One of the biggest surprises of the college football season was when the University of Central Florida (UCF) Knights finished off the year with a 13-0 record and a statement win over nationally ranked Auburn in the Sugar Bowl. The most astounding part of UCF’s story was the fact that they finished 0-12 just two seasons prior. Because of the lack of good teams they played this year, experts questioned the validity of the Knights’ unblemished record, and many picked against them in the game against number 10 Auburn. Despite the doubters, UCF went into the matchup with confidence. Sophomore running back Adrian Killins Jr. came out before the game and told reporters why UCF was going to win.
“Auburn hasn’t seen any speed like we have here,” Killins said.
This was a bold statement from the sophomore, especially considering that Auburn had played three of the four College Football Playoff (CFP) teams, and beaten two of them in decisive fashion. UCF won, shocking the college football world. Maybe the Knights were not as overrated as the experts had said.
Even though they did not make it to the championship game, UCF claimed The National Championship for themselves. Their claim was interesting: they were the only undefeated team in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), and they had beaten Auburn, which had beaten Alabama, who were eventually crowned national champions. So basically, UCF’s claim was based off the fact that they had beaten a team who had beat the champions. Is this a valid argument? I think not. Yes, the Knights went undefeated and beat a top 10 team in Auburn; however, if you look at their entire schedule, they played competition nowhere near that of the play off participants. If they are national champions because they beat Auburn, then Louisiana State University (LSU), Clemson and Georgia would have legitimate claims to the championship as well. All three of those teams beat Auburn. Alabama beat all three of them. The claim is based on hypotheticals. The fact is, UCF didn’t make the playoff, nor did they win the championship game.
One could make a claim that UCF should have been included in the playoff to begin with, because they finished the regular season unbeaten. However, UCF was never really in the conversation for a playoff spot. The only team that was in contention until the final rankings came out and did not make it were the Ohio State Buckeyes. Ohio State lost two games on the year, but finished with three wins over teams in the top ten. One of these wins was a convincing win over Oklahoma, who finished third in the country and made the CFP. If anyone was left out of the playoff unjustly, it was Ohio State, not UCF.
Teams have been claiming national championships that they did not actually win for decades, Alabama included. The fact remains that in the current system of the CFP, a team has to win the playoff to win the championship. It is that simple.
Despite all of this, I acknowledge that UCF had a great football team this year. I rooted for them as I watched some of their games. I admired the way that they played the game, and I gained respect for their players for playing with a chip on their shoulder. The UCF Knights had a historic season, but not a championship season. The National Championship belongs to Alabama, as it always seems to.
