The UCF Knights, who were ranked No. 17 in the Amway Coaches' Poll earlier this summer, were ranked in the same spot in the preseason Associated Press poll released Monday.
The Knights, who have been ranked in 28 consecutive national polls, dating to Oct. 1, 2017, are 29-1 as a member of the American Athletic Conference as a ranked team. UCF has won 25 of its last 26 games and is the only FBS team with only one loss in the last two seasons combined.
UCF's ranking is the highest preseason rank for an American Athletic Conference team since 2016, when Houston started the season at No.