College Football: 8 non-conference home-and-homes that need to happen

UCF vs. Miami

If UCF wants to consistently hang with the big boys, scheduling and defeating an in-state power would be a real good start.

The Knights of Central Florida are no stranger to knocking off Power Five opponents. Stanford, Pitt, Maryland and even Auburn have fallen to UCF.

Timing would be good for UCF if this game were to happen sooner than later given the state of The U. Even though Miami routinely plays the tougher schedule because of their conference, it’s nearly impossible to argue that the Hurricanes have been a better program over the last five years.

Compare all of the Knights’ recent successes to the last few years for Miami and you’ll see there really is no comparison. After starting 10-0 in 2017, Miami is 13-16 including losses to FIU and Louisiana Tech.

Miami hopes to be back on track under Manny Diaz while the Knights expect to continue to grow and remain an elite Group of Five program under Josh Heupel.

A Hurricanes victory would shut up one of their perceived “little brothers” and even against a program Miami may view as underneath them, it would bring confidence back to a program that desperately needs a little.

A UCF win would provide a huge recruiting boost and help vindicate the Knights’ view of themselves as one of the top programs in the state. Big picture, it could also serve as an audition for future conference expansion.