Follow along daily as we count down to a new season.
Former Auburn coach Gus Malzahn is back in a Power Five conference with Central Florida prepping for its first season in the Big 12.
“It’s just the excitement of playing some of the best teams in college football week in and week out and that grind that goes with it,” Malzahn said as the Big 12 wrapped up its football media days last week. “That’s what excites me. Just the profile of our program taking that next step.”
Malzahn is going into his third season at UCF, which followed his eight consecutive winning seasons in the SEC. The Tigers made it to the BCS championship game in his 2013 debut season, the year before the start of the four-team College Football Playoff.
UCF proclaimed itself national champion after going undefeated in 2017 and beating Malzahn’s Auburn squad in the Peach Bowl while one-loss Alabama won the CFP title game. The Knights, who left the American Athletic Conference with Cincinnati and Houston, have gone 18-9 overall under Malzahn with a 2-3 record against Power Five teams.
With the four additions coming a year before Oklahoma and Texas leave for the SEC, the Big 12 will have 14 teams this season. The conference now spreads over three time zones with schools from eight different states, stretching from Utah to West Virginia to Florida.
*Return each day until the start of the college football season for more information and news to know as we gear up for another campaign.
About the Author
