Boca Raton, Fla. – College College football fans who have endured a cut-off, epidemic-changing season, the bowls have been canceled and disappointed by the team when the team opted for the postseason play Tuesday night when UCF Square closed in the BYU and Boca Raton Bowl.
The game of the third bowl of the season has an incomprehensibly interesting story to tell of the two top non-power five programs on the ground until the MST kickoff at 5pm on ESPN. The Cougars-Knights clash between the top five (Yahoo! Sports and College Football Football News) in some of the best bowler ranking lists and almost all of them are in the top 10.
With clear skies, 70-degree temperatures and the expected coronavirus-restricted crowd of 6,000 at FAU Stadium, it should be a very fun, shootout-type shoot-down in Sunshine State, where No. 13 BYU is 0-8 all the time and an exclamation point at its best season in two decades. Eager to put.
A big reason for the excitement surrounding the Boca Raton Bowl is the presence of the top two quarterbacks in the country, BYU junior Zac Wilson and UCF sophomore Dillon Gabriel. Their numbers are exactly the same, but Wilson has gained more prominence this season as a candidate for the Fringe Heisman Trophy and has his eye on some of Gajriel’s steals of that electricity.
“Wilson is a baler,” said UCF defensive line coach Shane Burnham. “Everyone can throw it. He’s got a really strong hand. … And it has some wheels. He can run. That’s as good as a quarterback we’ve seen all year. I tell you, this guy is really a football player. ”
Gabriel – whose father, Garrett Gabriel, led Hawaii to win back-to-back at BYU in 1989 and 1990 led by Ty Datmer – is the best Cubs defense the Cubs will see in 2020, BYU head coach Kalani Sitak complimented. .
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“Really impressed with his quarterback,” said Sitak, who spent his childhood in Hawaii. “I’ve watched him play since I was in high school. So this is going to be an exciting game. સમયે At a time when bowling games are being canceled and teams are choosing to play in bowling games, we appreciate the opportunity for the boys to play together once more. ”
Wilson, 3, threw with just three interruptions in the regular season for 676767 yards and touch0 touchdowns, completing 73 of his passes.
Gabriel leads the country in passing per yard (2 37૨..5) and has thrown four, 3533 yards and T0 TD with just four picks. The Knights average is 44.3 points per game, the Cougars 43.
“Everyone in the locker room is super stocked (to play BYU),” Gabriel said when the match was announced on December 14.
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Wilson, who will likely play his final game as a cougar – likely to become a pro soon after the game – said that billing the bowl as a duel between himself and Gabriel was “a completely wrong way to look at it” and ignored the fact that Both the teams have reached this stage by playing supplementary football.
“I have nothing to do with it,” Wilson said. “For me, it’s BYU vs. UCF – two explosive crimes. It’s about running us, as opposed to their defense. … He’s a great player, don’t get me wrong, but I’m getting as close to him as every other game we’ve played this year. “
The only person involved in this matchup who doesn’t seem to be impressed by Wilson or the Cougars is UCF safety Derek Gaines. Asked what he says about BYU last week, Junior from Miami, well, went in a different direction.
“Only a good, well-rounded group of people who are mature and know the game of football,” Genoese said. “It simply came to our notice then. Just the level of knowing the game, the level of being there before. Level of competition. It’s about it in terms of any challenges. Other than that, it’s about it. ”
UCF coach Josh Huppel, a former quarterback at Snow College and Utah State assistant, in a video teleconference with reporters on Sunday, noted BYU’s maturity, but also noted Wilson’s feat.
“He is an experienced quarterback who is playing at a very high level, and he does a great job of taking care of a good decision maker, Futb. He is very accurate with the ball. It’s a huge test for us on both sides, “Huppel said.
Hazle runner-up in Oklahoma in 2000, Huppel said there was a reason Wilson was seen as a potential NFL first-round pick.
“She is OK. He understands exactly what he is doing. His eyes come to the right place. His body is in good condition. That’s right, “said Huppel. “When that schedule closes, he can play with his feet and hands. He has got the talent of select hand and that is why he has seen so much at the next level. “
It will probably come down to who has a good supporting cast.
Gabriel’s chances were a bit off when leading receiver Marlon Williams (71 catches, 1,039 yards, 10 TD) picked up the rest of the season after the Knights’ 58-46 win over South Florida on November 27, 27.
Wilson’s favorite target, Dax Mille, who also becomes his home teammate, said no one on the BYU roster had picked him up and the Cougars should be close to full strength after running after Tiger Gelazier (illness) and fellow receiver Gunner Romney. 28-14 win over San Diego State on 28 December.
“The coach touched on it when we’ve been in meetings for the last few days,” Milen said Friday. “They’ve said a lot about how they’ve kept part of the bowl games, and it usually comes down to which team wants to be there more, or is more excited to play. Because sometimes, it’s easy to treat like a vacation and shouldn’t be like a business trip. The key for us is to really get down and give it one last time and really focus and get excited to be there. “
B.Y.U. Linebacker Kavika Fonua, who, along with her teammates, slowed down the second-best offense in the FBS (5,585..6 yards per game), said it would be the most unusual ball to take part. Circumstances brought about by an epidemic. The Cougars are trying to make amends for the 38-34 loss to Hawaii in the Hawaii Bowl last year which was also like a road game. Boca Raton takes less than three hours from UCF’s campus in Oclando.
“Man, it’s just as good as the other game.” Fonua said. “It’s a business trip.”
And a matchup that should be good for the college football business.
Cougars on the air
No. 13 BYU (10-1) vs UCF (6-3)
Tuesday, 5 p.m. MST
FAU Stadium
TV: ESPN
Radio: 1160 A.M.
