UCF faces plenty of unknowns in Kent State, weather in season opener
After months of preparation and countless hours of practice, UCF football kicks off its game week leading into the season opener against Kent State on Thursday at FBC Mortgage Stadium (7 p.m., FS1).
The excitement surrounding the Knights’ inaugural season in the Big 12 has been palpable, with school president Dr. Alexander Cartwright thanking the media for its coverage before the team’s scheduled availability.
“This is truly a historic moment for UCF,” said Cartwright. “It has turned this city into a Big 12 city.”
John Rhys Plumlee returns for his second season as the Knights’ starting quarterback and the redshirt senior expressed excitement in Year 2.
“I don’t care how long you’ve been playing football when you get to play the first game that you’ve waited a year for? You’re pretty excited about it,” said Plumlee. “The excitement is still there, but I know what to expect a little bit more.”
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Senior defensive end Josh Celiscar added: “It’s like everything you did when you were younger. Once you get to this point, you still get all the butterflies and all the excitement and once you get your first feel of contact, you’re like, ‘Oh, yeah. It’s football. We’re back into it.’”
UCF coach Gus Malzahn said the coaches were able to glean a lot of information through the three weeks of preseason camp, but there’s nothing like game experience.
“You learn about your team, especially with 18 transfers and 20 freshmen that come with it,” said Malzahn. “I’m excited to watch us play against an opponent.”
While UCF features one of the more experienced teams returning in 2023, Kent State returns only four starters after an offseason coaching change.
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“Honestly, we don’t know much about them,” said Malzahn. “They don’t have a lot of players back and they have a lot of new faces. New transfers, new staff and a new head coach. We’re curious to see what they will do in all three phases.”
Another challenge facing both teams could be the weather.
With Tropical Storm Idalia forecast to hit Florida as a major hurricane this week, UCF and Kent State officials have closely monitored its possible impact on Thursday night’s game. The latest storm model has the hurricane crossing the state’s path on Wednesday, with Gov. Ron DeSantis declaring a state of emergency for 46 counties.
A Kent State spokesperson told the Sentinel that as of Monday morning, the Golden Flashes football team planned to leave campus and arrive in Orlando on Wednesday afternoon. The school remained confident that they wouldn’t have to alter their plans.
First-year Kent State coach Kenni Burns said his team has worked on several scenarios during a mock game involving weather issues.
“We had a mock game a couple of weeks ago and I literally prepared for that,” Burns said Monday afternoon. “We did an actual rain delay, a game off, we did a canceled game if that were to happen. We’ve prepared for it and I’ve probably looked back at those notes more than I ever have over the last 24 hours. But all you can do is prepare to play on Thursday.”
“Right now, we’re staying on course as is, but we learned last year that you’ve got to adjust,” said Malzahn. “So, we’re taking it, hour by hour, just like everybody else is. If we have to adjust, we will.”
Tropical storms and hurricanes are nothing new to UCF.
The presence of Hurricane Ian last season forced the Knights’ to push their home contest against SMU from Saturday to a Wednesday. In 2017, Memphis flew to Orlando for an early September game but was forced to fly home and reschedule the game a few weeks later. UCF was also forced to cancel a game with Georgia Tech.
Email Matt Murschel at mmurschel@orlandosentinel.com or follow him on Twitter at @osmattmurschel.