Of the four teams that joined the Big 12 Conference in 2023 — BYU, Cincinnati, Houston an UCF — only UCF ended the season playing in a bowl game.
In a year where the Big 12 was out for blood with Oklahoma and Texas in their final seasons before leaving for the SEC, that’s no small feat.
It’s also one of the reasons why The Athletic listed UCF among its sleeper CFP candidates headed into the 2024 season.
From The Athletic: “The Knights were the only Big 12 newcomer last season to reach a bowl game, and head coach Gus Malzahn drastically upgraded his roster through the transfer portal, adding 27 new players with 327 college starts between them. Quarterback K.J. Jefferson comes over from Arkansas to lead the offense, which features two 1,400-yard rushers from a year ago in RJ Harvey and Peny Boone (Toledo transfer). They’ll score plenty.”
UCF opens the season on Thursday, Aug. 29, at home against New Hampshire.