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UCF kicks off inaugural Big 12 season
UCF Football opens the 2023 season, its inaugural season in the Big 12 Conference, hosting Kent State.
ORLANDO, Fla. - The Orlando area avoided the worst of Hurricane Idalia, so it was business as usual for UCF Football, as the Knights prepared for their season opener against Kent State on Thursday.
That means UCF went through an afternoon meeting and an indoor walk-thru ahead of their most anticipated season in school history.
"I don’t care how long you’ve been playing football. When you’re playing the first game that you’ve been waiting a year for, you’re pretty excited about it," quarterback John Rhys Plumlee said.
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One-on-one with UCF's John Rhys Plumlee
FOX 35's John Brown had a one-on-one interview with UCF Football quarterback John Rhys Plumlee ahead of the team's season opener against Kent State at the "Bounce House."
The Knights hit the field for the first time as members of the Big 12, as they host non-conference foe Kent State on Thursday.
"There’s nothing like the first game. You learn about your team, especially when you have 18 transfers and over 20 freshmen and everything that goes with it," head coach Gus Malzahn said.
"I’ve kind of learned over the year that the first games are always about execution. What do we do really, really well?" Plumlee said.
UCF wants to kick off the season by making a statement to the college football world.
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Tailgating ahead of UCF season opener
Thousands of Knights fans arrived at the "Bounce House" on Thursday for the season opener against Kent State.
"We just want to come out on our debut, put a stamp on we’re here to stay, we’re here to play, and we’re here to contend," senior defensive end Josh Celiscar said.
As a head coach, Malzahn has a perfect 12-0 record in home openers. A win on Thursday would extend his record to 13-0.
Kent State tells FOX 35 that their football team departed Ohio and arrived safely in Orlando on Wednesday.