Looking back on UCF's AAC reign 👑, scouting Bethune-Cookman and soccer's P5 gauntlet
American Athletic Conference Commissioner Mike Aresco said the schools leaving for the Big 12 were "not dynasties" and the league will recover. Yeah, good luck with that.
🚨 UCF has officially applied to join the Big 12 conference, the first step in the process of moving up to the Power 5 ranks 🚨
I can’t help but think Knight Nation will be popping several cold ones to commemorate the move on Friday, which is when it should officially be announced, after Big 12 league presidents meet over the phone to approve admission.
My buddy Matt is already planning a group cheers over FaceTime 🍻
Today’s read is 4.5 minutes ⏲️
Trending in the Kingdom: Farewell, “Power 6” 🏈
Once the Big 12 formally accepts UCF’s invitation to join the conference, which again is expected to happen on Friday, we’ll finally be able to bid adieu to the ranks of the “Power 6”.
UCF won’t officially depart the AAC until 2023 at the earliest, but at least that gives them a few more years to add to the near-decade of dominance in the conference. It was dynastic, if you ask me 🙃
Here’s the scoop: American Athletic Conference commissioner Mike Aresco finally acknowledged publicly that the Big 12 is “taking our teams”, but said he has not yet received notice from UCF, Houston or Cincinnati that they’re officially exiting the league, which the bylaws require.
Once they do, the’ll start the clock on a 27-month exit that’ll cost $10 million in penalty fees, but could increase if a deal is agreed upon to allow those teams to leave earlier, which they’re expected to request. UConn left a year after declaring their exit in 2019. The fee was negotiated up to $17 million, SI.com reports.
Aresco also said his plan is to add new members once UCF, Cincinnati and Houston leave.
“Our remaining schools have competed extremely well with the schools leaving.” Aresco told Sports Illustrated. “The schools leaving have had success, but they’re not dynasties. We’ll add schools and we’ll replenish and reconstitute.”
Hold up 🛑: Did Aresco really just say UCF, Cincinnati and Houston are “not dynasties”? Okay, commish, then let’s look back at how those three football programs fared in the conference, since 2013, compared to the seven remaining football members.
AAC championships:
UCF: 4
Cincinnati: 2
Houston: 1
All others: 3
BCS or New Year’s 6 Bowl appearances:
UCF: 3
Cincinnati: 1
Houston: 1
All others: 1
Overall win percentage:
UCF: .683
Cincinnati: .643
Houston: .606
All others combined: .475
Yeah, the numbers back up the fact that the American is losing its bread and butter, so it’s understandable that Aresco is a little bitter right now. Good luck expanding with programs that add anything close to the major TV markets, fertile recruiting grounds and passionate alumni bases that this trio brings to the table.
Also, still no word on if BYU has formally applied to the Big 12 yet, though they’re independent, so they could join as early as 2022 if they wanted to.
Give me a Knugget 🐴: Once UCF does join the Big 12, they’ll become the youngest Power Five team in all of college football, having started their football program in 1979.
What goes around, comes around 🎠: Channeling my inner Justin Timberlake for a second to revel in USF’s jealously. The last week - really since the expansion news broke - has been a rude awakening for our rivals to the West. Yes, we’re aware that we’ve long surpassed them, but now they’re starting to realize just how far behind they fell.
Even George O’Leary took a shot at the Bulls after years of Judy Genshaft privately blocking UCF’s entrance to the Big East.
“USF is finding out that most of the time in life, you get what you deserve,” O’Leary told Orlando Sentinel columnist Mike Bianchi.
And one of USF’s most loyal alums, former linebacker Auggie Sanchez, ripped the Bulls for a lack of leadership, saying UCF “has what we want.”
Scouting UCF vs. Bethune-Cookman ⚔️
Let’s Bounce yet again with another night game in Orlando. UCF will host Bethune-Cookman University in a game that should feature a ton of points for the good guys.
Boise State Broncos (0-1) vs. UCF Knights (1-0)
Date: Saturday, September 11, 2021
Time: 6:30 p.m. EST
Venue: Bounce House Stadium - Orlando, FL
Coverage: ESPN+
Last meeting: UCF won 41-7 in 2014. UCF leads series, 11-5
What you need to know about Bethune-Cookman 🤔
They played their first football game last week in nearly two years after MEAC suspended athletics due to the pandemic. Now they’re a part of the 12-team Southwestern Athletic Conference.
