Four Thoughts on UCF’s 18-16 Win Over Boise State
After a great opening weekend of Big 12 football, the conference yet again had a great slate of games in week Two. While some of the other games around the conference may steal the national headlines, there was a great matchup out in Boise, Idaho on the famous blue turf as UCF traveled to take on Boise State.
The Knights entered the weekend with a 1-0 record while the Broncos came in looking for their first win of the season. It’s been over 20 years since Boise State hasn’t won their home opener and that streak ended on Saturday night. Here are my thoughts on UCF’s wild 18-16 win over Boise State.
Colton Boomer Was the MVP
It’s rare that we talk about kickers, but Colton Boomer deserves some praise after his big game on Saturday. He went 4/4 on his field goals including a game winning 40-yard kick as time expired. Colton also knocked in two more from fifty plus yards as well in this one. On a night where the offense stalled out, Colton’s leg was the reason why UCF took home the victory.
The Defense Did Enough to Win
It wasn’t a perfect performance by any means, but UCF’s defense had some good moments against Boise State’s offense. Sure, they gave up a ton of yards (especially on the ground), but for the most part they kept the Broncos offense out of the end zone as they gave up just 16 points. I don’t care who you are playing because if you can hold your opponent to 16 points on the road then that is a good enough effort to win the game.
The Red Zone Offense Was Terrible
I am still not quite sure how UCF survived this game because the offense had trouble finding the end zone all game long. In fact, they only scored one touchdown despite being in the red zone four times. Whether it was a turnover or a bad play, the Knights have to be better at taking advantage of key situations. UCF racked up over 530 yards yet only had one touchdown to show for it. That must change going into Big 12 play or else they are going to have a tough time winning these close games.
How Long Will John Rhys Plumlee Be Out?
There is no doubt that Plumlee is a true gamer. He sacrifices his body more often than not and takes a ton of hits. While I do wish he would slide more to protect himself, I do admire his toughness. He’s not afraid of contact which is rare from a quarterback. On the final drive of the game, John Rhys Plumlee marched the offense down the field to get in field goal range. Unfortunately, on a run to the sidelines Plumlee’s leg got caught underneath him when he hit the ground.
While he initially got up fairly quickly, I noticed that when he got up, he could barely walk and had to be helped to the sideline. We are going to have to wait to see what happens, but it doesn’t look to good for the UCF quarterback. Hopefully, he can return sooner rather than later.
