UCF football comes in the middle of the pack in the 2024 Big 12 Media Preseason Poll

UCF is probably a little disappointed with where they are ranked in the Big 12 Media Preseason Polls. With Big 12 Media Days approaching quickly, the preseason polls are out, and UCF came in lower than expected.

The Knights came in at the very middle of the pack ranked eighth with 551 votes and zero first-place votes. UCF was selected to finish in the same spot in the 2023 Big 12 Media Preseason Polls. The Knights were hoping that with their offseason acquisitions, they would be able to be ranked higher than the previous year.

The two programs the Knights would have possibly be above are the two that are directly above them, West Virginia and Iowa State. Both programs also made improvements towards the end of the 2023 season and the offseason, but the Knights's biggest acquisition was former Arkansas quarterback KJ Jefferson.

Now that is not to say that John Rhys Plumlee was not a great quarterback because he was, but he did deal with a lot of injuries throughout his time at UCF. Jefferson should be able to take hits a little better than Plumlee did and he had a bit of a stronger arm.

However, it seems as though the Big 12 does not think the Knights have improved, but with RJ Harvey and Kobe Hudson sticking around for one more season, it seems like they have to give the Knights more credit. Harvey finished top five in every single rushing statistic last season and even with Javon Baker on the team being the leading receiver, Hudson still went off for over 900 yards on the season.

UCF will have some pieces of the puzzle that they still have to put together, but all-in-all they look a lot better than any of the other teams that joined the conference in 2023. They have a top offense, one that was ranked in the top 25 in EA Sports College Football 25.

The Knights will have a tough schedule ahead of them in 2024 playing all the 2024 Big 12 newcomers, which includes Utah, the team projected to finish first in the conference.