UConn Coach Randy Edsall Calls for NCAA to Pay Players Amid Corruption Scandal
Feb 23, 2018
Connecticut head coach Randy Edsall comes off the field following an NCAA college football game against Boston College at Fenway Park in Boston, Saturday, Nov. 18, 2017. Boston College won 39-16. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
Connecticut head football coach Randy Edsall said coaches are likely "nervous" about the FBI probe into college basketball and called on the NCAA to pay players in a series of tweets Friday.
Pat Forde and Pete Thamelof Yahoo Sports obtained FBI documents that named numerous national powerhouse schools, including Duke, North Carolina and Kentucky, as having players who received money from agent Andy Miller's sports agency. The dollar figures varied, but the investigation could have a major impact on past and present accomplishments in the eyes of the NCAA.
Miller is a basketball agent, so it's unknown if there will be much—if any—impact on college football. However, it will undoubtedly raise similar questions about the most lucrative amateur sport in the world.
Edsall's "pay the players" position is notable because it's so rare among collegiate coaches, most of whom do not publicly take such a stance given the current structure. Edsall's deal with UConn calls for a $1 million annual salary but is heavily incentive-laden, allowing him to make more based on team achievements.
"It shouldn't be a situation where it's not based on achievement," Edsall said last year, perMike Anthonyof theHartford Courant. "I think contracts have gotten out of hand, and I just thought it was fair. I'm very satisfied with the way it worked out. I understood the situation and agreed 100 percent. It should be based on achievement. It was probably the easiest negotiation that I've ever been a part of."
NCAA rules prohibit players from making money for their performance or use of their likeness.
Alabama's Damien Harris Mocks UCF's National Championship Claim
The pictures of the Knights' national champions shirts caught the attention of Alabama running back Damien Harris, who noted an important item missing from their celebration.
These pictures are live! Where can i find one with y’all holding the trophy? https://t.co/eo4O6daenL
UCF, of course, never got an opportunity to compete for said trophy. Despite going 12-0 in the regular season, it settled for a No. 12 ranking from the College Football Playoff selection committee and a Peach Bowl appearance.
The Knights earned a 34-27 victory over Auburn, who bested Alabama and its national championship game opponent, Georgia, during the 2017 season.
An unblemished record (and the transitive property) gives UCF a legitimate gripe, but the American Athletic Conference squad won too many games over inferior competition before topping the Tigers. Crimson Tide defensive end Isaiah D. Buggs offered an easy solution to the dispute.
The self-proclaimed champions can continue to celebrate accordingly, but Alabama still holds the hardware.
[Twitter]
Scott Frost Wins 2018 Bear Bryant Coach of the Year Award
Jan 10, 2018
Central Florida head coach Scott Frost watches players warm up before the American Athletic Conference championship NCAA college football game, Saturday, Dec. 2, 2017, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
After leading UCF to an undefeated season, Scott Frost was given the Bear Bryant Coach of the Year award, per Joseph Duarte of the Houston Chronicle.
He was also named the Eddie Robinson Head Coach of the Year, Home Depot Coach of the Year and recently was named Coach of the Year by the American Football Coaches Association.
Frost's success led him to be named the head coach of Nebraska starting next season.
He was in his second year with the Knights, transforming a team that went 0-12 before he came to 13-0 in just two seasons.
UCF defeated Auburn in the Peach Bowl, a team that beat both Georgia and Alabama, the two national championship participants, during the regular season. This was enough for the Knights toclaim their own national title, complete with a parade, championship rings and bonuses for the coaching staff.
Florida Governor Rick Scott alsoproclaimed the Knightsthe national champions of college football.
They officially finished sixth in the finalAssociated Press poll, with four first-place votes, but they can enjoy their delusions.
Regardless of their final standings, Frost completed an incredible turnaround and finishes his career in Orlando with a 19-7 record.
While there were other quality coaching jobs in 2017, including Kirby Smart at Georgia and Oklahoma's Lincoln Riley, Frost was the clear top option and will hope to find similar success with the Cornhuskers in 2018.
UCF Fans Challenge Alabama to Home-and-Home Series via Billboard
The UCF Knights finished the season a perfect 13-0 after defeating the Auburn Tigers in the Peach Bowl. Thus, the university sees itself as a national champion despite Alabama beating Georgia in Monday's College Football Playoff National Championship Game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
Some UCF fans believe the Knights deserve a shot at the Crimson Tide.
Per ESPN's Darren Rovell, 37 UCF supporters raised $1,665 on GoFundMe for a billboard in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
"Congratulations Alabama!" The billboard reads. "How about a home & home series with UCF?"
