UCF's Gus Malzahn on 12-team Playoff pushback: 'That's a bunch of bull'

First-year Central Florida head coach Gus Malzahn didn’t hold back when asked about skepticism regarding a 12-team College Football Playoff. Malzahn, who coached the previous eight seasons at Auburn, doesn’t believe rumors of conference realignment should delay Playoff expansion.

“You see the change in two teams added to the SEC and you hear people saying, ‘Oh, it’s going to push it back,'” Malzahn told ESPN. “I think that’s a bunch of bull, man. What’s best for college football is to move forward sooner rather than later.”

The College Football Playoff committee announced in June it would consider expanding to 12 teams in the near future. The Playoff has consisted of four teams since its inception in 2014. However, with the news that Oklahoma and Texas will join the SEC, many leaders have called for pause to reassess the current landscape of college sports.

Malzahn led Auburn to a BCS National Championship appearance in his inaugural season in 2013, the final year of the BCS. However, the former Tigers coach failed to even make a Playoff appearance over his ensuing seven seasons on the Plains. Malzahn finished with a respectable 68-35 record in his tenure with the Tigers, but his lack of postseason success (a 2-5 bowl record) ultimately ended with his firing.

Needless to say, Malzahn certainly could have benefitted from Playoff expansion.

UCF has remained on the outside of Playoff picture

Malzahn’s interest in a 12-team Playoff is twofold. He takes over a UCF program that is a Group of 5 power, but has remained on the edge of Playoff discussion in recent seasons. The Knights finished the regular season undefeated in 2017 and 2018, but were excluded from the CFP both years.

The former Tigers’ coach has an impressive offensive track record. He led Auburn to three top 30 finishes in total offense, but wasn’t as consistent as fans would have liked. Two of those three seasons were 2013 and 2014, and Malzahn couldn’t seem to build a legitimate threat in the SEC.

Still, many regard him as a savvy offensive mind. In 2003, he wrote a book about the no-huddle scheme.

UCF is one of many teams caught up in recent rumors of conference realignment. The success of the football program makes the Knights an attractive candidate for any league looking to bolster its national appeal.

“I don’t know what that’s going to look like but I do know, we’re very attractive, you know, for whatever,” Malzahn told the Orlando Sentinel. “That’s why it makes this job even that more attractive, even more than it was five months ago. … The future’s unbelievably bright here and it’s really exciting to be a part of.”

A 12-team Playoff would also give Malzahn’s team a more realistic shot at making it from the Group of 5. With that and his history with the Tigers in mind, his response to expansion is not at all surprising.

Photo courtesy of Joe Robbins/Getty Images.