ORLANDO, Fla. – UCF officially joined the Big 12 conference earlier this month.
In the coming months, we will find out how the Knights will fare in football.
News 6 Sports Director Jamie Seh highlighted five keys to UCF’s upcoming season.
1. THE GAUNTLET OF A ROAD SCHEDULE
Without a doubt, 2023 boasts the toughest schedule in UCF football’s history.
It’s exactly what the Knights want: the chance to play before sold-out crowds on tradition-rich Big 12 campuses, like Kansas State and Oklahoma.
On the subject of Boomer Sooner, one road game to circle twice is the October 21 matchup in Norman. UCF will go up against former Knights quarterback, Sooners Heisman contender Dillon Gabriel, in Oklahoma’s homecoming game. Welcome to a Big 12 atmosphere!
Not only are five of UCF’s nine conference games on the road, the squad also has to travel across multiple time zones to non-conference Boise State. No Big 12 team will log more travel miles (around 15,000) this fall than the Knights.
2. THE EXTRA BOUNCE AT THE BOUNCE HOUSE
Think Knight Nation is fired up about UCF’s first foray into the Big 12? Football season tickets have been sold out since the spring.
While the Knights open up the campaign at home against Kent State on August 31, it’s the September 30 game against Baylor that will truly bring the bounce. It’s not only UCF’s first Big 12 home game, it’s also the 10-year reunion with Baylor football.
Knight fans surely remember the 2013 Fiesta Bowl when Blake Bortles and company stunned the heavily-favored Bears in Tempe, Arizone, for UCF’s first New Years 6 Bowl victory.
From 2017 through 2022, the Bounce House provided the best homefield advantage in the American Conference, with the Knights winning 35 of their 39 home games during that span. Can Knight Nation help UCF’s cause in the Power 5? We know it’s a willing audience.
Other intriguing home dates include the October 28 battle with West Virginia and the November 11 matchup with Oklahoma State.
3. UCF’S NEWCOMERS
Head Coach Gus Malzahn has been preparing for UCF’s first season in the Power 5 for two years, with the goal of building a roster that’s able to match up with the Big 12 in terms of talent and depth.
Malzahn and his staff dove into the transfer portal, adding 18 new transfers to the 2023 roster, and a handful of the new players come with Power 5 experience.
Some of the newcomers to keep an eye on include former Clemson defensive back Fred Davis, linebacker and Apopka native Rian Davis from the two-time defending national champion Georgia Bulldogs, receiver Chauncey Magwood, who left Kentucky for UCF, and two experienced offensive linemen: Stanford transfer Drake Metcalf and Amari Kight, who played at Alabama.
For the last two seasons, the Gus Bus has been driven by impactful transfers from Big Kat Bryant and Isaiah Bowser to Javon Baker and John Rhys Plumlee.
Speaking of Plumlee…
4. JRP AND THE OFFENSE
He returns for year two at UCF as one of Malzahn’s most trusted leaders, entrenched as the starting quarterback.
When JRP was good last year, he was really good. Record-setting even (i.e. his debut game against South Carolina State last year when he threw for four touchdowns, ran for another and accounted for 408 total yards).
Yet, you could make an argument he tried to do too much at times, resulting in injury, six fumbles and eight interceptions. However, his heart and will to win remained consistent.
This year, JRP is back with a wealth of talent around him, from receivers Javon Baker, Kobe Hudson and Trent Whittemore to tight end Alec Holler and running backs RJ Harvey and Johnny Richardson.
There’s a new playcaller as well. Malzahn brought in offensive coordinator Darin Hinshaw this offseason. Before Malzahn arrived at UCF, the Knights boasted one of the most explosive offenses in the country. The scoring average dropped from 40+ points per game in 2020 to around 32 per game over the last two seasons.
Big 12 dogfights will happen this season and UCF must keep up.
5. BLACK AND GOLD PRIDE
Anyone who’s followed UCF for years knows this is a program that loves proving doubters wrong.
Not long ago, the Big 12 seemed to scoff at the idea of bringing in a young, up-and-coming football program like UCF. School presidents unanimously rejected expansion in 2016 as they considered candidates like the Knights.
Seven years later, UCF gets its seat at the Power 5 table.
But has it earned the full respect? The Big 12 preseason poll has the Knights finishing 8th out of the 14 teams in the conference this year. Not one Knight made the All-Big 12 preseason team. The UCF players know. The UCF players, like defensive end Josh Celiscar, are prideful. I’m looking forward to watching the battle for respect play out on the field in a deep and talented Big 12 conference where anybody could beat anybody on any given Saturday.
Let the games begin!
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