Florida’s CWS loss shows that UCF is not far from Omaha

It was hard to choose a team to root for in the College World Series.

For one, both South Carolina and Florida are members of the Southeastern Conference, the league that tends to dominate many sports.

For another, one team is a former champion. The other is a school that always seems to win in every sport.

And for UCF fans, Florida's not just any school.

But somehow, the Gators didn't seem to win. In fact, the Gators were swept by the Gamecocks in two games just as they were swept by the Knights in two games during the regular season.

Florida's loss means more Knights breathing sighs of relief – they don't have to hear from friends who go to UF about how Florida was the first SEC school to win a national title in football, basketball and baseball.

But what if Florida had won? What would that have meant for the Knights?

Well, first of all, it would give everybody bragging rights. Not only could UCF fans say they swept a top 5 team – they could say they swept the eventual national champion.

They didn't, but they still swept the national runner-up.

But how did the Knights do it? And why didn't they get to the finals?

The Knights and the Gamecocks were the only teams to sweep Florida in a series, albeit two games, this season.

The Knights won by pitching by committee. In each game, seven Knights saw time on the mound in Game One, both teams finished with practically identical line scores – seven hits and an error each. The only difference was that UCF pulled ahead in the ninth when Darnell Sweeney made up for a costly error by driving in two to win in Gainesville.

The Gators were stunned. Had they really just been beaten at home by the University of Central Florida?

They stormed to Orlando a few weeks later with a vengeance. Unfortunately for them, UCF's committee was just as strong and the offense was even stronger.

Seven innings and five UCF pitchers later, the Knights were ahead 8-0. Every member in the starting lineup came away with at least one hit off what was said to be the best pitching staff in the nation. Nothing could go wrong. Even when D.J. Hicks, who won Game One, fell apart and closer Joe Rogers' third pitch sailed over the right-field wall for a grand slam, the Knights still walked away victorious.

How were the Knights able to take advantage of Florida's pitchers? The Gators didn't throw their weekend rotation. Not to downplay the quality of the pitchers UCF saw, but had Hudson Randall (11-3) and Karsten Whitson (8-1) pitched, the end results might have been different.

And why didn't the Knights make it to the College World Series? Simple: They aren't there yet. Florida has been there, and they knew what it took to get back – the Knights hadn't played in the NCAA tournament since 2004. They're capable of earning big wins, but they need to conquer their conference to go the distance. Would the Knights have had a shot had UCF gone to the Gainesville regional instead of the Tallahassee regional? It's hard to say. Possibly, but probably not. Did those two victories against Florida and the one against Bethune-Cookman in regionals help them through their season and put the program at a higher level? Absolutely.

Will UCF get there? As long as Terry Rooney is the head coach, then definitely. He preaches the acronym "ORTO," or On the Road To Omaha. And every member of the baseball team will tell you that now that they've made it to the postseason, they're more driven than ever and they're only going to go further — just like the Gators did after they lost their first two games in the College World Series double-elimination round last year.

Even though Florida lost, the Knights still look good. They had seven players drafted and one who signed a free-agent contract. They beat a handful of ranked teams. They had a top-25 ranking. They made it to the postseason.

And they beat Florida. Twice.