UCF's offer to give USF a "War on I-4" game only in Orlando is no offer at all

Whether you root for USF's football team or what's-their-names in Orlando, you know you want the War on I-4 to return. The world is a better place when these two programs and fanbases can share their mutual loathing for each other.

It produced some of the best in either program's history and it makes for compelling television. The 2017 game drew 4.7 million viewers on ABC, which was a record for what is now the American Conference.

But the rivalry has been on the shelf since UCF beat the Bulls 46-39 in Tampa on November 26, 2022. For the time being, at least, that's where it's going to stay. And fans in both camps can thank UCF Athletic Director Terry Mohajir for that.

Athlon Sports reported that Mohajir offered Rob Higgins, the CEO of Athletics at USF, a single game in Orlando with no return.

That's the same as no offer at all.

He said he is awaiting a response. I'll save him some time. The answer, colloqually put, would be "hell no" -- my quote, not Rob's. But I'll bet Rob was thinking it.

“I think UCF has a clear understanding of where we stand on this and how interested we are in renewing our rivalry,” Higgins told Athlon in a statement. “USF is committed to do anything and everything we possibly can to make it happen on an annual basis. We have no interest in going to UCF for one away game, just as it’s probably safe to assume that we don’t have to go to any extent in offering UCF a game to come to our stadium without a return home game to them.

“Both schools’ fan bases, budgets and brands deserve a consistent annual series. It’s definitely possible, even with current conference scheduling principles in play, but it has to start with a willingness to be creative, to collaborate and to compete. We’re both leaving a tremendous amount of money and media value on the table, which is a shame especially in the current landscape. There is a big opportunity for Thanksgiving weekend to feature a huge national spotlight on all of the Sunshine State’s great college football rivalries. I hope we can all work together to arrive at an agreement to make it happen as soon as possible.”

UCF's reasoning is a Big 12 rule that squeezes out games like the War because of silly scheduling requirement.

“The biggest challenge for us is trying to maintain as many home games in our stadium as possible. Our home schedule is extremely important to our fans, campus atmosphere and overall financial model," Mohajir said.

"Big 12 scheduling requirements also require us to play a Power 4 non-conference opponent, so we must schedule within those parameters. Therefore, based on our nine-game conference schedule, we need to play Power 4 home-and-home games."

Let's examine this, shall we?

In 2027, the Knights have non-conference games home games booked with Tennessee-Martin and Louisiana, A year later, they'll host Florida Atlantic and Maine.

In 2029, it's James Madison and UMass. In 2030, it's Florida International.

Mixed in there somewhere is a home-and-home with Northwestern.

Now, tell me: Which of those (including Northwestern) has the cache to fill a stadium like the War on I-4 does?

The easy answer, of course, is for the Big 12 to expand and offer USF a place at the table. That would provide its teams other than football with a natural travel partner in Florida. The conference, currently at 16 teams, could have Tulane or Memphis join from the American and split into a pair of 9-team divisions.

Or maybe they bump up to 20 teams with a pair of 10-team divisions. It makes sense on many levels, not just as a way to reignite the War.

Addendum: We're at this point because nearly a decade ago, USF's football program cratered while the Knights were ascending. When the Big 12 took three members of the then-American Athletic Conference -- UCF, Houston, and Cincinnati -- along with BYU.

It was less of a snub and more of a self-inflicted wound by USF. But even as crappy as the Bulls were in football back then, the games against UCF were classics.

In 2021, before 41157 at the Bounce House, a 2-10 USF team fought the Knights to a near standstill before falling 17-13 when the Bulls' last-gasp drive ended on UCF's 3-yard line as the clock ran out.

A year later, a 1-11 USF team - playing for an interim head coach - spotted UCF the first 28 points before fighting back, only to fall 46-39. A true freshman quarterback for USF named Byrum Brown gave a preview of coming attractions by rushing for 122 yards in that game.

There is more magic out there for these two programs, but USF will never agree to be the same as FIU, UMass, or Maine in UCF's eyes. These two programs need each other.

College football is about rivalries, and the War on I-4 needs to live again.

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