With Oklahoma and Texas accepting invitations to leave the Big 12 Conference and join the Southeastern Conference, there are now vacancies in their former conference. On Sep. 10, the Big 12 conference voted to allow four new teams, the University of Central Florida, University of Cincinatti, University of Houston and Brigham Young University. With the Big 12 accepting the four teams, their conference name will accurately reflect how many teams they have.
It makes sense; the AP and College Football Playoff voters never have, and never will, respect the Group of Five. Until there is respect given to those teams, every team that has dreams of contending will want to join a Power Five conference. Teams like 2017 UCF and 2020 Cincinatti were completely robbed of chances at the College Football Playoff due to not being Power Five teams.
2017 UCF was without a doubt one of the best teams in all of college football. The Knights finished the season with a 12-0 record, winning the AAC Conference Championship. Despite being the only undefeated team in the FBS, the CFP passed them over, ranking them at No. 12. The Knights were selected to play in the Peach Bowl, a New Year’s Six bowl. They matched up with No. 7 Auburn, the SEC powerhouse that took down the No. 1 team on two different occasions in 2017. The Tigers beat No. 1 Georgia 40-17 on Nov. 11 and beat No. 1 Alabama on Nov. 25. A loss in the SEC Championship knocked them out of playoff contention, resulting in a matchup of No. 7 Auburn vs. No. 12 UCF.
The Knights took home the Peach Bowl win, winning the game by a score of 34-27. In the grand scheme, UCF took down the team that knocked of two No. 1 teams during that season. The 2018 Knights had nine current NFL players on their roster, as well as quarterback McKenzie Milton, a sure-fire first-round pick before a devastating knee injury. They were more than well-deserving of at least a chance at the National Championship, but the CFP committee denied them that chance.
2020 Cincinatti was denied that same chance that UCF was. Although the Bearcats season was played during the COVID year with a shortened season and no fans, they still proved they were one of the best teams in college football. Cincinatti mauled their way through their eight game regular season, scoring 40.9 points per game. The Bearcats knocked off two ranked opponents, as well as dropping No.23 Tulsa in the AAC Conference Championship to win the conference.
The No.8 Bearcats matched up with the No.9 Georgia Bulldogs in the Peach Bowl. Despite losing the game 24-21, the Bearcats showed they could keep up with a top tier team. They kept the game close, and even had multiple chances to win. This same Georgia team scored more points in their regular season matchup with eventual champions, No. 1 Alabama, where they scored 27. The Bulldogs were unanimously a top five team before their week six loss to the University of Florida. They even had eight players drafted into the NFL in the following April.
Overall, it’s understandable as to why these programs want to leave the AAC. Cincinatti and UCF will have the platform to show who they are and that they can compete with anybody. The Big 12 conference, while losing its two most famous programs, has become a much more well rounded conference. The plan is for the teams to officially join the Big 12 in 2025.
