The Knights of Central Florida are America's 2017 national champions.
After dispatching Auburn—the only team to defeat both contestants in this year's third-place game—34-24 in the Peach Bowl on Monday, the Knights moved quickly to claim the spoils of their conquest.
Tuesday night, the program claimed its first national championship:
Perfection achieved. #ChargeOn pic.twitter.com/cLJb8MrJLw
— 2017 National Champions (@UCF_Football) January 3, 2018
This is no minor league publicity stunt, either. The university will hang a banner in the iconic Spectrum Stadium. It will pay departing coach Scott Frost (and his staff) their national championship contractual bonuses.
| OPPONENT | SCORE |
|---|---|
| FIU | 61-17 |
| @ MARYLAND | 38-10 |
| MEMPHIS | 40-13 |
| @ CINCINNATI | 51-23 |
| EAST CAROLINA | 63-21 |
| @ NAVY | 31-21 |
| AUSTIN PEAY | 73-33 |
| @ SMU | 31-24 |
| UCONN | 49-24 |
| @ TEMPLE | 45-19 |
| USF | 49-42 |
| # 20 MEMPHIS | 62-55 (2 OT) |
| #7 AUBURN | 34-27 |
It's also sending the team to Disney World.
"I look at schools all across the country that are hanging national championship banners for years they had that weren't even close to the year we just had," UCF athletic director told AP reporter Ralph D. Russo.
He's right, too. If Alabama can claim a 1941 title on a season in which it lost two games and finished 20th in the final AP Poll (to name just one abominable example), why shouldn't UCF claim one?
National championships are all about recognition, and we at Eleven Warriors would like to congratulate the Knights on their historic accomplishment.
We willfully recognize our new overlords, and will continue to do so regardless of the outcome of Monday night's contest between the SEC, which coincidentally has the same record (4-5) as Conference USA.
Perhaps it just means more in the USA, the newest powerbroker of southern football.
