Throwdown: Which opponent(s) will be UCF’s biggest challenge this season?

Which opponent(s) will be UCF's biggest challenge this season?

Andy Zunz: Although UCF has a few challenges on the road like BYU, SMU and Southern Miss, I think the team's toughest game will be at East Carolina.

Erika Esola: The Pirates will be a tough test, and East Carolina on the road certainly looks like the most difficult Conference USA matchup. The Knights haven't won in Greenville since 2005. This week, however, could be a difficult game for UCF and could even be a more difficult game than BYU.

FIU is riding momentum off a huge win at Louisville and has very talented players (like T.Y. Hilton) at skill positions. The Knights should win as long as they don't overlook the Golden Panthers. If they do overlook them, on the other hand, it's going to be a long ride home from Miami.

AZ: A lot of UCF fans look at the FIU game and like to think it is going to be worse than it actually is. Long-time Knight fans look at FIU's program and see what they saw in UCF a several years ago: an up-and-coming program with some impressive athletes and a bright future. But whether these feelings be purely sentimental or serious concern, the FIU game is no more of a test than, say, UAB on the road.

If the Knights play like they should, or anywhere near that, they will win handily. ECU, on the other hand, will test UCF for all it's worth. ECU has a potent offense, as we saw last year when they put up 35 on a good UCF defense. But, unlike last year, ECU seems to have a few warm bodies playing defense this year. They held a strong Virginia Tech team to 17 points and, although the Knights should win, this game in front of a rowdy crowd will be a good test.

EE: UAB is no FIU, and the Panthers will be a bigger test than the Blazers will ever be to the Knights. Also, FIU's football program is rising even faster than UCF's did. It took UCF 30 years to get to this point. FIU's program has only been around for a decade. They're getting good, scary fast. We're going to see what UCF is made of this Saturday. If they handily beat FIU, then I will expect them to finally beat ECU in Greenville. None of the players on this squad have, so that should be a nice motivating factor.

If I had to pick a loss for the Knights this season, I'd say they lose in a tight, defensive battle at BYU. It's a tough environment at BYU and the Cougars' defense looked stout against Texas and Ole Miss.

AZ: The matchup against BYU is scary, but this team is out to prove it can beat the big boys. Unless BYU is simply that much better than UCF, the Knights will win because they want it more, plain and simple. Look out for a trap game in conference that might catch the team off guard this year.