UCF Ranked 22nd in the CFP Rankings, Can Still Win AAC

Nov 23, 2022 - 12:27 AM

In Professor Hubert Farnsworth fashion from the TV show Futurama, we’re bursting in the room to scream “Good news everyone!” because we have good news to share.

The UCF Knights are ranked 22nd in the College Football Playoff Rankings:

Why is this significant? This changes the tiebreaker provision used for UCF in case there is a three-way tie between the Knights, Houston, and the loser of Tulane/Cincinnati. Had the Knights not been ranked, the tiebreaker provision 7.5.2 would be used and it’s messier and much less secure for UCF to get into the conference championship game.

Since UCF is ranked in the CFP and both Tulane (19th) and Cincinnati (24th) are as well, this would mean 7.5.3 would be enforced. As it reads, if multiple teams are ranked in the latest available CFP ranking, which has just come out, the highest-ranked winner would be a Championship Game participant. This would eliminate Houston from contention because they’re not ranked.

Also, the loser of Tulane vs. Cincinnati Friday night would likely be eliminated with a UCF win over South Florida, since the provision clearly states the highest-ranked team that wins their final game gets in.

Let’s now summarize this:

With UCF being ranked in the CFP rankings, UCF is all but a win-and-in for the AAC Championship Game.

Bonus: Since UCF, Cincy and Tulane are the only G5 teams ranked, the New Year’s Six Bowl is also still in play for UCF.

The Knights travel to Tampa to play the South Florida Bulls on Saturday. The game will be on ESPN2 at 7 p.m. ET.