The Group of 5: the five conferences that help make up the NCAA athletic conferences consisting of the Mountain West, Mid-American Conference (MAC), American, Sun Belt and American Athletic Conference (AAC).
With the relatively new four team playoff formats for NCAA football and a University of Central Florida (UCF) team who hasn’t lost a game in two full seasons left out of the competition, a new question has come up within the college football community — will a Group of 5 team ever make the playoff?
The Power 5 are the five conferences seen to house the best teams in the NCAA — the South Eastern Conference (SEC), Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), PAC-12, BIG 10 and BIG 12. Three of these power conferences will be represented in this year’s installment of the CFP, along with Notre Dame, an independent. Alabama from the SEC, Clemson from the ACC and Oklahoma from the BIG 12 will all compete for the title.
But there was a notable exclusion for some fans around the country — the UCF Golden Knights, who haven’t lost a game since December 2016 and beat Auburn in the Peach Bowl last season. UCF has been left out of the playoff and is currently ranked No. 7 in the AP Poll, behind two teams with two losses.
Zach Kellogg
People once again ask, “Why don’t they get a shot to prove themselves?”
As impressive as these last two years have been, outside of the win against Auburn, what else do the Knights have to show?
Playing in an unimpressive American conference that doesn’t have the likes of Louisville anymore, barely squeaking out wins against the most average of opponents and, to top it all off, the team lost their star quarterback to a broken leg and is out for the season.
Regional fans have been comparing this team to the Kellen Moore-led Boise State Broncos, who went an improbable 50-3 over a four-year stretch. This was in the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) days, where teams were ranked by an algorithm that made it near impossible for a Group of 5 team to make the championship game.
So, if this all-time great team wasn’t able to go to the national championship with four years of dominance, is it even more improbable for everyone else in the Group of 5?
I see this UCF team as more of Boise State led by Ian Johnson in 2007, the famous win over the Oklahoma Sooners in the Fiesta Bowl. That team was undeniably great and won a well-deserved bowl game few outside of Bronco Nation saw coming.
But did this team deserve to be in the National Championship for going undefeated in the WAC? Sorry, but no.
This is why it is so difficult for Group of 5 teams to reach that level of playoff status.
UCF must win its Fiesta Bowl matchup against LSU in convincing fashion and go undefeated next season, including picking up wins against solid opponents in their non-conference schedule. It’s simple — UCF must steamroll its way through the American to finish 12-0 yet again. Then, there is no reason the Golden Knights should not be in the playoff.
But it is a lot of “ifs” that need to come together, and it seems like a bit too much. If they can pull it off, they will not only be the first team in the Group of 5 in the playoff, but will give hope that anyone can truly make it to the playoff.
Now, as to what happens in said playoff game, that is another topic for another day.
Zack Kellogg can be reached at [email protected].