I’ll admit, when UConn head coach Bob Diaco announced to the world that he had concocted a seemingly-fictional rivalry with UCF, I thought it was funny, if bizarre. When ESPN, Deadspin and virtually every other sports media outlet covered the story in the only way they could — mocking Diaco and UConn — I was embarrassed.
Today, a few days after Diaco’s Huskies drubbed a sad UCF team 40-13, I’m convinced this is what Diaco planned all along.
To focus on the “rivalry” aspect of The ConFLiCT is to miss the point. UConn and UCF have almost no shared history. Each school has been largely irrelevant to the other’s successes and failures.
Instead, it’s more important to contextualize how each team views the other. In the limited time UConn and UCF have been in the same conference, the Huskies have been a doormat. They have been arguably the worst team in the league, averaging two wins per season in AAC play. UCF, meanwhile, has captured a share of two conference championships, and just two seasons ago had their starting quarterback selected as the third overall pick of the NFL Draft.
This was never about a rivalry. This was about Diaco instilling in his players, the fans, and the media that these two teams belonged in the same class as each other. After Saturday’s game, it looks like he was right.
Diaco and UConn made this game into their Super Bowl. UCF laughed at the very concept of this game. UConn’s players showed up to play their Super Bowl. UCF turned that ball over four times and committed several other dumb mistakes. Only one of these teams played like the game mattered to them. Diaco ran the sidelines like a lunatic (shouldn’t surprise you by now). UCF coach George O’Leary made this face a lot:
It’s possible that Diaco just got lucky. After all, this UCF team is really bad. They’re now 0-6 on the season and have shown no real signs of improvement. Still, Diaco deserves credit. He put himself out there on behalf of his team. That shows trust and commitment. His players returned the favor on Saturday.
Who’s laughing now?
