Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
FAU defense bracing for test
Kiffin, Owls face tough task of slowing down UCF’s offense.
BOCA RATON — Whether UCF was right to self-proclaim itself national champions last year as an undefeated Group of 5 team that was left out of the College Football Playoff but beat Auburn in the Peach Bowl, has been a hotbutton topic the entire offseason.
As Florida Atlantic gets set to take on the 16th-ranked Knights, winners of 15 games in a row after a 2-0 start in 2018, in Orlando on Friday night, Owls coach Lane Kiffin gave his take.
“I don’t know. They did what they did, and I’m sure Alabama doesn’t think that UCF’s national champs,” Kiffin said.
“It is what it is, but obviously they set up a system of a playoff system and so, you know, I don’t know how you really can be the national champs if you didn’t go into the playoff system. … More power to them. They got some big bonuses.
“I don’t know enough to study the teams at that point. It would all depend on what other teams have done, and they’re going to look at how you win games too — do you just barely get by or are you blowing everybody out? They factor all that in. It’s not a perfect system by any means.
“It’s supposed to be experts picking the top four teams, and one to four, how they picked them, was exactly opposite of how they finished. The three and the four beat
the two and the one, and the four beat the three, so what does that tell you?”
FAU players also sounded off on the matter this week.
“I ain’t never heard that until you said it,” said fifthyear senior left tackle Reggie Bain to a reporter who asked. “I just see it as FAU against UCF. I don’t see all that national championship stuff. That was last year. This is this year.”
Redshirt freshman quarterback Chris Robison: “They can say whatever they want. They’re a good team. They deserve whatever they want because they’re 13-0. You can’t take that away from them. … ’Bama was the national champs, but they lost a game. I can’t say they should’ve been in the playoffs, I can’t say they’re the national champions, but they’re a really good team.”
Redshirt junior receiver
DeSean Holmes: “I guess they went 12-0. I guess wins are hard to come by, right? Especially at this level. That’s pretty much it. I can’t say too much on them other than, other than they’re a great team just like us. …
Who knows really? I don’t pay much attention to them or any other team but our team pretty much.”
Junior running back Devin “Motor” Singletary didn’t budge at the question, but offered this: “They definitely had a great year. Last year they did big things. They went undefeated — still undefeated. They still got their winning streak. Them boys balling.”
Senior safety Jalen Young: “Whatever they want to call themselves, be my guest. They want to call themselves national champs, if they believe it, then do their thing. I’m not really worried about that.”
Junior defensive tackle Kevin McCrary: “They went undefeated, so I guess you can say what you want. That’s a great football team. That’s their thoughts. That’s how they can look at it. It is what it is.”
Redshirt junior receiver Tavaris Harrison: “We don’t really look too much into that. That’s their belief. They can believe what they want to believe.”
The Friday night showdown between the two teams will air at 7 p.m. on ESPN.