That series would probably be more enjoyable than the Pro Bowl.
[Twitter]
UCF Holds Championship Parade at Disney World; Fans Want Shot at Alabama
The Central Florida Knights felt the power brokers in college football gave them a raw deal.
Even though they went undefeated during the regular season, they were not invited to participate in the College Football Playoff. The Knights finished the year with a 13-0 record after beating Auburn 34-27 in the Peach Bowl on New Year's Day.
UCF celebrated with a national championship parade at Disney World in Orlando, Florida, and a pledge by athletic director Danny White to pay national championship bonuses to members of the coaching staff, per Tom Schad of USA Today.
Fans in attendance shouted "We Want 'Bama" since Nick Saban's Alabama Crimson Tide will play the Georgia Bulldogs for the national title Monday night at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
UCF Will Hang Championship Banner Following Playoff Snub, Perfect Season
The Alabama Crimson Tide and Georgia Bulldogs will play in the College Football Playoff National Championship on Monday, but don't tell that to Central Florida athletic director Danny White, who announced the program will hang a championship banner at Spectrum Stadium.
After the game, Scott Frost, who coached for the last time with the Knights before turning his focus toward head coaching duties at Nebraska, made a strong statement about the CFP selection committee's rankings:
"It looked like a conscious effort to me to make sure that they didn't have a problem if they put us too high and a couple teams ahead of us lost. And oh, no, now we have to put them in a playoff. But we just beat a team that beat two playoff teams and lost to another one by six points and we beat them by seven."
UCF doesn't play in a Power Five conference, so its undefeated season doesn't carry the same weight in the selection committee's eyes.
However, the American Athletic program went 13-0 and deservedly feels snubbed in the college football rankings. The 11 teams ahead of UCF in the final poll have at least one loss.
To ease the angst, the Knights also plan on having a parade, as White told The Dan Le Batard Show. If Alabama wins the championship game, prepare for a "we want Bama" tweet from UCF's official Twitter handle.
[Twitter, The Dan Le Batard Show]
UCF Knights to Throw a Parade After Finishing the Season 13-0
Jan 2, 2018
Alright @LeBatardShow, we’ll gladly accept the following:
⚔️ the National Championship 🏆you’re going to make
⚔️ that old fantasy football 🏆 that’s in the garage
The 13-0 UCF Knights won't get an opportunity to earn college football's official national title this month, but that isn't stopping them from acting like champions.
During an appearance on ESPN's The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz on Tuesday, UCF athletic director Danny White announced the university intends to hold a parade to honor the unbeaten Knights, per SB Nation's Richard Johnson.
"We're gonna have a parade to celebrate the success of our team," White stated. He also said plans for the parade would be made public later in the day.
This isn't too surprising, as White declared UCF national champs following the school's 34-27 win over Auburn in the Peach Bowl on Monday:
CFP Director Bill Hancock Explains Why UCF Was Left out of Playoff
Jan 2, 2018
Central Florida linebacker Shaquem Griffin, right, and Central Florida quarterback McKenzie Milton (10) celebrate after the Peach Bowl NCAA college football game against Auburn, Monday, Jan. 1, 2018, in Atlanta. Central Florida won 34-27. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
College Football Playoff executive director Bill Hancock cited UCF's strength of schedule on Tuesday when discussing the Committee's decision to leave the undefeated Knights out of the playoff, per Heather Dinich of ESPN.com:
"The selection committee respected UCF. After all, they're the group that put the Knights in the Peach Bowl. To qualify for the playoff, teams need to play tough schedules against good teams—that is the way for all teams to stand out and be ranked high by the committee. UCF is an excellent team, but you still have to take into account who each team played and defeated during the regular season."
As Dinich noted, UCF only played one committee-ranked team all season, No. 20 Memphis, and only one Power 5 team, the 4-8 Maryland Terrapins. Still, the undefeated Knights were ranked in the committee's final poll behind a number of teams with multiple losses: Ohio State (11-2), Auburn (10-3), USC (11-2), Penn State (10-2), Miami (10-2) and Washington (10-2).
UCF head coach Scott Frost—who will take over as Nebraska's head coach next season—thought UCF's No. 12 ranking was nefarious and intentional:
"It wasn't right. I was watching [the selection show] every week, the committee sitting in a room and deciding that this two-loss team must be better than UCF because UCF is in the American, or this three-loss team must be better than UCF.
