UCF will once again open a football season in the top 25 polls after winding up No. 21 in the preseason USA Today coaches poll released Thursday. It’s the third straight season in which the team earned a preseason ranking.
The Knights opened at No. 17 last season in 2019 and finished with a No. 24 ranking after a 10-3 campaign. The year before that, UCF opened at No. 23 but climbed all the way to No. 12 after a 12-1 mark that featured a Fiesta Bowl appearance on New Year’s Day.
The program climbed as high as No.