FSU Football should schedule series with UCF if Florida will not

FSU Football has never been shy about scheduling tougher games, plus it would be perfect to send the Knights down a notch when we beat them.

With no bowl game to prepare for this December, the FSU football team has plenty of time to figure out what to do for the future: what players to recruit, what coaches to hire and what teams should they schedule for games in the future that will actually help them get back to the College Football Playoff someday.

At the same time, the continued whining from one fellow Sunshine State school can be heard ringing from Miami to Pensacola – as the UCF Knights still believe they are one of the best teams in college football despite a strength of schedule that would not even get them close to the conversation.

The latest debate comes from the Knights and a hated FSU football rival, the Florida Gators. Essentially, Florida is saying that they would be willing to play UCF for three games with two being in Gainesville – while the Knights think they are on a Power Five team level and want a solo home and home series (h/t Orlando Sentinel).

"“Our scheduling philosophy has been transparent since I arrived at UCF — that we’re open to a home-and-home series with any non-conference Power 6 opponent. Top 10 programs don’t schedule two-for-one series where the balance is not in their favor,” UCF AD Danny White said."

Okay, I know that UCF is new to this but they have only been ranked in the top 10 since Week 12 of this season and didn’t crack the single digits until the final poll after the bowl games last season. I know they aren’t used to being ranked that high like FSU football is but the Knights are not a perennial power like they think they are.

So, if the Gators are dragging their feet on this one, I have the perfect solution: get FSU football to schedule a home and home series with the Knights.

First off, it would be the Power Five love that UCF seems to be dying for since they don’t play in a real conference. Second, the Seminoles have shown that they bring plenty of fans when they play in Orlando (2016 spring game and opener vs. Ole Miss) who want to see the garnet and gold but can’t get to Tallahassee.

Finally, when FSU football beats the Knights both in Tallahassee and in that high school stadium they play in (I remember when Doak Campbell seated only 45,000 back in the 1977 season), it will finally put to rest the argument that UCF is anything but a second tier program in the state who is having a good run.

The teams have met just once before when FSU football blew out the then Division 1-AA Knights back in 1995 – so now is as good a time as any to add two more wins to that series history.