2018 football schedule positions UCF for success

The Knights, college football's only undefeated team in 2017, won't leave the state of Florida after Oct. 20. Of the seven home games, only two are non-Saturday: Friday, Sept. 21 vs. Lane Kiffin's FAU Owls and Thursday, Nov. 1 vs. Temple, which is the first of three consecutive home games in November.

All in all, quite a favorable slate for first-year coach Josh Heupel who is inheriting team that will have their sights set on another American Athletic Conference Championship and New Year's Six bowl berth.

Here's a look at the schedule:

Thu., Aug. 30 -- at UConn*

Sat., Sept. 8 -- South Carolina State

Sat., Sept. 15 -- at North Carolina

Fri., Sept. 21 -- Florida Atlantic

Sat., Sept. 29 – Pittsburgh (Family Weekend)

Sat., Oct. 6 -- SMU*

Sat., Oct. 13 -- at Memphis*

Sat., Oct. 20 -- at ECU*

Thu., Nov. 1 -- Temple* [ESPN]

Sat., Nov. 10 -- Navy* (Homecoming)

Sat., Nov. 17 -- Cincinnati*

Fri., Nov. 23 at USF* (War On I-4)*

- *American Athletic Conference Game

-Most coaches don't like opening the season with a conference game, but in this case I don't think Heupel will mind. Playing UConn right out of the gate takes away what could have been a late-season road game in frigid temperatures. UCF did brave the elements in a 24-16 win at UConn in 2016, but two years prior it was a different story. In 2014, playing in rainy conditions with temperatures in the 30s, UCF suffered their first-ever AAC loss to the Huskies, 37-29.

-UCF does have a shorter week to prepare for FAU after playing the previous Saturday at North Carolina. That's really the only quibble with the schedule and a very minor one at that. As expected, ESPN is taking advantage of showcasing a matchup against Lane Kiffin. They seldom get to do that as Conference USA doesn't have a TV contract with the network. The Owls, who went 11-3 last season and have an influx of talented transfers, could very well be the toughest matchup of UCF's non-conference slate.

-One scheduling quirk is the two blocks of three consecutive home games (FAU-Pittsburgh-SMU and Temple-Navy-Cincinnati). But UCF only plays one set of back-to-back road games (at Memphis and at ECU) given the opener (UConn) and finale (USF) are both are on the road.

-Though not announced, there is chatter the Oct. 13 road game at Memphis will be televised by ABC with a 12 noon EST kickoff. Being a rematch of last year's epic double-overtime conference championship game, this is easily the game to be circled on the American schedule. Memphis will still be a West Division contender, though they do have to replace quarterback Riley Ferguson.

-The last true "road trip" will be the Oct. 20 game at ECU. While USF is a road game, UCF will bus over to Tampa the day before and head home immediately after, not quite the same as taking a flight. That's a major advantage for a team heading into the final stretch run.

-UCF will have their bye week at the end of October following their the two-week road swing. They'll be plenty rested when Temple comes to town on Thursday, Nov. 1. The Owls, who could be a challenger in the East Division, also have the same bye week.

-UCF's game against Navy, the first-ever home game against a service academy, will serve as homecoming and also falls the day before Veterans Day (Nov. 11). The Knights will have a couple extra days to prepare being their previous game will have been on a Thursday, while Navy plays a road game at Cincinnati the previous Saturday. Given the difficulty of anticipating their triple-option attack, any extra day is a welcome advantage.

-The "War on I-4" remains on Thanksgiving weekend (Black Friday). There was chatter last fall UCF wouldn't mind the game being pushed up one week, but last year showed that if the game means something, the students will come back even if it is a holiday weekend.