On New Year’s Day, the UCF Knights defeated the Auburn Tigers 34-27 in the Peach Bowl. The win ensured the Knights will be the only Division I college football team to finish the season undefeated, posting a 13-0 record.

UCF has been one of the best stories of this college football season. Just two years ago, they finished the 2015 season with a winless record of 0-12. Now they are undefeated and considered one of the best teams in the country. 51 players on their roster experienced both a winless and a perfect season.

But even though their season is over, UCF’s story isn’t over just yet.

Since the Peach Bowl victory, the UCF team, fans and school administration have continuously referred to themselves as “National Champions.” The UCF football team’s Twitter page header has “2017 National Champions” on it. The school’s athletic director has stated that the football program is claiming a National Championship for the 2017 season, despite not getting into the college football playoff or the national championship game. UCF will hang a national championship banner in their stadium and hold a parade for the team on Sunday.

The move has divided the college football community, with some praising UCF’s actions as a fair reward for their spectacular season, while others are criticizing the move as UCF plays in a non-power conference and are undeserving of the title for a number of reasons.

One reason is their strength of schedule. According to ESPN’s RPI rankings, UCF’s strength of schedule ranks 77th in the nation. Their only win against a ranked team before the Auburn game was against Memphis.

However, claiming an unofficial National Championship is not an unprecedented move in college football. Before the BCS was created in 1998 to help determine one universal national champion, most seasons had more than one team crowned as the national champion. Scott Frost, who was UCF’s head coach this past season, was the quarterback of the 1997 Nebraska team that was declared co-National Champions that season with Michigan. Many programs still acknowledge unnoficial national championships. Alabama recognizes their 1941 team as national champions despite finishing that season 9-2 and ranked 20th in the final AP poll.

We’ll never know if the 2017 UCF team could be able to beat the likes of Georgia or Alabama in the playoff for the national championship. But we shouldn’t lose sight of what this national championship campaign by UCF is trying to accomplish.

Many college football fans are still heavily critical of the current four team playoff format. Many people think a four team playoff is not big enough to crown a true champion, as many worthy teams get left out. Also, the new format puts the highest ranked team from a non-power conference in one of the six major “New Years Six” bowl games. This system makes it virtually impossible for a small school like UCF to make it into the four team playoff.

The national championship campaign by UCF is not just a way to reward the team for their hard work this season. It’s an effort to bring attention to the current playoff format and how hard it makes teams like UCF have a shot at competing for a legitimate national championship, and an attempt to change the format to make sure small schools have a fairer chance at making the playoff. UCF is standing up for the little guy and attempting to change the current system so small teams won’t face the same dilemma they are currently facing.

There isn’t any indication that the playoff will expand to six or eight teams in the near future. But the issue is being raised more and more, which is exactly what teams like UCF want.

The NFL playoffs begin this weekend with the Wild Card Round. This was truly an unusual year in the NFL and things didn’t go according to plan for some teams. Playoff regulars like the Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks didn’t make the 12 team playoff field, replaced by teams like the Los Angeles Rams (first playoff appearance since 2004), Buffalo Bills (first appearance since 1999), Tennessee Titans (first appearance since 2008), and Jacksonville Jaguars (first appearance since 2007). Let’s dive in and look at some of the matches.

AFC Wild Card: Tennessee Titans vs. Kansas City Chiefs – Saturday at 3:30 pm Central Time on ABC

This is probably the least exciting matchup of the weekend. The most intriguing aspect of it won’t be on the field, but in the announcers booth as Jon Gruden is scheduled to call the game for ABC/ESPN while reports of him becoming the new head coach of the Oakland Raiders spread like wildfire. It will be interesting to see how Gruden/ESPN approach the entire situation.

As far as the game itself, I expect the Chiefs to take advantage of the home field advantage they will have Saturday afternoon. The Chiefs started the year as the best team in the league, starting off 5-0 including winning at New English on opening night. They stumbled during the middle of the season, but have seemed to regain their footing by finishing the regular season with four straight wins. Quarterback Alex Smith leads the league in total QBR with a rating of 104.7, and the Chiefs offense also features super rookie Kareem Hunt, the NFL’s rushing leader. The Titans have some young and talented playmakers on their offense, and should be a force in the league for years to come. For now however, I expect the more experienced Chiefs to take care of business on Saturday.

My prediction: Chiefs win 21-10

NFC Wild Card: Atlanta Falcons vs. Los Angeles Rams – Saturday at 7:15 pm Central Time on NBC

Two high powered offenses will face off in this matchup. Reigning NFL MVP Matt Ryan leads the Falcons back into the playoffs looking to redeem themselves after their collapse in the Super Bowl last season against the New England Patriots. The Rams are led by second year quarterback Jared Goff and running back Todd Gurley, a candidate for this year’s MVP Award. I give the edge in this matchup to LA. The Falcons have played inconsistent throughout the season, and the Rams defense is for real.

My prediction: Rams win 28-20

AFC Wild Card: Buffalo Bills vs. Jacksonville Jaguars – Sunday at Noon Central Time on CBS

You read that right. The Bills and Jaguars are playing a game against each other. In the playoffs. In 2018. Nobody saw that coming at the beginning of the year.

After barely squeaking into the playoffs at literally the last possible second, quarterback Tyrod Taylor and the Bills will have to solve the Jaguars tough defense, which has given opponents fits all season. The Jags also have quarterback Blake Bortles and rookie running back Leonard Fournette to cause damage on the offensive side of the ball.

My prediction: Jaguars win 21-7

NFC Wild Card: Carolina Panthers vs. New Orleans Saints – Sunday at 3:30 pm Central Time on FOX

This should be the best game of the weekend. Two 11-5 division rivals who have played each other twice this season. New Orleans won both of the earlier matchups and will have home field advantage on Sunday. Drew Brees is second in the league in QBR with a rating of 103.9, and running back Mark Ingram is fifth in the league in rushing yards on the season. I think the tough New Orleans defense will frustrate Carolina quarterback Cam Newton all afternoon.

My prediction: Saints win 28-7