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The UCF Knights might miss out on playing UNC and Georgia Tech this fall.
Again.
The ACC announced Thursday it would delay the start of fall sports to at least Sept. 1. The conference is expected to make the decision to play conference-only games, according to Stadium insider Brett McMurphy.
This came shortly after the Big Ten announced it would also engage in a conference-only season.
The first round of cancellations between UCF and the Yellow Jackets and the Tar Heels can be credited to Hurricanes Irma and Florence in 2017 and 2018, respectively.
#UCF lost games with Georgia Tech and North Carolina to hurricanes in 2017 and 2018, respectively.
— Jeff Sharon (@Jeff_Sharon) July 9, 2020
Now they're going to lose them both in 2020 due to a pandemic. https://t.co/qrgkHRkKIT
Will the Knights ever get to play them?
Several UCF fans — and foes — took to Twitter to express their disbelief and disappointment.
Defensive end Christopher DeLoach even made a TikTok poking fun at UCF’s second missed opportunity to play UNC.
Gotta be quicker than that #UCF pic.twitter.com/ZlPKPmkmeV
— Christopher Deloach (@Chris_Deloach85) July 9, 2020
DeLoach also expressed his rage at the situation by tweeting, “No UNC ???? No GA TECH ????”
Defensive lineman Kenny Turnier tweeted, “Damn!” on Thursday afternoon. We’re not sure what he’s referring to, but I think we all feel the same way.
Damn!
— Kenny Turnier (@KennyTurnier0) July 9, 2020
Some Knights fans are worried about how their season tickets will be affected while others are holding out for a chance of a spring season.
.@UCF_Football with the ACC moving to conference only games, how does that affect our season tickets?
— Victor Amat (@vicamat) July 9, 2020
Tbh let’s play football in spring. Really don’t wanna waste players eligibility without getting to play UGA and UCF this year
— Jake (@JakeGray_5) July 9, 2020
Here’s a bright idea from radio personality Jon Linder: a Florida college football playoff.
“Scrap the conference schedule, close the state and have teams only play each other,” he tweeted. “Give us 7 games. Not for a ring. For our sanity!”
He also went on to discuss the logistics of fan and media attendance, locker room and practice policies and even a coin toss on Zoom.
My college football plan in Florida? Scrap the conference schedule, close the state & have teams only play each other@CanesFootball@GatorsFB@FSUFootball@UCF_Football@USFFootball@FIUFootball@FAUFootball@FAMUAthletics
— Jon Linder (@LinderShowMiami) July 9, 2020
Give us 7 games. Not for a ring. For our sanity!
Ohio sports fan Michael Boston shared his own idea of conference play. UCF, Memphis and Cincinnati are already scheduled to play each other — all they have to do is play each other twice, he said.
Outside the box idea... Memphis, UCF, and Cincy all already scheduled to play each other. If all 3 were to play each other twice, it adds 1 home and 1
— Michael Boston (@michaelkboston) July 9, 2020
away game for all 3 schools and adds some much needed SOS.
There’s an upside non-conference play, though.
“...USF isn’t getting that $2 million from Texas,” UCF alumnus J.P. Gilbert said on Twitter.
We're not getting football which stinks, but that means USF isn't getting that $2 million from Texas. pic.twitter.com/XyLwF3Dlci
— J.P. Gilbert (@jpgilbert) July 9, 2020
The AAC nor UCF have yet to announce their plans for fall sports. However, WESH sports director Daren Stoltzfus reported UCF has yet to be notified that its ACC matchups with UNC and Georgia Tech are canceled.
Daniella Medina is a contributing writer for the Black & Gold Banneret. Follow her on Twitter @danimedinanews.