As you can probably tell, a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff is happening today. Memphis just accepted the Hawaii Bowl.
Just wanted to share some rumors I've heard today.
We've all seen the UCF vs. Florida Gasparilla Bowl projections. I'm hearing UF is lobbying pretty hard against that matchup. I think they feel like they have more to lose and are now even more sensitive about UCF's future status as a Power Five team in the Big 12, becoming a "peer" program of the other of Power Five teams in the state.
Remember this comment UF AD Scott Stricklin made to Matt Murschel of the Orlando Sentinel earlier this season?
What did you think about having another Power Five school in the state with UCF joining the Big 12?
Stricklin: “I texted with [UCF AD] Terry [Mohajir] yesterday. They seem happy. Terry’s a good guy and I want good things for them. I don’t know about these designations [Power Five] going forward. I mean, they felt like it was a good move or they wouldn’t have done it. There’s a lot of good teams in that league.
“I used to say we need to schedule Power Five [teams] and I started realizing that’s not the right designation. It needs to be, we need to schedule quality opponents because there are quality opponents in non-Power Five leagues, and going forward there may be some teams in Power Five leagues that aren’t quality opponents. I don’t know if that designation is going to carry the weight going forward that it once did. The SEC is probably separating itself in a lot of ways. The Alliance teams probably feel like they’re at a certain level, but there are opportunities for other teams to move up and down even regardless of their conference motivation.
“UCF has done a great job positioning its program for several years through several ADs. [Former AD] Danny [White] deserves a lot of credit. Terry deserves credit for keeping it going. They seem to have gotten a lot of momentum.”
Maybe I'm wrong, but his "compliments" in early September seemed pretty backhanded.
If UF goes to Gasparilla and gets their way, it could send UCF out of state. Fenway Bowl possibly.
But there's also talk UCF could keep the Gasparilla slot, maybe playing South Carolina.
Or maybe ESPN convinces UF (or gives them no choice) that a UCF matchup is what people want to see. I'd be shocked though.
It's all still fluid.
Just wanted to share some rumors I've heard today.
We've all seen the UCF vs. Florida Gasparilla Bowl projections. I'm hearing UF is lobbying pretty hard against that matchup. I think they feel like they have more to lose and are now even more sensitive about UCF's future status as a Power Five team in the Big 12, becoming a "peer" program of the other of Power Five teams in the state.
Remember this comment UF AD Scott Stricklin made to Matt Murschel of the Orlando Sentinel earlier this season?
What did you think about having another Power Five school in the state with UCF joining the Big 12?
Stricklin: “I texted with [UCF AD] Terry [Mohajir] yesterday. They seem happy. Terry’s a good guy and I want good things for them. I don’t know about these designations [Power Five] going forward. I mean, they felt like it was a good move or they wouldn’t have done it. There’s a lot of good teams in that league.
“I used to say we need to schedule Power Five [teams] and I started realizing that’s not the right designation. It needs to be, we need to schedule quality opponents because there are quality opponents in non-Power Five leagues, and going forward there may be some teams in Power Five leagues that aren’t quality opponents. I don’t know if that designation is going to carry the weight going forward that it once did. The SEC is probably separating itself in a lot of ways. The Alliance teams probably feel like they’re at a certain level, but there are opportunities for other teams to move up and down even regardless of their conference motivation.
“UCF has done a great job positioning its program for several years through several ADs. [Former AD] Danny [White] deserves a lot of credit. Terry deserves credit for keeping it going. They seem to have gotten a lot of momentum.”
Maybe I'm wrong, but his "compliments" in early September seemed pretty backhanded.
If UF goes to Gasparilla and gets their way, it could send UCF out of state. Fenway Bowl possibly.
But there's also talk UCF could keep the Gasparilla slot, maybe playing South Carolina.
Or maybe ESPN convinces UF (or gives them no choice) that a UCF matchup is what people want to see. I'd be shocked though.
It's all still fluid.
