← Today, in searing hot takes
Hotty Toddy →
UCF's gonna UCF as long as it can.
Seriously, these guys are gonna carry that national championship torch longer than Tommy Tuberville has for the '04 Auburn Tigers… and with as much chance at succeeding.
Let's check in with quarterback McKenzie Milton, shall we? (h/t)
"I think the main thing the playoff committee is looking for is sustained success," he said. "Alabama, sustained success. Georgia, sustained success. Clemson, sustained success. Alabama and Clemson have been in the playoffs all three years. I think they want to see teams be consistent, year in and year out. For us, we kind of came up out of nowhere, going from 0-12 to 6-7 to 13-0. I think if we sustain that success next year, going undefeated again, or maybe losing one game, it will matter. They want to see teams be consistent."
UCF operates under an additional handicap, being located in Florida, home to such legendary programs as the University of Florida, Florida State and University of Miami.
Milton said eventually people will notice the product on the field.
"Look at the talent. Look at the film. They should consider us with those guys," he said. "I think we were a better team than all three of them last year. We can compete with any of those guys. We have to keep working, keep recruiting good guys, guys who are going to buy in and stay true to what we're doing."
Brother, your team played Sagarin's #72 strength of schedule last season, compared to Alabama's #27, Clemson's #4 and Georgia's #6. Despite that, Alabama was first in total defense, Clemson was fourth, Georgia was sixth and Central Florida… was ninety-fourth. On the flip side, Oklahoma's SOS was seventh and the Sooners finished ahead of UCF in total offense. (The Sooners were 67th in total defense, so better there, too.)
And Georgia's "sustained success" was a one-year jump from an 8-5 season that saw the Dawgs come uncomfortably close to being embarrassed at home by an FCS team.
Look, I get that your team beat Auburn. I get that Alabama didn't. But Clemson did and so did Georgia. In any event, that's what's great about college football: it's more than a one-game season. Get that strength of schedule up 25-30 spots and then you can talk.
Filed under It's Not Easy Being A Mid-Major
16 responses to "UCF's gonna UCF as long as it can."
I agree with you senator, but to be fair, even if they wanted to schedule better opponents to raise their SOS I bet they would have a hard time finding a willing team.
Austin Peay put 33 on'em
Yep and that should have eliminated them from consideration as a national champion … oh, yeah, it did because they wouldn't have been in an 8-team playoff last year. All 4 CFP teams would have beaten UCF like a rented mule in 2017.
dawgdaddy
Auburn had them beat and then they just quit, plain and simple. And I hate Auburn.
Their offense returns pretty much everyone, so I understand the optimism. But I can't imagine the combination of 9 months of breathless press adulation, a new coaching staff, and a big fat self-painted bulls-eye on their butt is going to serve them well in '18.
randy adams (@randyad73431768)
And Auburn could have cared less, after losing to the Dawgs in the SEC Championship. I think this team is a lot closer to .500 than 12-0
It was obvious to anyone who watched it, and the AU players admitted afterwards they basically would have rather have been anywhere else but there; including the AU library. AU acted so freakin' AU last year – they had several nice wins, they embarrassed themselves/the SEC to little UCF in a bowl game…then they turned around and claimed to be the true SEC champs by beating UGA and Bama in the regular season.
ChiliDawg
couldn't care less
It's couldn't care less. Saying "Auburn could care less" implies that they cared about the game on a level that is above the minimum threshold of caring. One can accurately say that "Georgia could have cared less about the National Championship game," because they cared about it a very great deal, which means they could have cared less.
/grammar nazi out.
Oh hell man…..we knew what he meant.
It's a pet peeve
You're right about UGAs success over the last 2 years. But over the memory of most young college fans, 20 years, nobody other than Oklahoma and Ohio State (except Boise State, that SOS thing coming up again), has won more games than the Dawgs. And that's another Bulldog point of pride!
Tuberville's Auburn team spent the offseason congratulating themselves, then lost the home opener to Reggie Ball and Georgia Tech.
It's a good lesson for UCF.
When he said:
"Look at the talent. Look at the film. They should consider us with those guys," he said. "I think we were a better team than all three of them last year.
I think it is fair to assume that the three teams in reference were Florida, Florida State, and Miami. One sentence before that quote was this:
I don't think he was talking about Alabama, Clemson, and Georgia. Otherwise, I would assume he would say he thought they were better than all four of them, i.e. the playoff teams, unless he thinks that Oklahoma was the one team better than them. I think he makes a fair point that UCF was the best team in the state of Florida last year.
We can snipe them with our self-serving facts all we like, but consider if you were a player or student at UCF last year. You wish and hope and pray that you can have an undefeated season and you get it. Then they match you in a bowl with a team that beat the two teams that competed for the NC and the football gods answer your prayers against anything sane that you could have wished for at a school that was an afterthought in all minds except the believers. How would you react?
Let'em glory in it until the fuzz disappears into the reality of another team, year and coaching staff. It doesn't hurt any of us and makes a memory for their lifetime. I don't think they have done anything for us to deride them in this next year of their unsuccess.
UGA '97
Broken record, all other highschool, college and pro football divisions have playoffs and in those sometime's even teams that stink, can get hot and go on a roll. Everyone but Division I FBS has rules & playoff criteria which is set before their season even begins. If a team gets a few weeks to prepare and heal, then they might be able to compete. The CFP is certainly progress but its still setup for TV ratings by those behind the curtain. Even the big boys like Clemson and Ohio State got skunked in a playoff game, so how would a team like UCF, Notre Dame, Boise State, be any different to watch? At least the potential for an upset would be exciting. So, a non-power 5 team that is better than the bottom half of most power 5 teams should get a shot if they schedule up. If UCF had a chance to destroy GA Tech last year, we might be thinking otherwise.
The Dawg abides
I wouldn't be surprised if Kiffen lights them up in week 4.