College Football Rankings: Way-too-early Top 25 projections for 2018

UCF was the darling of the college football postseason, finishing 2017 as the only undefeated FBS team in the entire country. The Knights were shut out of the College Football Playoff by their strength of schedule, but took out their frustrations on an Auburn team that beat both finalists for the national title. The New Year’s Six victory at the Peach Bowl gave UCF its second major bowl win in the past five years.

They return a large portion of the talent that helped get them 13 straight victories. McKenzie Milton is back in Orlando, as are running backs Adrian Killins Jr. and Otis Anderson. They also return the bulk of what was a rather young defense in 2017, which bodes well for their hopes of repeating as American Athletic Conference champions.

Of course, expectations are tempered by the fact that head coach Scott Frost left UCF for the vacant position at his alma mater, Nebraska. Frost returned to coach the Knights in the Peach Bowl, but he is now officially a Cornhusker full-time. It falls to new head coach Josh Heupel to keep Central Florida on track to sustain the momentum of its perfect 2017 campaign.

The AP voters will naturally be a bit skeptical of a first-time head coach taking over in Orlando. Then again, Frost was a first-timer leading a program when he came to town after years as Oregon’s offensive coordinator. Expect the Knights to open 2018 somewhere in the mid-to-high teens as the top-ranked Group of Five team in the AP Top 25.