UCF is heading to a bowl sport for the eighth straight season; that a lot is definite, following Saturday’s 27-13 victory in opposition to Houston. The Knights completed 6-6, together with a 3-6 mark in its first run by way of the Huge 12.
The situation and date for that bowl, nevertheless, stays a thriller for an additional week. And primarily based on the projections of a number of main media shops, there may be a variety of potential outcomes.
UCF might acquire an additional house sport, or journey a number of hundred miles on both aspect of Christmas. Projected opponents embody a blood rival, a top-25 relative FBS newcomer and a few Energy 5 bluebloods.
Let’s study the chances for UCF, primarily based on projections revealed from USA At the moment, ESPN, CBS Sports activities, Fox Sports activities, 247Sports, Yahoo! Sports activities, Sporting Information, the Motion Community and Athlon Sports activities.
247Sports/Athlon Sports activities: Gasparilla Bowl vs. South Florida
Let’s first handle the elephant within the room.
With each UCF and USF reaching bowl eligibility Saturday, and with this making logistical and advertising sense, one other Warfare on I-4 might occur. However that does not essentially imply it’ll on the finish of the day.
It will be a task reversal for UCF in comparison with its 2021 Gasparilla Bowl journey, the place it knocked off an in-state Energy 5 rival in Florida. South Florida made massive strides beneath first-year coach Alex Golesh, a former Knights assistant beneath Josh Heupel, and dual-threat quarterback Byrum Brown posed enormous issues for the Knights’ protection final November because the Bulls climbed out of a 28-0 gap and took UCF to the wire.
Motion Community: Gasparilla Bowl vs. James Madison
It’s miles extra doubtless UCF will search to play a bowl sport in Tampa than it’ll to play USF — particularly on the Bulls’ house area. Tampa is a 90ish-minute drive and the Dec. 22 scheduling permits followers to attend and get house in loads of time to rejoice Christmas.
James Madison was one in every of three benefactors with a scarcity of six-win groups; the Dukes, within the second yr of their FBS transition and thus not bowl eligible, had two prior appeals for bowl eligibility denied by the NCAA. However because of solely 79 of the 82 slots being robotically crammed by eligible groups that went 6-6 and higher, James Madison and Jacksonville State will go bowling for the primary time. At 5-7, Minnesota will fill the ultimate spot.
The Dukes, representing the Solar Belt Convention, opened the season with 10 straight wins, peaked on the No. 18 spot in The Related Press Prime 25 and have the No. 1 run protection in school soccer, permitting simply 61.5 yards per sport.
USA At the moment: Gasparilla Bowl vs. Syracuse
Persevering with the UCF-to-Tampa pattern, this is a matchup in opposition to a fellow 6-6 Energy 5 staff, albeit one which just lately fired its head coach.
Dino Babers misplaced his job with one sport to go, however the Orange held on to beat Wake Forest on Saturday with a game-sealing interception on the purpose line. Syracuse is bowl-eligible for the second straight season, a program first since 2012-13.
USA At the moment bowl projections:Michigan again in Faculty Soccer Playoff area after beating Ohio State
The Athletic reported Monday night time that Georgia defensive backs coach Fran Brown is the favourite to land the Syracuse job. As for the present squad, LeQuint Allen is without doubt one of the Orange’s prime offensive weapons, totaling 1,062 dashing yards and 9 touchdowns.
ESPN’s Mark Schlabach: First Responder Bowl vs. Syracuse
UCF headed to Dallas — Arlington, technically — earlier than the season for its first style of the Huge 12’s media days and, in Schlabach’s estimation, might wrap up 2023 there as nicely.
This sport takes place the day after Christmas, by no means a perfect situation for touring fan assist, on the campus of former American Athletic Convention rival SMU. West Virginia was the final Huge 12 staff to look on this contest in 2017, then often called the Coronary heart of Dallas Bowl.
