorrison/status/509114568103440385">September 8, 2014</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Mizzou's Golden & Ray through two games: 25 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks</p>— Dave Matter (@Dave_Matter) <a href="https://twitter.com/Dave_Matter/status/508368024819486722">September 6, 2014</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Markus Golden's advice to QBs trying to elude him: "I probably would just get down if I was a quarterback. Just let me touch you."</p>— David Morrison (@DavidCMorrison) <a href="https://twitter.com/DavidCMorrison/status/508368431666577409">September 6, 2014</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Praise be. RT <a href="https://twitter.com/rdk97b">@rdk97b</a>: <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/kufball?src=hash">#kufball</a> even Sirius radio understands... <a href="http://t.co/e10VKLzVkj">pic.twitter.com/e10VKLzVkj</a></p>— Jack Peglow (@JackPeglow) <a href="https://twitter.com/JackPeglow/status/508397582763450368">September 6, 2014</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Seems like good time to repost this: "Take a school like Missouri. Our bad years are better than their good years." -Deloss Dodds, Texas AD</p>— Gabe DeArmond (@GabeDeArmond) <a href="https://twitter.com/GabeDeArmond/status/508607288077463552">September 7, 2014</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>UCF's O'Leary asked if Missouri looks like an SEC team: Laughs, "Well, they played for the championship last year."</p>— Dave Matter (@Dave_Matter) <a href="https://twitter.com/Dave_Matter/status/509020947248984064">September 8, 2014</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Mizzou?src=hash">#Mizzou</a>'s depth chart for Game No. 3 - UCF. <a href="http://t.co/YszY2wsimm">pic.twitter.com/YszY2wsimm</a></p>— Mizzou Football (@MizzouFootball) <a href="https://twitter.com/MizzouFootball/status/509009822214135808">September 8, 2014</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>┓┏┓┏┓┃ WE HAVE TWO ┛┗┛┗┛┃ 2ND-STRING ┓┏┓┏┓┃RIGHT GUARDS ┛┗┛┗┛┃＼○／ ┓┏┓┏┓┃ / ┛┗┛┗┛┃ノ) ┓┏┓┏┓┃ ┛┗┛┗┛┃ ┓┏┓┏┓┃ ┻┻┻┻┻┻</p>— Jack Peglow (@JackPeglow) <a href="https://twitter.com/JackPeglow/status/509016182884950017">September 8, 2014</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Asked what he told Shane Ray when Ray was considering Notre Dame, Pinkel said: "Yeah, I remember telling him don't go to Notre Dame."</p>— Gabe DeArmond (@GabeDeArmond) <a href="https://twitter.com/GabeDeArmond/status/509080360211460096">September 8, 2014</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>I swear Apple knows when I get my financial aid </p>— Lucas Vincent (@High_Chief_LV96) <a href="https://twitter.com/High_Chief_LV96/status/509405702603825152">September 9, 2014</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Pinkel: "Sean Culkin got more involved in our passing game. Good to see that. We'll get him more involved." <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TightEndPassGame?src=hash">#TightEndPassGame</a></p>— David Morrison (@DavidCMorrison) <a href="https://twitter.com/DavidCMorrison/status/509078096067059712">September 8, 2014</a></blockquote>
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Who's flown under the radar so far this season that you'd like to see more from against UCF?
HHKB Chris: I would like to see more from Sean Culkin. I know that's not really up to him, as he can only do so much, but having him as a viable receiving option (as he was on plays 1 and 2 last week) would be nice.
The Beef: Nice to see Culkin start to break out a bit and to hear GP address that he and Henson want to get him more involved in the offense. For me, I want to see the back-up WRs get more done. I have seen Lee, Moore, Brown, and Leftwich in there at points (Otte as well) and I think we need about 2 people from that group to get more involved. We had 5 people catch passes last week. Certainly it was enough because Mauk had one of his better games. I don't need the 2 people to catch more than 15-20 passes this season, but I need to see something, both for this year, and especially for next.
Sam Snelling: How about Braylon Webb? Normally, it's a good thing when you don't hear from your safeties, but I think Webb has had a chance to make some big plays and hasn't quite come through. I'd like to see him with a big hit or two, a couple open-field tackles and an INT. Not asking for much.
Jack Peglow: How about that Mauk kid? Haven't heard much outta him yet.
Fullback U: Thor, God of Thunder.
AlaTiger: I said Donavin Newsom last week and he was in for less than 20 plays. So, he's till under the radar. Who can I curse this week? How about the "other" corner? Whether it is John Gibson or Kenya Dennis doesn't matter. Let's see someone in addition to Aarion Penton making plays back there.
What group (D-line, O-line, coaches, etc.) do you hope to see a better performance from?
HHKB: I would like to see more from the back 7 at this point as it relates to tackling, they're not having the best year of it so far two games in. Less arm tackling, more wrapping up and squeezing.
Beef: Tackling in the LB group and secondary needs to improve after the last game, though I did not think they were terrible against SDSU. I think the O-line has done a decent job in both run and pass blocking, though Mauk's penchant for leaving the pocket early after the maybe only one check-down makes if FEEL like maybe he is not getting enough time.
Snelling: I'd say the offensive line. Everybody so far has had their moments except really for the line. They need to do a much better job of road grading for MANSBRO and Marcus Murphy. I'd like to see if Ish Witter could get a few more carries as well. Let's run rampant on UCF.
Peglow: Michael Scherer has been having himself a solid season so far, but I'd like to see more from the rest of the linebackers. The coaches waxed poetic all offseason about how athletic they were, but the group's been pretty quiet so far outside of Scherer.
