After the first college football weekend of the 2018 season, UCF moved up from No. 21 to No. 19 in the AP Poll. The Knights started their season by beating UConn 56-17 on the road to extend their nation-best winning streak to 14 games.
At No. 19, UCF is the highest-ranked Group of Five team and the highest-ranked team in the state of Florida. Boise State, the Knights’ top competitor for the Group of Five bid in a New Year’s Six Bowl, stands at No. 20. As for the rest of the state, Miami fell from No. 8 to No. 22, Florida went from unranked to No. 25 and Florida State dropped out of the rankings completely.
Strength of schedule for Josh Heupel and his team could be an issue going forward, with Memphis being their only opponent that received any top 25 votes. Houston is the only other AAC team to receive votes outside of UCF and Memphis. The Cougars aren’t on the Knights’ schedule, but could be a potential opponent in the AAC Championship Game should both teams continue to win.
UCF hosts South Carolina State this Saturday in its home opener. Kickoff is set for 6:00 p.m.