Editor’s note: Eleventh in a series previewing each team in the Big 12.
Which of the four newcomers to the Big 12 this season — BYU, Houston, Cincinnati or UCF — will make the most impactful debut in the Power Five conference?
“I always told our staff at Auburn, if the right guy ever got to UCF and would stay and build it and not look at it as a steppingstone, it could be one of the best jobs in college football. Now that I’ve been there two years, I believe that even more.” — UCF coach Gus Malzahn
While Texas, Oklahoma, TCU and Kansas State are the hot picks to win the 14-team league before the Longhorns and Sooners bolt for the SEC, the new guys are sort of eyeing each other and wondering which one will hit the ground running.
Or, at least, look like they belong right out of the gates.
The pick here is UCF, which seems to have the most Power Five-ready roster and a coach who knows what it is like to compete week in and week out against a tough opponent, former Auburn coach Gus Malzahn.
“You’ve got to bring your lunch every week,” Malzahn told USA Today last month. “That will be the difference. You can’t take off a week. It will be a learning experience for a lot of our guys in that area.”
Malzahn has gone 18-9 in his two seasons in Orlando, including a 9-5 campaign last year. The Knights went 6-2 in their final season in the American Athletic Conference.
Former college football independent BYU, which hasn’t faced a conference schedule since 2010, is not scheduled to play the Knights this season. However, the schools are somewhat familiar with each other, having met in the 2020 Boca Raton Bowl — an easy 49-23 Cougars win after the pandemic-altered season.
Central Florida went 6-4 that year, which counts as a bit of a down year in Orlando.
Malzahn replaced Tennessee-bound Josh Heupel, and has put UCF in position to be a fixture at the top of the Big 12 standings, just like he believed could be done.
“I always told our staff at Auburn, if the right guy ever got to UCF and would stay and build it and not look at it as a steppingstone, it could be one of the best jobs in college football,” Malzahn told USA Today. “Now that I’ve been there two years, I believe that even more.”
BYU, Cincinnati and Houston have had their moments the past six seasons, but none of those schools have been as successful as UCF. The Knights have won nine or more games in five of the last six seasons.
Oklahoma is the only Big 12 program with more 10-plus win seasons the past decade than UCF.
Offensively, hopes are high because quarterback John Rhys Plumlee, the transfer from Ole Miss, is back after completing 63% of his passes in 2022, with 14 TDs. Plumlee is also an excellent rusher, having led the Knights with 862 yards rushing last season.
There are some questions on defense, which is worrisome due to all the explosive attacks in the Big 12. The Knights’ secondary is somewhat in flux, but the addition of East Carolina safety Jireh Wilson should help.
A good gauge of UCF’s strength could come early, as the Knights travel west to play at Boise State in Week 2. Surely, the Broncos will have something to prove, with their own Power Five aspirations having been pushed to the back burner for the time being.
UCF’s first Big 12 game is a toughie — at Kansas State on Sept. 23. The Knights also have to play at Oklahoma (on Oct. 21), but avoid facing Texas.
Central Florida Knights 2023 preview
2022 record: 9-5 (6-2 American Athletic Conference).
Local ties: None.
2023 schedule
Aug. 31 — Kent State.
Sept. 9 — at Boise State.
Sept. 16 — Villanova.
Sept. 23 — at Kansas State.
Sept. 30 — Baylor.
Oct. 7 — at Kansas.
Oct. 21 — at Oklahoma.
Oct. 28 — West Virginia.
Nov. 4 — at Cincinnati.
Nov. 11 — Oklahoma State.
Nov. 18 — at Texas Tech.
Nov. 25 — Houston.
