OPENING STATEMENT:

“We get the privilege of playing an undefeated team again this week in USF. Obviously they are a very good football team, playing well. Going down there, they have a lot of talented players, it will be a tremendous challenge for us. I think during the off-week, we were able to get guys healed up a little bit, take care of some of those bumps and bruises, catch our breath a little bit, prepare and head down there to play them.”

REACTION TO ELI THOMAS:

“Every day, you just never know what can happen. Things like this are very unfortunate. It’s one of those things where you take one day at a time, do the best you can each and every day because you just never know what can happen.”

YOU WERE ON THE ROAD RECRUITING, WAS IT A PRODUCTIVE WEEK?:

“I thought we had a productive week. We were able to get out on the road, recruit and evaluate young men. We did that and we were able to get work done here, on-campus with our team. We did some things from a fundamental and technique standpoint to get better. We also got a jumpstart on the game plan for South Florida. We were also able to give some guys rest to get them healed up. At six games into this, with as many young guys as we are playing, the bye came at a good week for them to catch their breath because this is something that they haven’t been used to. I thought everything went as good as we could expect other than the unfortunate situation with Eli.”

GIVEN YOUR EXPERIENCE, HOW WOULD YOU RATE THE TALENT LEVEL OF UCF, GIVEN HOW THEIR RECRUITING RANKINGS HAVEN’T BEEN AS HIGH AS OTHER TEAMS?:

“I think UCF does a great job of coaching. The thing that really disturbs me, they do a good job, they have talented guys, they play as a team. The thing that really disturbs you is they were 10^th in the country. They win, go on the road and win in a rainstorm. They beat Pitt at home by 30, Notre Dame plays Pitt at home and wins by 5 points. Everyone else goes up in the polls, but UCF doesn’t move up. People want to talk about conspiracies and all those things, I just don’t understand how a team that has done what they’ve done, haven’t lost a game in two years, continues to go out there each and every week and win, but stays the same place, when people who have won moves up this week. They’ve played the same opponent this year as someone else. No one wants to give them credit for beating them by 30 at home and the other team beats them by 5 points at home, I just don’t think they get the respect that they deserve, I think it’s embarrassing and it makes the polls, the championship stuff, it’s just not right. They deserve all the credit they should get that they aren’t getting. They are talented, have a great quarterback, they do a great job. It’s just disappointing that things are being held against them.”

“I think UCF deserves a lot more credit and attention than what they are getting. All they are doing is doing it on the field, the best way possible. It’s just a shame that they aren’t getting the credit that they deserve.”

MATT SCHONVISKY / SITE CREATOR