#ChargeOn Today: π Happy Birthday, UCF β Expansion coming? π β The decade that made us β Rayniah's reign πΈ
Fifty-eight years old never looked so good! Letβs give a proper birthday shout out to our ever-growing, national-championship winning (at least in our minds) university, which turns 58 today! π
Thanks for loving us as much as we love you, UCF. Youβre the π that keeps on giving!
Todayβs read is 5 minutes β²οΈ
Trending in the Kingdom: Expansion tease or truth? ππ
(Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images)
Weβve heard rumblings about the expansion of the four-team College Football Playoff for years, and each time Iβve rolled my eyes. Weβve been teased plenty with expansion talk that may not even come to fruition. Thereβs a reason weβve poked fun at college footballβs βinvitationalβ.
But, my friends, we may have hope.
Hereβs the scoop: College Football Playoff expansion could be coming βas soon as this summer,β according to CBS Sports. We may even be looking at a 12-team model, as Yahoo! Sportsβ Pete Thamel reports, which would allow for expanded access to include a Group of 5 team, like UCF.
As Thamel writes, the 12-team model seems to be preferred over the eight-team playoff within college football circles.
βA 12-team version would answer a lot of the immediate looming issues with the College Football Playoff β lack of diversity of programs, access for Group of Five and the erosion of the importance of supposed top-tier bowl games outside the CFP thanks to player opt-outs.β
Hereβs how a potential 12-team playoff would look, according to new reporting on Thursday by SIβs Ross Dellenger and The Athleticβs Nicole Auerbach π:
Automatic bids for the six highest-ranked conference champs.
Six at-large bids, presumably based on the CFP Top 25 rankings
The four highest-ranked champions get a first-round bye
Other eight teams would play first-round games on the campus of the higher-ranked team.
π’πππππππ: 12-Team Playoff Proposed by College Football Playoff Working Group
Details on the proposal Β» https://t.co/pbRJKkQ1Zc
#CFBPlayoff ππ https://t.co/JRSrfur0Rq
The College Football Playoff sent out a press release on Thursday confirming that a sub-committee group is recommending an expansion to 12 teams and that this is a βfirst step in the processβ towards expansion.
βThe four-team format has been very popular and is a big success,β the members of the four-person working group said in a statement. βBut itβs important that we consider the opportunity for more teams and more student-athletes to participate in the playoff. After reviewing numerous options, we believe this proposal is the best option to increase participation, enhance the regular season and grow the national excitement of college football.β
Weβre really early on in he process, but the idea of expansion has UCF head coach Gus Malzahn pretty excited for the future.
Weβve already seen plenty of the big power brokers in the sport come out in support of expansion, including outgoing Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott, who told the New York Times this week that now is a good time to expand and that he βexpects a decision in principleβ by the commissioners when they meet next week.
For what itβs worth, his replacement is also a fan of expansion and called for it at his introductory press conference.
American Athletic Conference Commissioner Mike Aresco said this proposal βtreats all FBS conferences equallyβ and pointed out that under this plan, AAC teams would have made the Playoff in five of the last seven years.
Okay, so weβve got progress, but when could we realistically see an expanded playoff? The current ESPN contract for the four-team playoff, including a $470 million per-year payout, expires in 2025. I find it hard to imagine this gets implemented any earlier than 2023, especially since the executive director of the College Football Playoff has repeatedly said no changes will occur before that contract runs out.
Letβs assume this 12-team model gets agreed upon and passed in the next year - and they work through all the negotiations, TV rights deals, hiccups, etc. - weβd be potentially looking at the start of the 2023 season, according to Brett McMurphy, who also noted a few bowls would get eliminated.
As of now, the safe, for-sure bet is the 2026 season, but weβll see if a network throws money at the sport to shift that date any earlier.
Finally, it feels like we can all rally around a new βWhoβs In?β campaign that includes a much more diverse field, and maybe even give a shot to a team like the 2017 undefeated national champion UCF Knights, who were snubbed, but still dubbed the Colley Matrix champs.
ποΈ A few dates to watch: June 17 and 18, when the four-member working group that examines expansion reports its findings to the CFP management committee in Chicago, but we now know that committee is leaning toward recommending a 12-team playoff format. Then, June 22, when the presidents who oversee the CFP meet in Dallas.
Are there any drawbacks here? You can make an argument about the toll it could take on playersβ bodies, as Matt Murschel points out, given the potential for a 17-game schedule. Does that lead to a reduction in regular-season games?
Weβll see down the road, but initially, itβs exciting that more teams have a chance to win college footballβs biggest prize, especially schools like UCF, Cincinnati, Boise State, Coastal Carolina and the rest of the Group of 5 crew. It does, however, hurt Notre Dameβs position when it comes to getting a bye week.
Give me a Knugget π΄: Only 4 percent of college football teams make the postseason. That number is 25 percent in other NCAA sports. Under the current four-team format, 71 percent of the playoff spots have gone to four teams (Alabama, Ohio State, Clemson and Oklahoma).
