South Florida Sun-Sentinel Palm Beach (Sunday)
Mohajir bullish on 2021 schedule
UCF AD says to be the best, you have to play the best
Now that he’s found a new football coach in Gus Malzahn, UCF athletics director Terry Mohajir will shift his focus to football schedules he says need a considerable upgrade.
Former UCF athletics director Danny White was adamant the Knights would avoid scheduling two-forone series — playing twice on the road against Power 5 teams in exchange for one home game. White challenged Power 5 schools to schedule home-and-home matchups with the Knights instead, treating UCF like a Power 5 program that would sign deals to play one game on the road and one at home. It was a philosophy that rubbed some of his colleagues the wrong way.
White believed it was unfair to UCF’s seasonticket base, which had grown exponentially since his arrival in 2015, and that in the long run, the two-forone deals would take away from the revenue generated by the Knights’ success.
Near the end of his tenure at UCF, White admitted it was difficult finding quality opponents willing to play an improved Knights program.
“I’ll play out in the parking lot,” Malzahn said when asked about scheduling philosophy. “Terry can decide if we’re playing at home or on the road or a two-for-whatever. I just want to play them and I want to beat them.”
Mohajir said scheduling will be a crucial component for UCF if the Knights plan to contend for a spot in the College Football Playoff.
“To be the best, you have to play the best and you have to beat the best,” Mohajir said. “Sometimes you have to play people on their terms if you want an opportunity for that.”
As one of the 13 members of the playoff selection committee since 2019, Mohajir knows the importance of strength of schedule as a factor when it comes to the semifinals and the New
Year’s Six bowl games.
The committee decided to rank undefeated Cincinnati No. 8 in the final playoff rankings behind a three-loss Florida team at No. 7 and a two-loss Oklahoma team at No. 6. Three of the Bearcats’ wins were against ranked opponents in Army, SMU and Tulsa.
The American Athletic Conference has asked its members to try to schedule at least two nonconference opponents from Power 5 leagues each season. To get some of the top marquee matchups, AAC officials said some two-for-one deals are necessary.
“Most of the membership, if not all of them except Danny at this point, is open for doing two-for-ones,” AAC commissioner Mike Aresco told the Orlando Sentinel in 2019. “We’ve done some of them and some of them have been high-profile.”
USF, for instance, scheduled several two-for-one series, including deals with Florida, Alabama and Miami.
UCF has eight nonconference open dates over the next five seasons.
Four of the nine out-of-conference games scheduled are against Power 5 schools such as Louisville (2021-22), Georgia Tech (2022) and North Carolina (2025). The Knights also have a future series with Boise State (2021, 2023) and BYU (2023-24) already scheduled.
Unlike his predecessor, Mohajir isn’t put off by the idea of scheduling a two-forone series if the deal is beneficial for the Knights.
“I tell you this, if it is a two-for-one and it ever happens, that one must be in the Bounce House,” Mohajir said. “I had a philosophy in my previous place that I wouldn’t do two-for-ones as well. My two-for-ones were a bye and a home-and-home. That’s my two-for-ones.
“We’ll look at any opportunity that allows us to put our players and our coaches in the best possible light to compete for a New Year’s Six and a Final Four.”