[jwplayer uAXGkPyW-sNi3MVSU]
Kirk Herbstreit On ESPN College GameDay Makes Case For Fresno State, Utah State Over UCF
Fresno State has a better resume than any Group of Five team.
Contact/Follow @JeremyMauss & @MWCwire
Hmm… UCF is overrated
On ESPN’s College GameDay, Kirk Herbstreit takes a segment to talk about UCF and the rest of the top Group of Five teams. The conversation mirrors what we have said for a while in that the Knights don’t have a great schedule, and it shows in advanced numbers.
“Why are we focusing just on UCF?” Herbstreit asked rhetorically. “I think there are other teams out there that are as deserving, or more deserving.”
“The only team ranked in the Top 30 of FPI, Sagarin, S&P is Fresno State,” Herbstreit said. “Fresno State has the toughest strength of schedule…You need to play someone to be rewarded.”
The Bulldogs have the toughest schedule among the teams mentioned by Herbstreit in Utah State, UCF and Appalachian State.
https://twitter.com/MountainWest/status/1053642014858723328
Herbstreit went on to say there are other teams out there who should be considered in the conversation for the Group of 5 bid for a New Year’s Six bowl bid. Also, it should be noted USF and Cincinnati, both who are undefeated, did not get a mention.
“UCF, you need to not just worry about being undefeated and getting into the top four, you need to look behind you at teams like Utah State, App State, Fresno State. These teams, on paper, which is what you want to look at a lot of times, are better than UCF and more deserving than UCF.”
Herbstreit has hit upon what this site has said about UCF and the American for over a year which is its schedule is not amazing and when they beat Power 5 teams they are middling bowl teams at best during the regular season.
It will be interesting to see what the first College Football Playoff rankings are released in a week and a half on Oct. 30, and especially if all of these teams keep winning until then.
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1360]