UCF Football favored to place second in AAC East pre-season poll

NEWPORT, RI. – Around this time last year, UCF football fans were wondering if another winless year would plague Orlando, with the Knights picked by media to finish dead-last in the AAC East. Now, after a 6-7 season and a bowl appearance paired, fans are left wondering what successes lie ahead.

In Newport, Rhode Island, at the American Athletic Conference Media Days, the Knights made another stride toward recovery, picked by media as the team to finish second in the American East division.

Favored with 126 points in the pre-season media poll, UCF is predicted to finish only behind its I-4 rival and predicted American Championship favorites, the USF Bulls.

With 180 points padding the Bulls in the East, the West was predicted to belong to Memphis , with Houston not far behind.

But the news on UCF earning back respect from conference-covering journalists wasn't the only of the day. The Knights also announced that its fall camps would begin on July 27, paving the way for what coach Scott Frost hopes to be another big season.

"I'm excited about this year," Frost said in a UCFKnights.com press release. "I think we're a lot better football team right now than we were at the same time last year. I think we're headed in the right direction and I think people are realizing that."

Frost, who is entering his second year as head coach, led the Knights to a 4-4 conference record, including a road-loss to USF in late November of 2016. Despite his staff's 2016 success and strong polling for 2017, Frost won't let the glory go to his head.

"Predictions and experts' guesses on where we'll end up … I don't put much stock into that," Frost said in the release. "I'm glad people think we're going to be a better football team, but we have to go out on the football field and prove it. Hopefully we're prepared to do that."