There are a lot of teams vying for the right to challenge the Alabama Crimson Tide this season and dethrone the kings of college football, but all of those major programs play in a Power 5 conference. There's only one king of the Group of Five, though.
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The University of Central Florida finished the 2017 season undefeated and knocked off the Auburn Tigers in the Peach Bowl. Since then, they've challenged Alabama, the university has been thrust into the national spotlight, and best of all, the school's athletic director crowned the team the national champs.
The Knights' improbable season last year is amplified by the fact that just two years before, they didn't win a single game. In two seasons under head coach Scott Frost, the team went from bottom feeders to finishing as the sixth-ranked team in the nation.
Problem is, it's 2018, and every football cliché in the book says it's time to move on.
"We have to take it one game at a time."
"Last season doesn't matter — it's a new year and a new team."
Someone come get the UCF Knights' fans and remind them that they're not REALLY national champions.
A Florida-based lawyer, and University of Central Florida alum, has purchased a banner that will fly over Camping World Stadium in Orlando, the site of Alabama's first game of the season against the Louisville Cardinals.
The banner will read: "UCF '17 CO-NAT'L CHAMPS 13-0 CHADBARRLAW"
#UCFTwitterMafia Wanted to announce that I have purchased a banner to fly over Camping World Stadium on 9/1 before the Alabama/Louisville game that says “UCF ‘17 CO-NAT’L CHAMPS 13-0 CHADBARRLAW” This will fly around for 3 hours and will end one hour prior to kickoff per FlaLaw.
— Chad Barr Law (@AttyChadBarr) August 26, 2018
This is getting out of control.
Kudos to the university and its alumni for keeping up this hoax for as long as they have, but it's time to bury these shenanigans and move on — also, shoutout to Attorney Chad A. Barr for the little self-promotion tacked on the end of that banner.
Scott Frost is gone. The team might be returning 15 starters, including 9 on offense, but that doesn't mean the same magic will carry them to an undefeated record.
The Knights did schedule ACC opponents North Carolina and Pittsburgh this year to bolster their postseason resume — last season, their game against Georgia Tech was cancelled due to Hurricane Irma.
If quarterback McKenzie Milton and the Knights are legitimate, there's no reason they shouldn't run the table once again.
Time to put up or (finally) shut up, UCF.