Deeper Dive π€Ώ:
College Football Playoff working group to recommend expanding field to 12 teams with six conference champions (CBS Sports)
College Football Playoff to consider expanding to 12-team format (ESPN.com)
A 12-Team College Football Playoff Could Work, But It Needs One Big Concession (SI.com)
College Football Playoff management committee to consider expanding to a 12-team bracket (USA Today)
Double-digit teams in the next College Football Playoff? Concerns about a top-heavy field are pushing discussion (The Athletic $)
The recommendation from the CFP's working group will be a 12-team model, sources tell @TheAthletic. Six highest-ranked conference champions + six at-large spots.
To reiterate what we already know: CFP will not change its format this year or next. And the expansion process will not conclude before fall 2021 because there are a lot details that still need to be worked out. Today's recommendation is a first step.
If it comes to pass, the model of "6 highest-ranked conference champs & 6 at-large" is a key distinction compared to 5 P5 + Top G5 Champ, and would mean Coastal Carolina would have made the playoff instead of Oregon this past year.
@ByPatForde Sources tell me & @ByPatForde that the CFP working group is recommending a 12-team playoff: 6 highest-ranked conference champs & 6 at-large.
The 4 highest-ranked champs get a bye while other 8 play 1st-round games on campus.
Long way from done, but this is the recommendation.
The decade that made UCF Football π
(Photo via UCF.edu)
In honor of UCFβs birthday, letβs reflect on just how far our football program has come. The last decade of Knights football has thrust the βsleeping giantβ into the national spotlight, and the future looks even more fruitful.
Flashback: UCF elevated to the Mid-American Conference for football in 2002, which helped boost its profile, given the MACβs ties to a television contract with ESPN and ESPN2.
Although, many will argue the Daunte Culpepper years helped the nation become familiar with the Golden Knights, especially since they moved up to Division I-A in 1996, his first season.
Still, UCFβs best years for the program have come in the last 10 seasons, from 2010 to 2020. Hereβs a look, by the numbers, with an assist from our friends at UCF Sports Info:
52 - weeks in the AP or Coaches Poll Top 25 rankings. All of them have occurred from 2010 on.
32 - of the 66 total players from the program have played in the National Football League since 2010. Thatβs 48 percent, overall.
11 - NFL draft picks in the Top 3 rounds since 2010.
6 - seasons with double-digit wins. Prior to 2010, UCF only had one season with 10 or more wins (2007, 10-4).
5 - bowl wins, including a pair of New Yearβs 6 games. The Knights previously played in three bowl games before the 2010 season, but were 0-3.
3 - times UCF has been ranked in the AP preseason Top 25 rankings. They never achieved that prior to 2017.
I wanted to dive a bit deeper into the talent development at UCF, because it really turned up a notch in the last decade. Look at the number of former Knights who made it to the pros, listed by the year they entered the NFL.
Clearly, over the last decade, UCF has really started to produce quality NFL talent. Many of the players that earned a spot on a NFL club went undrafted.
Years with the most players who debuted on a NFL roster, ranked:
2018 and 2016: 6
2011: 5
2013 and 2006: 4
2020, 2007, 2003 and 2002: 3
βΆοΈ WATCH: Daunte Culpepper Mania & Knights break attendance record (via UCFSports)
The Queens of Eugene πΈ
First full day in #TrackTownUSA βοΈ
Checking in with @RayniahJones & @Sherraaaah
#ChargeOn https://t.co/pJuCdtthDG
A pair of Knights are shooting for some NCAA medals in Eugene, Ore. this week.
Fill me in: Asherah Collins and Rayniah Jones will both compete on Thursday at Hayward Stadium in Eugene, hoping to win in the womenβs events at the 2021 NCAA Track and Field Championships.
Collins will compete in the triple jump, while Jones will give it a go in the 100-meter hurdles.
βItβs really an awesome feeling,β UCF head coach Dana Boone said after the prelims. βEspecially for Asherah, as a true freshman this is her first collegiate. To do that, thatβs really special. Honestly, Rayniah has had a phenomenal freshman outdoor seasonβ¦itβs just great for the program.β
How they got here: Collins broke her own freshman record in the long jump to qualify for the championships. As for Jones, her time of 12.89 seconds, which was fifth in the regional, helped punch her ticket.
Both ladies made some history. Jones became the first Knight to qualify for nationals in the 100-meter hurdles since Jackie Coward in 2011 and Collins is just the second Knight triple jumper ever to advance to the NCAA Championships. The first was Dione Thomas in 2009.
Itβs the first time UCF has sent two athletes to the NCAA finals since 2016.
Good luck, ladies! Letβs bring another title back to Orlando π
By Ryan Bass
The #ChargeOn Today Newsletter is dedicated to covering trending UCF Athletics news and topics. Have some feedback? Shoot me a message: chargeontoday@gmail.com
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