Danny White’s statement to ‘GameDay’ shows more UCF tone-deafness

UCF is riding a nice 20-game streak, which is impressive. However, its claim of a national championship and how UCF should be more relevant in the playoff system has left a sour taste for real contenders, such as Alabama.

Now, UCF’s Athletic Director Danny White has issued a statement that just indicates how tone-deaf the Golden Knights really are. In the late hours of Sunday night, following a segment from ESPN’s College GameDay discussing UCF, the AD issued this statement via his Twitter.

UCF and their AD has been known to make flamboyant statements. They have made sure they use the loudspeaker that is social media to get their message across. The problem here is not only that UCF does not seem to know their own College Football Playoff resume. The bogus claims cheapen the playoff itself and bring down the value of work made by real contenders.

Why UCF isn’t a playoff contender

Look, it’s not like anyone doesn’t want to see a Group of Five team make the playoff. If they have the strength of schedule, a strong record and look good doing it, they should be in if they are comparable to other strong teams.

UCF simply doesn’t fit that bill at all.  Reddit user u/CrimsonPride18 makes this argument well. Their strength of schedule is in the 120’s according to both ESPN and S&P+ ratings. None of its opponents are currently bowl eligible, much less have a win percentage over .500. Their best opponent so far has been Memphis, who is sitting at 4-4. They would have lost that game had Memphis not made a critical time mistake as the game ended.

They do have teams with winning records coming ahead, but they aren’t the cream of the crop. USF, who is undefeated, might as well be self-titled as “The worst undefeated team in College Football”. The Bulls have needed a few miracles to keep that record and only one team on its schedule (Elon) has a record above .500. Cincinnati has two teams with winning records on its schedule but lost to one of them.

When you compare UCF to other contenders, you just cannot make the argument that they are better than those teams. With one-loss teams like LSU, Ohio State and Texas in the mix, it just will never add up.

Analyzing White’s statement

"College football is the only sport on the field that is not settled on the field – We need to fix that!"

That is a strong accusation. Where exactly does it get settled, then? Just because a kid decides to play for an Alabama/Clemson/Notre Dame, their body of work should count against them because their school is too big? That’s a high-school argument.

"Sports should be all about wins and losses and not the brand on a jersey!"

We couldn’t agree more. However, it’s an argument no one is making. That argument being if you are, say, an SEC team, you have an inherited right to make the playoff. The SEC team does deserve a team each year because the SEC plays against better teams, with better records and its body of work is, overall, better. The American Athletic Conference does not.

"College Football has become a subjective popularity contest. The Knights represent all of the teams who – for reasons of history, geography or politics – are left out of the club."

Ah, the old “unpopular kid got picked last” argument. It’s always someone else’s fault. Here are the facts: UCF is in a conference that simply doesn’t allow them to have a strong conference schedule. Put yourself in a position to succeed instead of relying on the system. Also, it’s a bit of a stretch to think that you represent all of the Group of Five teams out there. Do they want that kind of exposure?

"Our student-athletes don’t want anything given to them … They just want a chance."

THEN DON’T GIVE THEM A FALSE CHAMPIONSHIP.

"No one likes their accomplishments disrespected."

Mr. White. Stop disrespecting the accomplishments of these student-athletes from other far-superior teams than yours. You have to give respect to earn it.

There just isn’t an argument to make for UCF to be in the playoff. The statement from White shows that UCF is living in its own world that is simply way too idealistic and ignorant.