SEC’s Sankey: UCF should look “inward” to address CFP issues

NEW YORK» Southeastern Conference Commissioner Greg Sankey recommended UCF look “inward” to address strength of schedule issues that have held back the Knights in the College Football Playoff rankings.

Central Florida was ranked eighth in the final playoff rankings by the selection committee Sunday after finishing a second consecutive regular season undefeated. The top four teams make the playoff. The Knights, who have won 25 straight games and consecutive American Athletic Conference championships, were never given any serious consideration for the playoff. They will instead play LSU in the Fiesta Bowl a year after they declared themselves national champions following a Peach Bowl win over Auburn.

For the past two seasons, the committee has cited the Knights’ schedule, which lags behind Power Five conference schools in degree of difficulty, as the reason they have been left out of the playoff conversation.

Sankey was asked about UCF and its place in the playoff picture during a radio interview at the Learfield Intercollegiate Athletics Forum on Thursday. The commissioner compared UCF’s situation to when the SEC placed only three teams in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament in 2016.

“We weren’t living up to our expectations. Rather than point to the selection committee, other people ... we looked inward and said: ‘How do we adjust to the circumstances around us?’” Sankey said. “I would observe that’s the challenge for everybody at the FBS level.”