"It looked like a conscious effort to me to make sure that they didn't have a problem if they put us too high and a couple teams ahead of us lost. And oh no, now we have to put them in a playoff? But we just beat [Auburn], that beat two playoff teams and lost to another one by six points, and we beat them by seven."
Indeed, UCF's win over Auburn—which beat both Alabama and Georgia, the two teams who will play for a title next week, and lost narrowly to a third playoff team, Clemson—reinvigorated the conversation that the Knights were snubbed and should have been a playoff team.
Frost wasn't the only one who thought UCF perhaps got a raw deal:
UCF is undefeated and beat the Auburn team that beat both Georgia and Alabama. I'd like to see some AP Top 25 voters put UCF at No. 1 in their final polls.
In Orlando for 4 days & all I heard is @UCF_Football is legit / well 13 -0 with a W vs a power conf team Auburn who beat Alabama I guess shows those fans r right.They are not able to play for a national title & that is sad/football system needs fixing @cbfowler@KirkHerbstreit
UCF is 13-0 after beating Auburn, but had no shot to compete for the National Championship. Every game counts, huh? Not so much. Scott Frost and UCF should’ve been in the playoff.
Weird deal when an undefeated team (UCF) with a win over the SEC West champ (Auburn) is asked to be satisfied with not getting to play for the national championship.
For teams like UCF who don't play a Power 5 schedule, however, it will always be tough to climb the rankings without playing an incredibly strong non-conference schedule. There are plenty of arguments to be made that the current four-team playoff is far more flawed than an eight- or 16-team playoff would be.
But in the current format, the UCFs of the world are simply at a major disadvantage unless they load up on quality non-conference, Power 5 opponents.
Scott Frost Says It Took 'Conscious Effort' to Keep Undefeated UCF out of CFP
Jan 1, 2018
ATLANTA, GA - JANUARY 01: Head coach Scott Frost of the UCF Knights holds the trophy after defeating the Auburn Tigers 34-27 to win the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on January 1, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
After the Central Florida Knights completed a perfect season with a 34-27 win over the Auburn Tigers in the Peach Bowl on Monday, outgoing head coach Scott Frost sounded off on UCF being left out of the College Football Playoff.
According to ESPN.com's Alex Scarborough, Frost expressed his belief that the CFP selection committee went out of its way to search for reasons to keep the Knights out of the four-team field: "It looked like a conscious effort to me to make sure that they didn't have a problem if they put us too high and a couple teams ahead of us lost. And oh, no, now we have to put them in a playoff? But we just beat [Auburn] that beat two playoff teams and lost to another one by six points, and we beat them by seven."
Regarding 13-0 UCF's omission, Frost added that the selection process "wasn't right."
Central Florida entered Monday's game ranked 12th by the CFP committee despite being the only undefeated FBS team.
Frost—who will leave UCF to become the head coach at his alma mater, Nebraska—gave his team credit for having a great season despite the perceived CFP snub: "Auburn is a great team. I'm not taking anything away from them. I give them a ton of credit. But these guys deserve everything they get, and they deserve more credit from the committee than what they got."
Prior to Monday's loss, Auburn was a 10-3 team that boasted victories over a pair of College Football Playoff teams in No. 3 Georgia and No. 4 Alabama.
Had Auburn beaten Georgia in the SEC Championship Game, it likely would have received a CFP berth despite being a two-loss team entering that contest.
Frost called the selection process, which has never allowed CFP entry to a non-Power Five conference team, an "unfair" practice.
Despite running the table, the Knights had little on their resume in terms of signature wins prior to Monday because of their status as an American Athletic Conference team.
A pair of wins over Memphis and a victory against South Florida stood as UCF's biggest triumphs, along with a 38-10 win over Big Ten school Maryland.
Central Florida proved it could hang with and beat a national power in the Peach Bowl, though, and may have changed the way non-Power Five teams will be viewed by the CFP committee moving forward, much like Boise State did during the BCS era.
McKenzie Milton Dominant as UCF Beats Auburn in 2018 Peach Bowl
Jan 1, 2018
ATLANTA, GA - JANUARY 01: McKenzie Milton #10 of the UCF Knights runs on his way to scoring a touchdown in the second quarter against the Auburn Tigers during the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on January 1, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
Central Florida completed a perfect 13-0 season under head coach Scott Frost with a 34-27victory over Auburn in the 2018 Peach Bowl on Monday.
Auburn had a chance to tie the score on its final possession following a Matthew Wright missed field goal, but quarterback Jarrett Stidham's off-balance throw as he was being pressured was intercepted by Antwan Collier in the end zone.
