2017 UCF Knights football team

2017 UCF Knights football
UCF celebrates their victory over Memphis in the AAC Championship Game.
National champion (Colley)
American Athletic Conference champion
AAC East Division champion
Peach Bowl champion
Peach Bowl, W 34–27 vs. Auburn
ConferenceAmerican Athletic Conference
DivisionEast Division
Ranking
CoachesNo. 7
APNo. 6
Record13–0 (8–0 AAC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorTroy Walters (2nd season)
Defensive coordinatorErik Chinander (2nd season)
Home stadiumSpectrum Stadium
Seasons
← 2016
2018 →
2017 American Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
East Division
No. 6 UCF xy$   8 – 0     13 – 0  
No. 21 South Florida   6 – 2     10 – 2  
Temple   4 – 4     7 – 6  
Cincinnati   2 – 6     4 – 8  
UConn   2 – 6     3 – 9  
East Carolina   2 – 6     3 – 9  
West Division
No. 25 Memphis xy   7 – 1     10 – 3  
Houston   5 – 3     7 – 5  
Navy   4 – 4     7 – 6  
SMU   4 – 4     7 – 6  
Tulane   3 – 5     5 – 7  
Tulsa   1 – 7     2 – 10  
Championship: UCF 62, Memphis 55
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
As of January 9, 2018
Rankings from AP Poll.

The 2017 UCF Knights football team represented the University of Central Florida in the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Knights played their home games at the newly renamed Spectrum Stadium in Orlando, Florida, and competed in the East Division of the American Athletic Conference. They were led by second year head coach Scott Frost.

The Knights finished the regular season 12–0, the football program's first ever undefeated regular season and second 12-win season, and won the 2017 American Conference Championship. The Knights season culminated in a 2018 Peach Bowl win over Auburn. The effort came just two years after an 0–12 winless season (2015). UCF became the first team in the history of NCAA Division I FBS to improve from a winless regular season to an undefeated regular season in only two years.[1]

Despite being the only undefeated team in FBS, UCF did not receive a spot in the College Football Playoff. Frost criticized the College Football Playoff committee, saying that the Knights "deserve[d] more credit from the committee than what they got." Frost believed that the committee deliberately ranked the Knights low enough on a weekly basis that they had no realistic chance of finishing in the top four.[2] The Knights proclaimed themselves national champions at the end of the season.[3][4] Florida lawmakers proposed passing a resolution declaring UCF the national champions,[5] which Florida Governor Rick Scott proclaimed officially on January 8, 2018, the day of the 2018 College Football Playoff National Championship between Alabama and Georgia.[6] Following that game, on January 9,[7] UCF was ranked No. 1 in the final Colley Matrix,[8] a mathematical ranking designated by the NCAA as a major selector of championships and listed in the NCAA football records book.[9] UCF also received four first place votes in the final AP Poll.[10]

  1. ^ Reedy, Joe (November 24, 2017). "Winless to unbeaten: No. 12 UCF beats USF to cap turnaround". ABC News. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
  2. ^ Schad, Tom (January 1, 2018). "Scott Frost: Committee seemed to make 'conscious effort' to keep UCF low in Playoff rankings". USA TODAY.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference NYTimes2018 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Adelson, Andrea (January 3, 2018). "UCF to celebrate perfect season with national title banner, parade". ESPN.
  5. ^ Gillespie, Ryan (January 3, 2018). "UCF national champs? Florida lawmakers could declare it so". Orlando Sentinel.
  6. ^ Scott, Rick (January 8, 2018). "National Champion University of Central Florida Knights" (PDF) (Press release). Tallahassee, Florida: Governor of the State of Florida. Retrieved April 29, 2024. NOW, THEREFORE, I, Rick Scott, Governor of the State of Florida, do hereby proclaim that the UCF Knights are this season's best college football team and will be recognized as the 2017 College Football National Champions in Florida.
  7. ^ Simmons, Roger (January 9, 2018). "National champions: UCF Knights finish season ranked No. 1 in the Colley Matrix". Orlando Sentinel. Archived from the original on January 11, 2018. Retrieved January 14, 2018.
  8. ^ "Colley Matrix 2017 Rankings, Week 17". Colley Matrix. Retrieved September 21, 2018.
  9. ^ "National Champion Major Selections (1896 to Present)". 2022 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records (PDF). Indianapolis: The National Collegiate Athletic Association. July 2022. pp. 112–114. Retrieved January 4, 2023. The criteria for being included in this historical list of poll selectors is that the poll be national in scope, either through distribution in newspaper, television, radio and/or computer online. The list includes both former selectors, who were instrumental in the sport of college football, and selectors who were among the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) selectors.
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference 2017APPoll was invoked but never defined (see the help page).