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Which Schools Would UCF Fans Be OK With Scheduling for a 2-For-1?

Answer: Not a lot. But more than zero.

Taj McGowan UCF
Taj McGowan
Photo: Derek Warden

Amidst all of the made-up controversy over the UCF Knights’ home-and-home-or-bust scheduling philosophy vis-a-vis the rest of The American, I became intrigued at one question:

If UCF had to schedule a two-for-one, who should they schedule it with?

Of course, there’s only one completely scientific way of figuring this out: Conduct 65 Twitter polls in a 24-hour period.

So that’s what I did.

I kept each poll to just 24 hours in order to minimize the possibility of trolling, and given the results, it looks like that worked, since no question left me scratching my head.

So before we get to the raw data, let’s summarize the findings.

There are four tiers of responses. I picked these tiers because it’s my damn poll and I’ll do whatever the hell I want with it.

Definitely OK with it (>67%)

Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Michigan

At least two in three respondents said yes to these five teams. Call this the CFP Prediction group, because it looks like these are the teams everyone across the country thinks might be in the College Football Playoff, given whoever comes out on top between Ohio State and Michigan in the Big Ten. All very fair.

Very much OK with it (>50%)

Georgia, Notre Dame, LSU, USC

These are the remaining teams that got a majority. Let’s call this group the Next Four In. All are traditional powers, and all are also fun travel destinations. And aside from Georgia, UCF has never played any of these teams on the road.

No, but we’re thinking about it (>33%)

Texas, Oregon, Penn State, Florida State, Auburn, Texas A&M

These teams got a majority thumbs-down, but I feel as though the fan base might soften their stance on them given the right circumstances. Note that UCF has already been to Texas and Penn State in the last decade, and that Florida State is the highest-voted team in-state.

No. Just no. Well, maybe. (>20%)

Michigan State, Wisconsin, Washington, Florida, Oklahoma State, Nebraska, West Virginia, Miami

Again, a majority say no to a two-for-one, but at least one in five yeses feels a bit squishy. UCF has previously played at Wisconsin (2004), Florida (twice), Nebraska (1997), West Virginia (2003), and Miami (2008). Interesting that T. Boone Pickens University, er, Oklahoma State made the list.

Shut up and go away (<20%)

Everyone else.

The only one I was surprised by was UCLA. You people don’t want two trips to the Rose Bowl?

So there it is: The people have spoken, and they have given Danny White license to break his promise with regard to a very select few power conference schools.

UCF Scheduling Twitter Poll Results

Are you OK with UCF scheduling a two-for-one with the following schools?

School Conference Yes % No % Votes
School Conference Yes % No % Votes
North Carolina ACC 5 95 113
Georgia Tech ACC 5 95 112
Virginia ACC 5 95 115
Virginia Tech ACC 15 85 116
Clemson ACC 79 21 165
NC State ACC 5 95 116
Duke ACC 3 97 117
Miami ACC 21 79 119
Wake Forest ACC 2 98 103
Florida St. ACC 39 61 110
Louisville ACC 5 95 109
Pitt ACC 4 96 112
Syracuse ACC 8 92 117
BC ACC 4 96 101
Notre Dame Independent 63 37 163
Michigan B1G 68 32 187
Michigan State B1G 32 68 122
Ohio State B1G 77 23 182
Indiana B1G 2 98 112
Iowa B1G 10 90 125
Wisconsin B1G 28 72 130
Illinois B1G 2 98 127
Purdue B1G 4 96 126
Minnesota B1G 2 98 124
Penn State B1G 40 60 143
Rutgers B1G 3 97 117
Maryland B1G 4 96 116
Nebraska B1G 22 78 135
Northwestern B1G 6 94 124
Florida SEC 23 77 152
Georgia SEC 64 36 179
Alabama SEC 84 16 136
Auburn SEC 39 61 132
Tennessee SEC 15 85 120
South Carolina SEC 9 91 117
Kentucky SEC 6 94 171
Ole Miss SEC 8 92 131
Mississippi St. SEC 8 92 127
LSU SEC 61 39 133
Arkansas SEC 4 96 124
Texas A&M SEC 39 61 131
Vandy SEC 3 97 118
Missouri SEC 5 95 117
Stanford Pac-12 7 93 111
Oregon State Pac-12 3 97 109
Oregon Pac-12 42 58 115
California Pac-12 5 95 110
Washington Pac-12 27 73 158
Washington St. Pac-12 9 91 158
Arizona Pac-12 2 98 120
Arizona St. Pac-12 4 96 114
USC Pac-12 51 49 122
UCLA Pac-12 14 86 122
Utah Pac-12 8 92 112
Colorado Pac-12 6 94 124
Kansas Big 12 9 91 429
West Virginia Big 12 22 78 184
Oklahoma Big 12 74 26 309
Texas Big 12 47 53 293
Oklahoma State Big 12 23 77 193
Baylor Big 12 8 92 180
TCU Big 12 18 82 180
Texas Tech Big 12 13 87 186
Kansas St. Big 12 8 92 173
Iowa State Big 12 8 92 180
Results from 24-hour Twitter Polls (LINK). Answers assume two-for-one means two road games and one home game played at Spectrum Stadium.

What I find really interesting about this is that it actually shows what UCF fans think the pecking order of college football is right now. Yeah, there’s a little bit of screw-you being lobbed at Florida, but for the most part, this passes the eye test at this given moment.

I’d be interested to see what the results would look like next year, or perhaps five years from now. But for now, this makes sense.