ORLANDO, Florida -- Plastered on the face of the press box that overlooks the "Bounce House" -- aka FBC Mortgage Stadium, home of UCF football -- are words that proclaim the Knights the "2017 National Champions."
The phrase has brought plenty of attention, and plenty of derision, because UCF wasn't the "real" national champion that year. In most minds, it was Alabama, winner of the College Football Playoff.
The Knights claimed it because they had gone undefeated (12-0) in the regular season and then beat Auburn in the Peach Bowl after being snubbed for a spot in the CFP.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott and state lawmakers passed a resolution on Jan. 8, 2018, saying UCF was the true national champion, and shortly thereafter there was new signage at the Bounce House -- which apparently got the nickname because the stadium vibrates and shakes when the fans jump in unison.
It is into that setting that the undefeated and No. 11-ranked BYU Cougars -- who also claim a national championship (1984) -- arrive on Saturday with plenty to gain, and a lot to lose.
But will anybody in black and gold be jumping around?
UCF (3-4, 1-3), which isn't having anything close to its 2017 campaign, having lost four straight games, hosts BYU (7-0, 4-0) with an eye toward turning its season around. The Knights will be able to play loose and free.
So the pressure is squarely on BYU in a Big 12 game that kicks off at 1:30 p.m. MDT and will be televised nationally by ESPN.
Will the Cougars be up to the task? Or will the Knights get a measure of revenge for the 49-23 beatdown delivered by Zach Wilson and company in the 2020 Boca Raton Bowl down the road some 200 miles?
It is UCF's homecoming game, but folks here are not sure what kind of crowd to expect, because of the season coach Gus Malzahn's squad is having. Two of the losses in their four-game losing skid came at home -- including a 48-21 drubbing from Coach Prime's Colorado Buffalos on Sept. 28.
All is not well in Orlando.
It is just the opposite for high-flying BYU, which is 7-0 for the fifth time in program history, and second under head coach Kalani Sitake.
The Cougars are taking the approach that pressure is a privilege, something they've earned with their unexpected hot start.
"We feel really good about the team and the overall mindset of the team, but we definitely have some things we need to address," Sitake said Monday. "I love the team dynamic, the leadership in our program, the way the guys are getting coached. We just gotta keep building on it."
One of the issues that needs to be addressed is BYU's defense, which looked more like the 2023 version than the first-half-of-2024 version in last Friday's 38-35 win over Oklahoma State. The Pokes ran for 269 yards and were 9 of 13 on third down.
Don't look now, but UCF is more dangerous on the ground than OSU was before it marched up and down the field on the Cougars; that's especially true now that Malzahn has found a capable dual-threat quarterback -- Miami transfer Jacurri Brown.
Brown is the type of dual-threat signal-caller that has given BYU fits in the past.
"It is a complicated scheme. We have to be at our best. They do a lot of good things. They do a lot of different things that we haven't necessarily seen this year," said BYU defensive coordinator Jay Hill, after proclaiming Tuesday's practice one of the best of the season for the Cougars.
"We have to be assignment sound. We are going to have to limit those couple of big plays that we gave up last week," Hill continued. "Obviously that was a big deal in last week's game. I think our guys will be absolutely ready. Yeah, it is a good challenge for us."
Oklahoma State's output on the ground was the most since West Virginia ran for 336 on the Cougars last year in Morgantown, which was the last time BYU played in the Eastern time zone.
"That last trip back East didn't go well for us," offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick acknowledged. "We didn't play well."
Was the close win over a so-so OSU team an anomaly for the Cougars, or a signal that the second half of the season is going to be a lot more difficult than the first? BYU has a bye next week, then travels to Utah on Nov. 9 for the rivalry game.
"I don't want to call it a wakeup call, but I think when everybody starts talking about how great you are playing, how great you are doing, all it takes is the two big runs in the first half before you start questioning what you are doing," Hill said. "If it wasn't for the two big runs and the last drive (OSU had), there was a lot of good football being played by us. But that puts a little bit of a bitter taste in your mouth, for sure."
Having played last Friday, BYU has had one more day to prepare for the Knights, who played Saturday. That advantage is offset a bit by having to travel 1,900 miles across the country (BYU flew in on Thursday, after practicing Thursday morning in Provo).
"The extra day of preparation and rest, getting your bodies healthy, can be big," Hill said Tuesday. "Today, we looked fast and fluid, maybe as good as we have looked in a couple of weeks. I thought that was a huge deal to have an extra day."