Big 12 football power rankings after spring portal closes: Did Red Raiders get better?
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Last season, UCF found out that life in the Big 12 is a bit tougher than it is in the American Athletic Conference. Going just 3-6 in conference play, they won only one conference road game.
Running back R.J. Harvey is back to give the offense a star to build around. But, will Arkansas transfer QB K.J. Jefferson be good enough to give them balance in the passing game after throwing for only 2,107 yards and completing only 64% of his passes in 12 games last year for the Hogs?
UCF is banking on the conference's second-best high school recruiting class to be the backbone of the program but that could take a couple of years to come to fruition. And with the transfer portal, who knows if that will ever really happen.
The schedule isn't too demanding in 2024 for the Knights with neither Kansas school nor Texas Tech on the books. However, the Knights feel like a squad that is at least two seasons away from being a Big 12 contender as they wait for their strong recruiting class to pay dividends on the field.