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From BBQ to frequent flyer miles, 5 things UCF fans can expect in the Big 12 | Ryan Pritt

ryan pritt, the daytona beach news-journal
·6 min read
11

Presented with the opportunity to join the Big 12 Conference and the ranks of the Power Five, UCF was faced with a major fork in the road.

And now, the university’s athletic teams better get used to life on it.

Indeed, if you’re planning on following the Knights to some away games, I hope you have some frequent flyer miles piled up. Or at least a nice RV and plenty of vacation time.

In terms of city-to-city mileage, the Knights put a round-trip total of 4,737.2 notches on the odometer during five road games in 2022. That included the American Athletic Conference title game at Tulane.

This year, UCF has five road games scheduled away from home as well. Total round-trip, city-to-city distance? A cool 10,535 miles. In fact, the Knights' shortest road trip in 2023, a quick 1,503.4-mile, up-and-back to Cincinnati, would've been their longest journey last year, topping a 1,366.2-mile jaunt to Memphis and back.

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Both UCF and Cincinnati will head to the Big 12 Conference this season, but life among the Power Five, especially in the Big 12, is a little different. So what can UCF fans expect?
Both UCF and Cincinnati will head to the Big 12 Conference this season, but life among the Power Five, especially in the Big 12, is a little different. So what can UCF fans expect?

But there are worse things than a little travel, primarily irrelevance.

As a West Virginia native and WVU alum, I watched as the Mountaineers crawled from the wreckage of a sinking Big East and onto the Big 12 lifeboat in 2012, finding an unlikely sanctuary out West. Over the course of a decade plus, there’ve certainly been some ups and downs but compared to the alternative of Group-of-Five oblivion, Big 12 membership has been a downright godsend.

And to that point, allow me to welcome you to the big boys' club.

I spent three years covering WVU for the Charleston Gazette-Mail and writing about the league in addition to voting on All-Conference and All-America teams and participating in the AP Top 25. That included quite a few road trips and so many hours in the Charlotte International Airport waiting on connecting flights that I longed for a trip to the DMV.

But I learned a lot on those trips and following a university in the league over the last 11 years. As the sports editor here since October, I feel obligated to pass along some of that knowledge to you.

So, here are five things you can expect as a UCF fan entering the Big 12.

Big 12 expansion rumors ... get used to 'em.

Oklahoma and Texas flags are flown alongside those of current SEC members prior to league meetings last month. The Sooners and Longhorns will be conference rivals for UCF in the Big 12 but only for one season as both are set to leave at the end of the year.
Oklahoma and Texas flags are flown alongside those of current SEC members prior to league meetings last month. The Sooners and Longhorns will be conference rivals for UCF in the Big 12 but only for one season as both are set to leave at the end of the year.

Well, there's not 12 teams in the Big 12. Not yet anyway. For one season, there will be 14.

But once Oklahoma and Texas jettison for the SEC after this academic year, there will be 12, meaning the league name will match its total members for the first time since 2009 when Colorado and Nebraska bolted for the PAC-12 and Big Ten respectively.

That is unless recent reports linking Colorado and Arizona to the league come to fruition. Then there’s that whole Gonzaga and UConn, basketball-only thing, which would give the league more teams in some sports than in others.

Isn’t expansion fun?

If you’re into BBQ, the Big 12 is the league for you

If you follow UCF for a game in Texas, might I suggest some barbecue? Here is a meal I had in Fort Worth consisting of bacon burnt ends, brisket, mac and cheese and potato salad.
If you follow UCF for a game in Texas, might I suggest some barbecue? Here is a meal I had in Fort Worth consisting of bacon burnt ends, brisket, mac and cheese and potato salad.

Among the road trips I made following the Mountaineers were numerous journeys to Texas and to Kansas City, the host of the league's basketball tournaments.

And whether it was bacon burnt ends and brisket in Fort Worth or ribs in the City of Fountains, it was tough to go wrong on the barbecue front. None of that accounts for the Tex-Mex I found along the way, either.

Sometimes I miss life on the road in the league. But I can tell you, my waistline does not.

Defenses aren't so offensive in the Big 12 anymore

Iowa State's Will McDonald IV was taken 15th overall by the New York Jets in this year's NFL Draft and helped the Cyclones finish the 2022 season ranked fourth nationally in total defense.
Iowa State's Will McDonald IV was taken 15th overall by the New York Jets in this year's NFL Draft and helped the Cyclones finish the 2022 season ranked fourth nationally in total defense.

I remember West Virginia’s first game as a Big 12 member, a 70-63 home win over Baylor in a dizzying display of defensive deficiencies and yes, offensive prowess. In fact … wait a second … yep, Geno Smith just threw another touchdown pass to Steadman Bailey.

That was back in 2012. Trust me when I tell you things have changed. This isn’t the league of pinball-machine scoreboards anymore.

Big 12 teams averaged 33.3 points per league game in 2012 and that was down to 28.6 in 2021 before jumping back up to 30 a year ago. But more than the scoring, the prolific Air Raid offenses are finding life through the air much tougher as defenses have caught up.

In 2012, Big 12 offenses averaged 277.2 passing yards per game with half of the league piling up over 4,000 yards. Last season, not one team surpassed the 4,000 barrier with offenses averaging 252.4 yards through the air per contest. For some perspective, SEC offenses were within five yards of that mark, averaging 247.5 passing yards each time out.

Yeah, so there is no Georgia in the Big 12 ... there’s no Vanderbilt either

Kansas played in a bowl game for the first time since 2008 last year, starting 5-0 before an injury to quarterback Jalon Daniels somewhat derailed a promising season.
Kansas played in a bowl game for the first time since 2008 last year, starting 5-0 before an injury to quarterback Jalon Daniels somewhat derailed a promising season.

At least, there's not any pushovers anymore, now that Lance Leipold has Kansas pointed squarely in the right direction.

The Jayhawks made a bowl appearance for the first time since 2008 and hosted College GameDay in 2022.

Kansas’ resurgence meant every win in the Big 12 was a good one. TCU, the national runner-up, needed two overtimes to get past Oklahoma State and a last-second field goal to edge Baylor 29-28. The Cowboys and Bears were a combined 13-13 overall and 8-10 in the league.

The editions of the Knights, Cincinnati, BYU and Houston should only further the parity that has become the norm in the Big 12. Buckle up, it’s a crazy ride.

Rivals: You can't live with them but will hate living without them

You're going to miss USF, puke-pea-colored uniform atrocities and all.
You're going to miss USF, puke-pea-colored uniform atrocities and all.

You don’t think so now, but you will.

Go up and ask any West Virginia fan what they think of Pitt and they’ll rattle off a string of words I wouldn’t dream of printing and somewhere in there will be a suggestion for Panthers fans to ingest fecal matter. It's bred into us from birth.

But, if you ask 100 WVU fans which team they'd most like to see on West Virginia’s schedule, rest assured Pitt will be the number one answer. Maybe we should get Steve Harvey on this, he is a Mountain State native after all.

Mountaineer fans hate Pitt. They hate Virginia Tech, Syracuse, Maryland and Boston College too. And they’d give anything to have them all back on the schedule, permanently.

So, you know how fun it is to give USF fans grief as you waltz on to greener pastures? You’ll wish they joined you soon enough. Trust me, it’s just difficult to conjure up much hatred for the fine folks at Kansas State, Iowa State or Baylor.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: UCF in the Big 12: 5 things fans can expect from BBQ to road trips