Quarterback Shannon Patrick is the key guy to watch for the Wildcast. He went 15-of-22 for 215 yards two touchdowns and one pick in last week’s loss to UTEP.
Running back Que’Shaun Byrd rushed 12 times for 98 yards and a touchdown in that game as well, so he should get the bulk of the carries against UCF.
Bethune-Cookman’s defense can be run on, allowed 289 rushing yards and a pair of 100-yard rushers against UTEP.
Some stability 🙌: Bethune-Cookman head coach Terry Sims has been at the helm for six seasons and has been pretty successful, leading the Wildcats to a 34-21 record.
What you need to know about UCF 🤔
They shouldn’t have to sweat as much as they did Thursday, having to mount the largest comeback in school history to beat Boise State. There are a few takeaways that UCF will need to improve upon if they want to avoid a massive upset.
For starters, you’ve got to take care of the football and avoid giving the Wildcats any momentum. Let’s avoid a repeat of those two Dillon Gabriel turnovers, which should be an outlier.
Defensive coordinator Travis Williams kept harping on tackling being an issue against the Broncos, so expect to see extra emphasis from his guys on wrapping up.
The depth chart didn’t change at all, but I’m curious to see if we’ll get a more balanced approach at running back. Isaiah Bowser carried the Knights to that come-from-behind win, but it’d expect to see more of a rotation, especially if this game gets out of hand.
Finally put a stop to it ⛔: It had been nearly two years since a UCF defense held someone under 300 total yards of offense. Williams’ group kept Boise State’s to just 283 yards of total offense, much of that coming in the second half, which was the best showing since Black Friday against South Florida (250 yards) on Nov. 29, 2019.
Memo to the Power 5: Don’t underestimate us ⚔️⚽
You want to see a stacked strength of schedule? Take a peek at the opponents UCF’s women’s soccer team is taking down.
Aug. 14: 2-0 W at Miami
Aug. 19: 4-0 W vs. Texas
Aug. 26: 2-0 W over Florida
Sept. 5: 2-1 win over No. 7 Penn State
There’s also a pair of close losses in there to LSU and Ohio State, but boy have these ladies run through the gauntlet of Power 5 programs.
Here’s three things to know about UCF’s soccer success so far:
1️⃣ The lady Knights are ranked No. 17 in the nation.
2️⃣ They’re outscoring their opponents 10-7 this season, despite being outshot by opponents 69-52.
3️⃣ Forward Kristen Scott was named the AAC Offensive Player of the Week after scoring both goals in the win over Penn State. It was UCF’s first top-10 win since 2017.
Up next 📅: Thursday, 7 p.m. - UCF at Ole Miss (SECN+)
Next home game 📅: No. 2 North Carolina (6-0) visits the UCF Soccer Complex on Sunday, September 12 at 1:00 p.m.
Meet the Mafia 🤝: Teddy Gorman, UCF '97
Every few weeks, we’ll get a chance to meet a member of the #UCFTwitterMafia here on the newsletter. If you have a suggestion, email me or hit me up on Twitter.
Say what’s up to Teddy, who just took his new wife to her first-ever UCF game against Boise!
Graduated 🎓: 1997
From 🏠: Tampa (Go Bucs, Bolts & Rays… though I’ve got no love for the cows)
Current city 📍: Memphis, TN
Current job 👔: VP of Marketing for a commercial HVAC manufacturer’s representative
Twitter handle 🐦: @crasher12
Favorite UCF memory 🏈: It has to be a tie between the moment at the 2014 Fiesta Bowl, when we realized we were about to beat #7 Baylor and the Mike Hughes kickoff return against USF.
Random fact ❓: In Sept., a group of UCF grads we call the Rusted Knights will venture to Cleveland for our fourteenth NFL stadium in a quest to visit them all as a group. It’s an annual tradition that we talk about all year which will culminate with a Super Bowl in 2039 or 2040.
Bonus random fact ❓: I also used to be a professional wrestler for a WWE Developmental territory which is why I moved to Memphis, before NXT was a thing in Orlando.