SMQ: What would it take for UCF to reach the College Football Playoff?

4. UCF needs to close season with big wins over Top 25 USF and Memphis

UCF needs to root for the best possible matchups in the regular-season finale against South Florida and in the American Athletic Conference championship game. That means rooting for the Bulls to get back to winning ways ahead of their Black Friday trip to Orlando, and for Memphis to land the AAC West berth in the title game.

What gave Northern Illinois a boost into the Orange Bowl five years ago was the fact that they got to take down a ranked Kent State team in the MAC championship game. Three years before that, TCU had the advantage of playing ranked BYU and Utah teams in Mountain West play to bolster its position in the polls and the BCS standings. In both cases, these matchups against highly-regarded opponents boosted the strength of schedule.

That boost meant that neither the Huskies and Horned Frogs could be ignored in the national picture. Usually the knock against Group of Five teams is that they have played a weak schedule that is undeserving of a chance at a national title. For UCF, getting to play two ranked teams in a row to end the regular season would be a boon to their credentials that would definitely grab the attention of the College Football Playoff selection committee.