Well the first game of the season for UCF went about as well as it could have. The offense looked very strong and the running backs looked fast and the QB play was amazing. There were some downsides to the game and things that will need to be cleaned up if they want to play championship-caliber football. The team took an unnecessary excessive celebration penalty when they had made a stop on 3rd and long, giving FAMU a free first down. Also, UCF lost Brandon Moore to injury while up 55-0 in the 3rd quarter. So there were some things that were not great but overall a nice 62-0 victory to start the season was good. Here was my preview of the game https://theinscribermag.com/preview-ucf-vs-famu/
Why Was Brandon Moore still in the game
During the post-game press conference, Coach Heupel was asked what many of us were thinking why in a 55-0 game in the third quarter was your all-conference CB still in the game. To which, Coach Heupel said it was a snap count thing because FAMU did not have the ball much in the first half he wanted those guys to get playing time, he also owned up to it and said in retrospect he probably shouldn’t have been out there. At the time of this article, the only update we had on Moore was they did not think he needed surgery.
Is there a QB Controversy?
Brandon Wimbush was named the starter for the game but it was told in advance that true freshman Dillon Gabriel would be getting some reps in the first half. True to his word Coach Heupel sent Dillon Gabriel out there on the 4th drive of the game. In which Gabriel hit Otis Anderson for a 24-yard Touchdown his first of 3 on the night. After the game Gabe Davis Adrian Killins and Otis Anderson were asked in addition to Brandon Wimbush of their impression of Dillon Gabriel here is what they had to say.
“I feel like he was confident and calm, made the right reads, made good throws. Once you get to college, yeah, you’re young, but you grow up fast. If you’re put in that position, you’ve got to make plays. I feel like he had a really good day.” – Gabe Davis
“Dillon during the spring, when we had our first spring practice and practices throughout spring, he looked like a baller, just like he did tonight. He’s been dreaming about these nights. He’s currently my roommate now. We talk a lot. Talk a lot of football. We talk about the things he wants to do and the things he’s looking forward to do. The things he did tonight is just the beginning for him. The sky is the limit. It’s going to be a lot more big plays from him this coming season. The coaches are doing a great job preparing and he’s also doing a great job preparing for games like this. The sky is the limit for Dillon” -Adrian Killins Jr
“They’re both from Hawaii. They have similarities and differences. They both are capable of taking this team where we need to do and so is Brandon Wimbush. We’ve got a lot of talented quarterbacks in the room that can lead this team to greatness. If it’s Brandon Wimbush, Dillon Gabriel, Quadry Jones, Hayden Kingston, D.J. Mack, anybody they put in there, they’re going to be up to par. Everybody in that room prepares like they’re going to be starting. No matter who is in, we’re very confident they’re going to get the job done.” – Adrian Killins
“9 of 13. 127 yards. Three touchdowns. I think it’s spectacular what he did and what Quad came in and did. Those guys, like I said earlier, have the ability to come in and lead this team to victories against great teams and whatnot. I think DG did a heck of a job of staying poised. I think that’s the biggest thing when you’re a freshman, to keep that calm. He did a great job of doing that.”- Brandon Wimbush
“Dillon played awesome. No matter who we play against, first game is always going to be tough just for a freshman. He’s coming out of high school and his first game is at home, it’s packed, lot of pregame jitters can happen. I think he handled it pretty well. He was throwing darts. I think all of our quarterbacks played pretty good. That’s the only thing you can want from a true freshman.”- Otis Anderson
As you can see they all spoke very highly of the true freshman from Hawaii. Remember this guy broke all of Milton’s records and all of Tua Tagovailoa’s records, so to say UCF is expecting big things from this kid is an understatement. If he keeps this up he will be a fan favorite for years to come. The Knights now will travel to Boca to take on FAU and Lane Kiffin who take on Ohio State today in the horseshoe.
Here are some photos from the game
