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Posted at 2:15 PM EST. 

Boise State +6½ over CENTRAL FLORIDA

Thursday, September 2nd, 2021

3MG Stadium – Orlando, FL

7:00 PM EST. Former Boise State head coach Bryan Harsin left the blue fields of Idaho for the green pastures of Auburn, Alabama. In his place, former Bronco linebacker Andrew Avalos will take over his alma mater after a 14-year career as an assistant coach with stops in Colorado, Sacramento State and most recently, Oregon. Avalos brings Tim Plough with him as offensive coordinator. Plough will install his up-tempo offense from UC Davis where returning star receiver Khalil Shakir will be the center piece. Shakir is one of nine returning offensive starters for the Broncs, which is not a bad place to start. Perhaps more importantly, the Broncos return four of their five offensive linemen, which should serve their quarterback tandem of Hank Bachmeier and Jack Sears well. Bachmeier began the last two seasons as the starter, but Sears, a USC transfer, played admirably in Bachmeier's absence in 2020, opening the door for a healthy quarterback competition for two talented pivots. Finally, 2019 Mountain West Freshman of The Year, running back George Holani is back and healthy after a season-ending injury last year. The Broncos went 5-2 in 2020. That's pretty good, but Boise State, for whatever reason, is not getting the respect they have so deservedly earned year after year. That provides us with this opportunity.

The Knights of UCF finished 6-4 last season, but they once again were in the top eight in America in total offense and defense, their third year in a row making big stops and putting up big numbers. With that success comes the winds of change, as Gus Malzahn will replace Josh Heupel, who took the vacant Tennessee posting. Malzahn was most recently ousted at Auburn, where, as mentioned above, Harsin replaced him. The coaching circle of life is strong with this game. Returning for Malzahn is starting quarterback Dillon Gabriel, who started all 10 games in 2020, which is pretty impressive considering how COVID ravaged many programs, the Broncos included. Gabriel is a high profile pivot with a prospect prognosis that is much more favorable than either of the Broncos options at quarterback, but with a new coach and a new offense, there is a massive weight of expectations on Malzahn’s shoulders to continue the ascent of the Central Florida program. Malzahn is not a coach on the rise, instead, he’s just another overhyped, recycled coach and as it turns out, the Knights were in the market at that exact same time. The Knights think they’re getting some big gunslinger but they’re not, otherwise there would have been many offers for more prestigious jobs landing on Malzahn’s desk but the offers were nowhere to be found. Market perception is that Malzahn gives the Knights instant market credibility for a program that is begging for it but we are going to trust that he’s more of a also-ran or detriment than an asset. That allows us to scoop up some sweet, inflated points, which is precisely what we are going to do.

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