AlaTiger: The linebackers need to pursue and tackle better. The secondary has been weak at this as well, but let's see the backers step up before the play gets to the secondary.
Give us a WILD prediction for this week's game.
HHKB: My wile prediction is that we'll se a WR pass a la Colt 45 from the Georgia game last year that kristina still hasn't seen.
Beef: Someone besides Golden and Ray will have a sack in this game.
Snelling: Aarion Penton goes 3-for-3 with a pick. This one for a TD.
Peglow: In a losing effort, UCF throws for more yards than Missouri.
Fullback: It will take more than 3 and one half hours.
AlaTiger: A Central Florida player calls Bud "The Sassinator." Bud attacks the player and gets assessed a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
What is UCF's mascot?
HHKB: Their mascot is a knight, a knight that will not be astride a horse, which is too bad, because just once I'd love to see a horse with a human atop their back kick them off for making them a side show.
Beef: The Commuter Student.
Snelling: It's the Knights, but it should be the Swamp Lizards or something.
Peglow: The Kniggits. I blow my nose at them.
Fullback: The Dark Knights.
AlaTiger: It's a knight. It's supposed to be a "Knight of Pegasus" but I fail to see a winged horse anywhere. Why can't they have a winged horse mascot? Never mind. Forget that. When were there knights in Orlando? Here are some better suggestions: Resume enhancers, theme parks, the horde – "Our enrollment is over 50,000 and we matter, dang it. Do not disrespect us or we will whine you to death!"
Can you name one current or former UCF player?
HHKB: Blake Bortles, he's tall, not Osweiler tall, but tall enough to get ESPN talking heads excited.
Beef: Bortles is obvious, but I always loved the Storm Johnson.
Snelling: Black Bortles would be the easy answer. Tyler Gabbert is the funny anwer. Daunte Culpepper is the OH YEAH! answer.
Peglow: DAUNTE CULPEPPER. <––– Vikings fan.
Fullback: Blake Bortles.
AlaTiger: Not until everyone reminded me of Bortles. Oh, crap The Horde is coming after me...
Any other thoughts?
Switzy227: Watch for: A resurgent running game after the Rockets disrupted it last week, another quick strike turnover to keep the streak alive, and improvement in defending the run.
Worry about: UCF deciding to focus on testing the Mizzou secondary and finding success, Maty Mauk going full cowboy, and injuries that could put Mizzou into a bad position entering conference play.
Hope for: a quick lead that allows the starters a little extra time on the sidelines, the further unleashing of the Culkin, and a 3rd straight game with INT for future stud Aarion Penton.
Snelling: So I don't know about you but I feel a LOT better after this week than I did last week. I don't know that I raised my expectations because I think this is a young team and I get the feeling that sometimes they're going to play really well and kick the crap out of a good team like Toledo, and sometimes they're not going to play very well and they'll either lose or have a game that is too close for comfort with a team that they should beat. That said I feel a lot more at ease than I did after watching them struggle with SDSU. I maybe became a little more concerned about the running game than I thought I'd be but I hope that getting Morgan Steward back and healthy as the third back will go a long way into improving that since you'll have another set of fresh legs.
I'm not dreading much but I am still a little worried about the back 7 on defense. I feel like once Toledo was able to get past our front 4 they were able to eat up LOTS of yardage at the second and third level and I feel like Mizzou needs to get much better about that if they expect to contend against the better teams in the SEC.
I'm hoping to see a complete performance from the offense. Both run and pass. Plus more money season for Darius White.
AlaTiger: I am always concerned with how the team will come out for an 11:00 a.m. start. Last week the commentariat assured me that was only a problem for the home team. Well, now Mizzou is the home team. Will the team be ready from the start?
UCF played well against Penn State, but we really don't know what that means with each team only having played that one game. It is tempting to use Penn State's conference affiliation to diminish the value of UCF's performance, but you can't do that. It is safe to say that UCF looked solid, and Mizzou will need to play well to win.
I'd really like to see less overpursuit, better tackling, and more noteworthy performances from the back seven. On offense, I'd like to see more consistent execution and more explosiveness in the running game (not asking for much, am I?).
With two weeks under our collective belt, here's our standings:
IN THE LEAD OUTRIGHT: Jack "The Pit Boss" Peglow, with nine correct picks.
Tied for second: ArmyOfMike and HHKB Chris, with eight correct picks.
Tied for LAST: BillSelfsToupee and The Beef, with seven correct picks.
Thank goodness we aren't betting in Vegas. -BillSelfsToupee
Here's the game's we're picking this week:
O/U50.5
And [drumroll] our EXPERT picks:
| Name | MU – UCF Spread | MU – UCF O/U | UMass – Vandy Spread | UMass – Vandy O/U | Arky – TTU Spread | Arky – TTU O/U | UGA – South Carolina Spread | UGA – South Carolina O/U | UK – Florida Spread | UK – Florida O/U |
| Mike | Mizzou | Over | UMass | Over | TTU | Over | UGA | Under | UK | Under |
| HHKB | Mizzou | Over | Vandy | Under | TTU | Over | UGA | Under | Florida | Over |
| Peglow | Mizzou | Over | UMass | Under | Arky | Over | UGA | Under | Florida | Over |
| Beef | Mizzou | Over | UMass | Over | TTU | Over | UGA | Under | UK | Under |
| BST | Mizzou | Over | UMass | Under | TTU | Under | UGA | Under | UK | Under |
The gladiator lead image brought me back to a time long since past. A brighter, more random time. We'll miss you, Jank.
