Who are the “Sleeping Giants” of college football?

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Who are the “Sleeping Giants” of college football? Teams based in fertile recruiting grounds in good locations that put together some good seasons, but could really be dominant if the chips came together?

UCF – That’s Central Florida to you and just about everyone outside the school’s SID department, which gets cranky when you fail to use the acronym. Like South Florida, UCF is located in football-rich Florida, which makes recruiting speed and talent just a little easier than it does for other mid-sized programs. And like the Bulls, the Knights are being guided by a discliplined leader, who’s a great fit for the school. After going 0-11 in his return to college football, George O’Leary completely turned around UCF, winning eight games and copping the school’s first-ever bowl invite—giant steps for a squad at the crossroads. The best part? He performed that minor miracle with a two-deep that was dominated by untested underclassmen, making the next couple of years potentially even more promising than 2005. O’Leary signed a lucrative, 10-year contract extension last month and the school will debut a brand new, 45,000-seat stadium next September, signs that UCF is committed right now to becoming a major player in college football.