Kyle Israel will always have a special place in UCF history.

As the quarterback for George O'Leary's early teams (2004-07), the Orlando native helped build the foundation for the decade of success that followed. He is also the first quarterback to lead UCF to a conference championship.

For our War on I-4 preview and the final scheduled matchup against South Florida, I caught up with Israel to talk about those early matchups with the Bulls. He was there in 2005 when the series began and UCF was still in the midst of a long losing streak and was on the receiving end of the lopsided 64-12 loss in Tampa in 2007. That game was especially painful and Israel tells the story of how he learned firsthand how some UCF fans took the rivalry seriously.

Though Israel never personally beat the Bulls, he couldn't be more proud of UCF's trajectory in the years to follow with multiple New Year's Six bowl appearances and wins and now a Power Five invite, joining the Big 12 beginning next season.

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