Whether it's winning a football game, taking a test or brushing their teeth, UCF has focused its attention on the immediate task at hand - a mantra championed by a rookie head coach who just wants to go 1-0 one more time
It’s officially called the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl, and as one would expect, the title sponsor is not lacking for product placement this week in Phoenix.
For starters, each member of the official travel party receives a PlayStation PS4 console, a controller and video games. Really, is there a better bowl gift package from the players’ perspective? That alone might lead a student-athlete to crank out that extra rep in the weight room in the offseason.
PlayStation also had a de facto players’ lounge at Sunday’s Fiesta Bowl Media Day. So when UCF’s players were not fielding questions from the national writers and reporters who made the trip to Arizona, they were able to sneak away for impromptu games of Madden NFL 19, FIFA 19 or Marvel’s Spider-Man.
College football bowls, in general, are meant to serve as rewards for players, coaches, alumni and fans. The Fiesta Bowl agenda consists of the two teams’ spending the better part of a week in the scenic outskirts of Phoenix, with the backdrop of Camelback Mountain as a reminder that this is not a typical game week. A few student-athletes from UCF and LSU – the two southeastern U.S.-based schools in Tuesday’s game – noted that this trip was the first time that they had even seen a mountain in person.
“It's absolutely been a great experience for our players,” said UCF coach Josh Heupel. “All of the team activities have been a lot of fun, an opportunity for our kids to get a chance to see a different part of the country than what they've experienced, and they have really enjoyed it. But as it's getting closer to kickoff, I know they're excited about the opportunity to go play a great opponent as well.”
While fun is in abundance, there is still the matter of a significant New Year’s Six bowl at stake Tuesday. From LSU’s perspective, head coach Ed Orgeron noted the importance of getting a 10th win, stressing that anything less than that would be a disappointment for the Tigers.
“Winning 10 games, winning a bowl - the Fiesta Bowl - our (staff’s) first New Year's Six Bowl, will say a lot about our program, taking the next step,” Orgeron said. “It helps in recruiting, it helps in the spring, it kind of makes the next seven months some good months and positive notes predicting for the next year.”
UCF, meanwhile, is looking to add to its incredible run of success in the last two seasons, a stretch that has produced 25 consecutive victories – by far the longest active streak nationally. Perhaps more impressive is the fact that the streak has spanned two coaching staffs.
Heupel came to Orlando last December as the Knights were putting a bow on a 13-0 season. On one hand, he inherited a roster that consisted mostly of championship-caliber players. On the other, he had to gain the trust of said players while implementing his own system, scheme and philosophy on a team that had already had a model that worked.
“I think the ability of our staff and players to merge and to form a family in a short amount of time, the time and energy that we put in January and February, leading into spring ball and getting real relationships with our players, I think, was extremely important,” said Heupel.
For the UCF seniors, Heupel’s mantra of 1-0 was exactly what the Knights needed. It allowed the players to focus their attention forward on the next task, whether it was a game against a conference opponent, a lifting session, an academic responsibility or brushing their teeth. Go 1-0 and win that moment. There’s no talk of a winning streak, the Knights’ place in college football history or even the magnitude of the Fiesta Bowl. Only going 1-0 in whatever comes next.
“I don't ever look too far in front,” said Heupel, “and I definitely don't look behind. We just go out, compete, and play as hard as we possibly can. We're only as good as our next performance. We're looking forward to the opportunity of this one to give ourselves a chance to go 1-0 one more time.”
The message resonated with UCF’s players. A senior class that came in as freshmen and was greeted with an 0-12 season was able to reverse its fortune in the course of two years, including last year’s Peach Bowl win against Auburn. To get to this point, with the opportunity at another perfect season in front of them, the Knights’ veterans had to create their own culture within the program.
“I think you gain a lot more respect for something when you build it yourself,” said UCF offensive tackle Wyatt Miller. “That's why this program is so special to me, so special to a lot of these guys who have been here for four or five years, because we built this. It doesn't happen without that culture, without guys who are willing to step up and say something when something's wrong or if you mess a play up, 'Hey, we're running that again.' And that's part of the culture we've built here, is we're going to do things the right way in whatever we're doing.”
It’s a mindset that has paid off this week for the Knights. It helped a few members of the squad navigate a double black diamond hike down Camelback Mountain. It led to competitive PlayStation battles during down time. It drove successful community service efforts during the week in Arizona. And it has the team prepared mentally and physically for what could be its most challenging game of the season.
“This is a reward for them,” said Heupel. “They've spent eight months getting to this – or, really, 12 months getting to this point and fighting throughout the regular season and then a conference championship game to get here.
“Early in the week they've had unique experiences, things that they've never had the opportunity to do. But when it's time for football, they've focused in. They've dialed into the preparation. They'll be ready to kick off tomorrow.”