Setting the Expectations for UCF in 2023 and Beyond
For a program that started in 1996, the UCF Knights have seen quite an impressive rise. Gene McDowell, Mike Kruczek, and Geoge O’Leary all helped set the foundation of what the program has become today. Scott Frost took the program to unforeseen heights, while Josh Heupel and Gus Malzahn have since sustained a high level of success in Orlando. It hasn’t always been easy for the program. Still, the Knights have consistently improved its stature through multiple conference changes and other challenges that have been presented over the last 27 years.
Now in the Big 12, the expectations for Central Florida should not be much different than their expectations over the last few years in the AAC. Since Scott Frost took the program to its’ peak in 2017 with a 13-0 record and a Peach Bowl win over Auburn, the Knights have consistently been one of the country’s best Group of Five teams and have recruited as well as most Power Five programs.
The Knights are already showing they can recruit at a high level in the 2024 recruiting cycle alone; they already hold four four-star commitments. Their recruiting doesn’t show any signs of slowing down anytime soon, either.
In the short term, UCF may need a year or two to adjust to the Big 12, but the program should be able to hold its own. Gus Malzahn has coached at the highest level and, after a messy divorce at Auburn, has found himself a comfortable home in Orlando. A 10-win season in year one in the Big 12 isn’t out of the question but will largely fall at the feet of the program’s quarterback play.
In the long term, however, UCF should only continue to improve on the recruiting trail. If the program continues to do so and can especially find success on the recruiting trail or through the transfer portal at the quarterback position, the Knights could quickly become the class of the new Big 12.