Ask a UCF writer: Heisman candidate, Malzahn’s offense, Bounce House await Boise State
The Boise State football team opens the season in less than a week in prime time at UCF in what may prove to be one of the biggest Group of Five games all year.
Both teams have new coaching staffs. After two years as Oregon’s defensive coordinator, Andy Avalos was hired as the head coach at his alma mater in January. Former Auburn coach Gus Malzahn was hired at UCF in February. He was fired at Auburn last December and replaced by former Boise State coach Bryan Harsin.
UCF and Boise State (5 p.m. MT, Sept. 2, ESPN) are both in the running for the Group of Five’s bid to a New Year’s Six bowl game, and they’ve played in three such bowls between them since 2014. The Broncos beat Arizona in the 2014 Fiesta Bowl, while the Knights knocked off Auburn in the 2017 Peach Bowl and lost to LSU in the 2018 Fiesta Bowl.
The winner of the season opener in the Bounce House in Orlando, Florida, will keep itself right in the conversation for a New Year’s bowl this season. Cincinnati is the favorite after ranking No. 8 in the preseason AP Top 25. Coastal Carolina (22) and Louisiana (23) also made the Top 25. Boise State and UCF just missed the cut, but both received votes.
UCF’s offense ranked No. 2 in the country last season with 568.1 yards a game. The Knights are led again this year by quarterback Dillon Gabriel, who threw for 3,570 yards, 32 touchdowns and just four interceptions last fall. They’re also hoping the defense gets a boost from several additions, including former Auburn defensive end Big Kat Bryant.
Matt Murschel, national college football writer for the Orlando Sentinel, sat down with the Idaho Statesman to preview Boise State’s season-opening opponent.
1. Dillon Gabriel has been mentioned as a Heisman candidate. What makes him one of the best QBs in the country?
He’s shown a lot of poise. His work ethic is one of the things (the coaches) talk a lot about. And then you look at his physical abilities. He’s got a strong arm and can get the ball down the field. He throws one of the prettiest deep balls you’ll ever see. It’s very much a rainbow, I’ve been told by a lot of coaches.
He’s a cerebral guy. His dad was a quarterback at Hawaii back in the ‘80s, so he comes from a long line of quarterbacks. He understands the game, he studies it a lot and he’s one of those guys who is starting to take that next step. One of the things the staff tells us they like more than anything is he’s getting to the point where he can read progressions and read defenses, and it’s second nature for him now.
2. How does Gabriel compare to former UCF QB McKenzie Milton, now at Florida State?
They’re both dual-threat guys. I would look at Dillon as a little bit of a better passer, especially on the deep ball. But I would also give the nod to McKenzie, at least when he was healthy, that he was more of a gamer at times. That’s no disrespect to Dillon, but we saw what McKenzie did in 2017 and 2018 when he kind of put the team on his shoulders, especially late in games. They were very close in high school, and in a lot of ways, McKenzie is the reason Dillon came to UCF.
3. With last season’s top three rushers gone and RJ Harvey out for the season, is depth a concern at running back?
I don’t know if it’s a concern, but you definitely have to think about it. (The team) came in with the idea of Bentavious Thompson getting most of the carries. He was the third-string running back last year and more of big, power rusher, but he’s not on the team anymore. RJ Harvey, a transfer from Virginia, looked good in the spring, but then he got hurt.
Isaiah Bowser, a transfer from Northwestern, is the most experienced running back on roster. My guess is he’s going to share the load with Mark-Antony Richards, a transfer from Auburn, who was hurt last year.
UCF also has three guys on the roster from last year: Johnny Richardson, who is a speedster, Damarius Good and Trillion Coles, who was hurt last year. They also have a freshman in Anthony Williams, who is a guy that was highly touted and rusher for over 2,000 yards in high school.
They’ve got depth at the position, it’s just the experience factor. I think they’ll use some sort of rotation. Based on what Malzahn has done in the past, they’re going to mix it up.
4. UCF ranked No. 123 in total defense last season. Will the defense be better this year?
I think it will. They struggled to stop teams last year, but part of it was they lost a lot of talent. A lot of guys opted out (because of COVID-19). Talented defensive lineman Kalia Davis and cornerback Tay Gowan both opted out. Davis is back, but they had to rely on a lot of young guys, and during the season, they lost a couple defenders because of off-the-field issues. They actually played two true freshmen at cornerback last year, which was throwing those guys into the fire. We saw that catch up with them.
Big Kat Bryant said at media days he wants to prove he’s the best defensive player in the country, and if anyone gets in his way, he’s going to run them over. You have a new coaching staff. Travis Williams is the defensive coordinator. He’s a high-energy guy and wants his players flying around and tackling better. The linebackers are experienced. The secondary will be the question, but there’s some talent there.
If the defense can play better than it did last year and the offense can be the same caliber it has been the last couple years, that’s where this team can have some success. When they were winning in 2017 and 2018, the defense was playing really well. The last couple years, they haven’t seen that, and I think that’s been the biggest hurdle for them.
5. What can Boise State expect from Gus Malzahn’s offense?
Malzahn has been asked this multiple times and he says it’s going to be high-powered and explosive, and he wants to build off what UCF has done in the past. When you look at what he did at Auburn, they were not nearly as explosive as UCF. They relied heavily on the run, but Gus Malzahn hasn’t has a quarterback like Dillon Gabriel, and I think he understands that.
When UCF had success in 2017 and 2018, they relied on running the ball a lot more. Mackenzie Milton was a big factor in that. They’re going to mix the run in as much as they can, but they’re going to push the ball downfield and they’re going to keep the tempo going.
What I’m interested in is when Malzahn was hired, he said he was going to return to calling plays. That was a huge deal because he didn’t do that the last couple years at Auburn, and things lagged a little.
6. It’s been awhile since Boise State played in front of a full stadium. What can the Broncos expect from the Bounce House?
This is the first time UCF has played at home in front of a full crowd since late 2019 against USF. The Bounce House is unique. As soon as they start playing the song “KernKraft 400” by Zombie Nation, the fans start jumping up and down, and the place actually kind of sways, and it startles people if you have not been there before.
It’s a raucous crowd. They have 12,000 students at the games, and the student sections are behind both end zones. I think they’ve sold 98 percent of season tickets, so I expect there to be a good crowd. It may not be a sellout yet, but they’re expecting a full crowd.
7. Are there any COVID-19 protocols in place for game day?
There’s no vaccine requirement. UCF is asking fans to get vaccinated if they can. They are strongly recommending wearing masks indoors. They will provide masks, and they’re asking fans to make sure you wash your hands routinely. They’re going to have hand sanitizer stations everywhere around the stadium. If you’re not feeling well, have COVID-19 or are in quarantine, they’re obviously asking you not to go to the game.
BOISE STATE AT UCF
When: 5 p.m. Mountain time, Sept. 2
Where: Bounce House, Orlando, Florida
TV: ESPN (channel 133 on Sparklight, 206 on DirecTV and 140 on Dish Network)
Series: This is the first game between the programs.
Vegas line: UCF by 5
Weather: 75 degrees at game time, 24% chance of rain, 9 mph winds
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This story was originally published August 27, 2021 at 4:00 AM.
