UCF football finished the regular season as the only undefeated team. Here are three reasons why they deserved a shot at the national title this postseason.
More: Complete 2017-2018 bowl schedule
For the UCF Knights, 2017 was a magical season. A young offense grew up quickly, as Scott Frost molded a burgeoning powerhouse before bolting for Nebraska and the open job at his alma mater. Recovering quickly from a season disrupted by Hurricane Irma right out of the gate, UCF rattled off 13 straight victories.
The last win came in the Knights’ 34-27 Peach Bowl win over Auburn in Atlanta. In some ways it was a cruel joke to put UCF at the same site where the national championship would be played a week later. No Power Five team finished with a perfect record between August and December. Only the Knights pulled off the feat, and they were relegated to the undercard.
The birth of the College Football Playoff did give a guaranteed access point for a team from outside the Power Five conferences to earn a trip to one of the New Year’s Six games. In theory, that includes the two semifinal games that are rotated between the half-dozen premier bowl sites every season. But in reality it seems like only an expansion of the field and some sort of guarantee for undefeated Group of Five champions will make it a real possibility.
Should UCF have spent their New Year’s holiday in Pasadena or New Orleans instead of Atlanta? Were the Knights snubbed by the College Football Playoff selection committee when they effectively went in lockstep with pollsters and shut them out of the discussion? Keep reading for three reasons why UCF deserved a chance to play in the College Football Playoff this season.
1. The most prolific offense in the FBS deserved a shot to test itself fully
There was certainly pride on the line when Auburn dug in opposite UCF at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. But the Tigers defense lacked the extra layer of motivation that comes with title stakes up for grabs. This common refrain is often used as a means of writing off mid-majors that knock off bigger names in bowl games, from the days of BYU’s 1984 national championship onward.
This season, no team was better than the Knights at scoring points. They were held to 27 offensive points by the Tigers, but even that would have been good enough to top the score Alabama managed to put up later on Monday.
UCF was led by its otherworldly quarterback, McKenzie Milton. Skilled both passing and running the football, Milton kept UCF in the game all throughout. On the day, the big knock against Milton was that he failed to complete more of his passes. Finishing 16-of-35 through the air, the sophomore quarterback still threw for 242 yards and two touchdowns.
He added another 116 yards and a touchdown on 13 rushing attempts. Milton is no one-trick pony, nor are the Knights. Milton dishes the ball out to talented receivers like Tre’Quan Smith, Dredrick Snelson, and tailback Otis Anderson. He is also a strong runner who executes the option increasingly well. They all deserved a shot to play for the highest stakes after a blemish-free AAC title-winning season.
2. No Power Five defense can beat UCF at generating turnovers
For a team whose calling card was undoubtedly offensive firepower, the UCF defense sometimes got overshadowed. Some of that was justified, as the Knights gave up an average of 26 points and 428 yards of offense to their opponents. At the same time, though, the fact that Scott Frost’s team gave up so much yardage and so few corresponding points was telling in itself.
UCF was undoubtedly built around the same bend-but-don’t-break concepts as so many Nick Aliotti defenses that Frost saw on the opposite side of the ball leading practices in Eugene. Just like those Ducks teams, UCF made offenses pay by finishing second in the nation in turnovers gained.
The Knights ranked second in interceptions, finishing one pick behind Iowa in the final tally. They were one of a half-dozen teams with at least 20 interceptions in 2016. Along with Wyoming, they were the only two teams among that sextet to also rack up at least 10 fumble recoveries as well. UCF’s defense generated 12 fumble recoveries to finish just behind the Cowboys in total takeaways.
In the Peach Bowl, the Knights gave up 27 points and 421 yards, right around average. They also forced two Jarrett Stidham interceptions. Chequan Burkett returned one of them 45 yards for what proved to be the decisive score. That defense also managed to hold Auburn to just 90 rushing yards, giving Stidham plenty of space through the air but turning the Tigers one-dimensional.
3. The double standard around strength of schedule
The elephant in the room when talking about a Group of Five team is always strength of schedule. Common perceptions dictate that a team like UCF simply doesn’t play enough real tests in the regular season to justify a shot at playing for the big prize.
Only so many teams can win the realignment prize. And, perhaps, someday one of the Power Five leagues will come calling for a school like UCF or South Florida to fill a hole in its Sunshine State recruiting market. Until that time, though, we need to really look at the double standard around schedule strength.
A team like Alabama can have its lone loss written off as a fluke, even though they played a marginally difficult schedule. In addition to being less formidable than in past years, the SEC also did not schedule Alabama against Georgia this regular season. The Tide played Fresno State, Colorado State, and FCS Mercer along with a Florida State team that barely reached bowl eligibility. Had they played a tougher schedule, Alabama might have suffered another loss or two.
UCF played one Power Five school, Maryland, in a 38-10 blowout on the road. Their other scheduled Power Five test, against a Georgia Tech team that finished third in the ACC Coastal but missed a bowl game, was canceled due to Hurricane Irma. And the Knights also played three games against a pair of 10-win teams in conference play, beating Memphis twice and South Florida once.
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The selection committee can essentially justify any number of excuses to exclude a Group of Five school from the College Football Playoff conversation. UCF jumped through every hoop, overcame early adversity out of its control, and still didn’t do enough for a dozen folks picking names without any transparency to their decision-making process besides a vague series of often contradictory explanations. UCF explained on New Year’s Day and all season long why they deserved a shot at the College Football Playoff.