Three schools immediately spring to mind when people think of college football in the state of Florida: Florida State, Florida, and Miami.
Although the Gators and Hurricanes are no longer the same teams that once dominated the sport, all three of those programs are still recruiting hotspots that regularly produce NFL talent. Nevertheless, there is one program in the Sunshine State that is not your “traditional” blue-blood program that has seen a lot of success in recent years: UCF football.
Unbeknownst to some, UCF football has a bright future. The Knights’ national prominence began in 2017, as many college football fans recall, when they won the Peach Bowl against Auburn 34-27 to cap off an undefeated season. Enraged by their team’s rejection for a College Football Playoff berth, the UCF supporters went on to declare themselves “national champions.”
UCF football has continuously produced winning seasons and been bowl-eligible every year since that flawless 2017 campaign, leaving a successful legacy. Gus Malzahn, who has experience recruiting and winning in the Deep South, is leading the Knights into a new era as head coach.
According to 247 Sports, UCF football made some noise during the offseason recruiting cycle, behind the Big 12’s second-best 2024 high school recruiting class and a transfer portal class that placed in the top 30 nationally.
Even though Malzahn has a reputation for being a great recruiter, the university’s reputation alone makes it such a desirable place to be. According to the school website, UCF boasts a substantial enrolment and a substantial number of living alumni, surpassing 360,000, making it one of the biggest public schools in the entire nation. Having a beautiful campus and booster money should be major advantages for the Knights in terms of acquiring talent, especially since NIL is one of the main pillars of the sport today.
Additionally, UCF has joined a Power Five conference—or perhaps I should say a Power Four conference. Even though the SEC and Big Ten are currently the two dominant conferences in the sport, UCF still benefits greatly from the Big 12’s widespread recognition. The loss of Oklahoma and Texas has created more parity in the conference than it has ever had, and UCF was the only new team to make it to a bowl game in 2023. In addition to the publicity, the Knights’ route to the 12-team playoff is considerably clearer now that they are a member of the Big 12 than it was when they were a Group of Five program in the AAC.
Excluding Florida State, which has posted back-to-back 10+ win seasons and was on the cusp of being a playoff team this past year, UCF football has the best win percentage (60%) out of any program in the state of Florida, including Miami (56%) and Florida (50%), since the start of this decade.
Now that UCF is in a big boy table conference, you should never undervalue the abilities of this team or program. The Knights have been a successful program for many years, and they are still working to improve Orlando’s football culture in general. The future of UCF football is bright, and it would be foolish to write them off as one of the top three programs in the state of Florida right now, even though a 2024 playoff bid and Big 12 title run will require something special.