Frost, who is leaving the Knights for the same job at Nebraska, went out on the highest possible note. He took over a team two years ago that had just finished an 0-12 season. It will end the 2017 campaign as the only undefeated FBS program in the country.
Quarterback McKenzie Milton was outstanding the second half for Central Florida with 212 of his 242 passingyards and two touchdowns.
Chequan Burkett made the big play of the game when he picked off Stidham and returned it 45 yards to the house to give Central Florida a two-score lead with 5:56 remaining in regulation.
Per ESPN Stats & Info, the Knights pulled off the biggest upset by point spread this bowl season:
.@UCF_Football upsets Auburn to finish as the only unbeaten team in FBS!
The Knights (+10.5 points) are the biggest underdog to win a bowl game this season.
Central Florida entered Mondaytied for 94thin the FBS with an average of 1.75 sacks per game. It blew by that total in the first half, with Pat Forde of Yahoo Sports offering this assessment:
Five first-half sacks for UCF. Impressive pressure aided by a QB who holds the ball a long time.
"They've got a lot of speed," Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn told reporters leading up to the game. "They're very impressive. Anytime you're undefeated, that's a very, very special thing, so they've got everything going for them. I promise you we'll take 'em serious."
That speed caused Auburn's offensive line and Stidham many problems all day, including on the final play that resulted in an interception. The Tigers quarterback was sacked six times as he went 28-of-43 for 331 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.
Shaquem Griffin was named MVP of the Peach Bowl after recording 12 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and coming off the edge on the play that led to Stidham's final interception.
Despite trailing 13-6 at halftime, Auburn had a decided statistical advantage. It held the ball for 21 minutes and ran 15 more plays (47-32) than Central Florida before intermission.
The Knights offense was one-dimensional during that first half because Milton couldn't attack Auburn's secondary with his arm. He seemingly went through a halftime transformation, as he dominated in the second half to finish with 358 total yards.
Per Josh Vitale of the Opelika-Auburn News, Milton did more damage on the ground in the first half against Auburn's defense than any quarterback had in an entire game this season:
The most rushing yards Auburn had allowed to an opposing quarterback entering today was 82 on 18 carries (Jalen Hurts).
McKenzie Milton has 83 on seven carries at halftime of the Peach Bowl. Just 11 off his career-high.
The Tigers wasted no time getting back on track in the third quarter. Noah Igbinoghene gave them outstanding field position with a 72-yard kickoff return. Stidham found Will Hastings for a 26-yard touchdown catch two plays later.
Kerryon Johnson, who was held in check with 71 yards on 22 carries, helped give Auburn a 20-13 lead on its next possession with a four-yard touchdown run.
Yet just as the Tigers appeared to have turned the tide, Central Florida fought back. Milton's 12-yard touchdown pass to Otis Anderson helped tie the score heading into the fourth quarter.
The Knights defense tightened things up by forcing Auburn into three three-and-outs and Burkett's interception on the next four drives after Johnson's touchdown.
Los Angeles Rams running back Todd Gurley was impressed with what Frost's team was able to do against the SEC West champions:
Leading 27-20 with seven minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Central Florida gave Auburn an opening when Matthew Wright's 25-yard field goal was blocked. Burkett's pick-six came three plays later to swing momentum back to the Knights.
ESPN's Chris Low noted Central Florida may have felt some extra motivation for the Peach Bowl because the game was being played on the same day as the start of the College Football Playoff:
Think this bowl game means something to @UCF_Football? Knights putting it on a team that beat two of the teams that will play later today in the College Football Playoff.
The Knights never got serious consideration for the playoff, despite their perfect record. They finished 12th in the final rankings released last month behind six teams with at least two losses, proving it's nearly impossible for a team outside of a Power Five conference to crack the Top 10.
Everyone associated with Central Florida treated this game with the intensity of a playoff matchup. The program sent a message to the rest of the nation. Forget the rankings: The Knights are on the short list of great FBS teams in 2017.
Aaron Torres of The Athletic pointed out the degree of difficulty for Frost over the past month since he was hired by Nebraska:
Scott Frost, who spent the last six weeks recruiting for and building another football program, used his spare time to put together a game-plan for Central Florida (CENTRAL FLORIDA!!) to beat a Top 10 Auburn. Just crazy. Enjoy Nebraska fans. Your next coach is a rock star
Though it would be fun for the sport if Frost stayed at Central Florida to see how high he could take the program, there's not a better way for him to end his brief two-year stint.
It also makes it easier for the Knights that Frost has left the program in excellent shape for Josh Heupel to officially take over now that the season has come to an end.
