Respect. Every team wants it, and when they aren’t ranked first overall, they feel like they aren’t getting it. The UCF football program has played its way to a perfect 9-0 record this season, with two games left, they appear poised to run the table and finish undefeated.
And yet they aren’t on anyone’s College Football Playoff radar.
Chalk it up to a weak schedule in a bad conference and your toughest game of the season being cancelled because of a hurricane; there is probably nothing UCF can do to encroach on a top-five finish this season. But don’t expect head coach Scott Frost to lose any sleep over it.
“The chips will fall where they may,” he says coolly to a group of media members.
Worried about the rankings? This guy isn't 👇 pic.twitter.com/73gUhmim9O
— UCF Football 😷 (@UCF_Football) November 12, 2017
UCF was ranked No. 14 in the country last week, and after beating UConn 49-24, they didn’t move up a single spot. The Knights are clamoring for respect, and want to be taken seriously in the playoff conversation.
But without any quality opponents on the docket, there is little they can do to prove they are a legitimate threat.
For the Knights, the best case scenario is that their success this season has a cumulative effect and helps them next year. If they can pull in some big time recruits, schedule some challenging out of conference games and win them, they might start to get the recognition they deserve.
That is, of course, if Scott Frost is even coaching at UCF next season. He is expected to be a hot target for major programs looking for a new head coach, and he could be persuaded to do his winning elsewhere next year.
