By: Mike Anthony

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

For any P5 school, an undefeated record followed up by a 12-1 showing would be cause for fans and national pundits alike to wonder if a dynasty is on the horizon.

But for a G5 school, even those incredible showings lead to questions about how far it might fall off in the next season.

Such is the plight of Central Florida in 2019.

To be sure, there are plenty of question marks for the Golden Knights as they enter the new season.

Chief among those is the absence of quarterback McKenzie Milton, whose second consecutive Heisman-level season was cut short the day after Thanksgiving last fall due to a devastating knee injury that will keep him out for all of this fall and still has his playing career very much in doubt of ever continuing.

There is also the loss of more than half of the defensive starters from last year’s squad. The Knights were good – but not great – throughout 2018 and will have to find plenty of answers this time around.

If UCF can continue to jump out ahead of opponents, the defensive rebuild will be helped greatly by an experienced secondary that will make life tough on trailing teams trying to rally through the air late in games.

Brandon Moor and Nevelle Clarke return at both corners and Richie Grant is back at safety, giving the Knights a stellar secondary.

But despite the continued absence of Milton, it’s the UCF offense that will once again make the Knights a favorite to win the AAC and continue to loom in the national polls.

Former Notre Dame starter Brandon Wimbush will step into the void behind center and – while not the passer that Milton was – can do plenty of damage on the ground.

Wimbush will be surrounded by the Knights’ top two rushers from last season in Greg McCrae and Adrian Killins, as well as receiver Gabriel Davis and his seven touchdown catches from 2018.

Even more important to the Knights’ continued offensive firestorm, UCF figures to feature, arguably, the best offensive line in the conference. Three All-AAC honorees return to the Knights’ front and can be depended on to keep the chains and the scoreboard moving as Wimbush assumes leadership of the offense.

While the Knights are once again supremely talented, a tough schedule lies ahead and will make their continued presence in the national polls a challenge.

Central Florida has a road date against a pesky Florida Atlantic squad in its second week before hosting Stanford and then traveling to Pittsburgh.

Two weeks later, the Knights travel to fellow AAC front-runner Cincinnati for a nationally televised Friday night showdown.

If UCF can survive all of that, it has a great chance of once again having a great argument for earning better rankings and more consideration for the national championship playoff.

If it doesn’t, the Knights will be the latest G5 team to become the (undeserved) butt of jokes coming from the P5 while suffering a quick fall from grace as pollsters aren’t much for giving the Cinderellas of the college football world the benefit of a doubt.