UCF Football: 5 spring 2019 storylines to follow

5. A Power Five conference bid?

There almost always seems to be talks of the expansion for Power 5 conferences, or at least inklings to it. For UCF, being in a Group of 5 conference precludes them from possibly competing for the College Football Playoff on a yearly basis.

Given UCF’s success throughout the last two seasons, it is fitting to wrestle with the idea of whether another 10-plus win season would warrant the Knights’ jump into a Power 5 conference.

While there doesn’t appear to be any indications of UCF switching conferences on the horizon, the Knights have a positive track record playing against teams that compete in Power 5 conferences.

This in it of itself might serve to be the biggest driving factor that would attract UCF to possible Power 5 suitors.

Geographically, a move to the ACC might make the most sense because it is situated in Florida. UCF is also a large, public university which certainly fits the mold of a majority of member institutions in the conference.

Two of the premier Florida college football programs — Florida and Florida State — are both located in the northern part of the state. Miami is also in the mix here, but its draw comes from the south part of Florida.

UCF, which is in Orlando, could open up the possibility of expanding the Florida college football market to the central Florida area.

Then again, the ACC is among the largest conferences in terms of member teams (14) out of the Power 5 conferences. The ACC rivals the Big Ten for the most teams in a conference. Therefore, the ACC might not necessarily be seeking expansion at the moment.

The more likely landing spot could be the Big 12 — a conference that currently only has a roster of 10 teams. This move doesn’t make as much sense from a traveling perspective, but it could be an easier ticket into a Power 5 conference.

The Knights would also have to enter into the conference alongside another team to even out the number of teams in that conference. Maybe a deserving candidate like Houston from their own conference could make the leap with them.