Fox Sports activities: Duke’s Mayo Bowl vs. Miami
That is, objectively, essentially the most enjoyable alternative in your complete checklist, though the Huge 12 doesn’t have a standard affiliation with the Duke’s Mayo Bowl. It is normally an ACC program clashing in opposition to a consultant of both the SEC or the Huge 10 — equivalent to final yr’s matchup pitting N.C. State in opposition to Maryland.
Nevertheless, there’s lots to love if this can be a chance. Charlotte is a available every day flight from Orlando, and in-state Energy 5 rival Miami makes for a fascinating opponent. Hurricanes heart Matt Lee, defensive again Davonte Brown and operating backs coach Tim Harris Jr. have been Knights only a single season in the past.
Then there is a time-honored custom — since Duke’s grew to become the sponsor in 2020, anyway — of dousing the victorious head coach with a big jar of mayonnaise. Gus Malzahn bathing in mayo would make for a heck of a solution to spherical off an historic season.
Yahoo! Sports activities: Music Metropolis Bowl vs. Wisconsin
Right here is one other probably interesting vacation spot with a bowl alliance caveat. The Music Metropolis Bowl is normally reserved for the SEC and Huge 10.
That is additionally the newest bowl sport on the checklist, kicking off at 1 p.m. on Dec. 30. As necessary as bowl-week practices are, the additional time would theoretically give UCF’s teaching workers a possibility to primarily give attention to recruiting for the primary half of December — retaining its prime gamers, scouting the switch portal and wrapping up its record-setting highschool class.
Wisconsin has made just one prior journey to Nashville, a 2003 loss to Auburn. The Badgers completed 7-5, defeating Huge 10 West foes Nebraska and Minnesota within the remaining two weeks to make sure bowl eligibility.
Luke Fickell will probably be a well-known title to Knights followers; the first-year Wisconsin boss coached the earlier six seasons at Cincinnati. The identical will be stated of Badgers quarterback Tanner Mordecai, who led SMU into the Bounce Home final October however had his 17-game landing move streak snapped by the Knights’ secondary.
CBS Sports activities: Remedy Bowl vs. Arkansas State
Jerry Palm, CBS Sports activities’ bowl skilled, has the Knights staying house for the vacation season. FBC Mortgage Stadium grew to become the official house web site of the Remedy Bowl again in September.
This is able to be a rematch from the 2016 Remedy Bowl, performed at Tenting World Stadium. Arkansas State prevailed 31-13 as Justice Hansen and Kendall Sanders linked for 3 landing passes.
UCF ended that yr 6-7, after which received its subsequent 25 video games in a row — making back-to-back New Yr’s Six bowls.
Sporting Information: Independence Bowl vs. USC
Shreveport, La. — with all due respect — in all probability will not prime the Knights’ checklist of most popular bowl locations, particularly contemplating the quantity of touring they did through the common season.
Nevertheless, a possibility to go head-to-head with preseason Pac-12 favourite USC for the primary time actually makes it a bit extra fascinating. Caleb Williams, the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner and presumptive No. 1 decide within the NFL draft, will certainly skip the sport to arrange for the professionals. However Lincoln Riley’s offense will nonetheless have loads of playmakers on the sphere.
USC ended the yr on a three-game slide, together with an unpleasant 38-20 defeat to crosstown rival UCLA.
ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura: Independence Bowl vs. California
ACC-bound Cal — sure, it’s nonetheless extraordinarily bizarre — pulled off a three-game successful streak to shut its marketing campaign and surge into bowl season. The Golden Bears defeated Washington State, rival Stanford and UCLA, with the latter two victories approaching the street.
Ought to this matchup occur, UCF’s protection would face a top-10 nationwide rusher for the third time in 4 video games. Jadyn Ott is presently tenth within the FBS with 1,260 yards; Oklahoma State’s Ollie Gordon II is No. 1 (1,580) and Texas Tech’s Tahj Brooks is third (1,443).
And, in fact, the Knights function a top-10 rusher of their very own in RJ Harvey, sitting ninth at 1,296 yards to go together with his 16 dashing touchdowns — tied for the second-most in a single season in UCF program historical past.