The Knighted Ones Episode 120: Portal Closed, Hoops Went Nuclear (and the Power 2 Still Can’t Math)
Roger Phipps 
Welcome to The Knighted Ones Podcast, Episode 120! We are the ONLY show that features a former UCF National Champion, a former UCF radio host, an ESPN Analyst and Hoops Player, an infamous rapper, our resident influencer, and an IG star… all arguing politely (not really) about UCF sports.
This week: the portal finally shuts, recruiting strategy gets dissected, the 2026 schedule drops, spring ball questions pop up, and we rant about the Playoff Picture while the Power 2 predictably screws the pooch. Oh—and then UCF Hoops decides to go on a perfect-week revenge tour, and we’re just here to document the chaos.
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Drop comments for what we should cover in Intern Re-Education (they clearly need it).
Go Knights! And Charge On! ⚔️
Timestamps / Segments
Introductions
Portal News: The Final Transfer Is In
4-star Artaveous Jones closes the portal door (finally)
What it means + what it doesn’t mean (calm down)
Musbrucker Presser + Recruiting Strategy
Our takeaways
The “are we cooking or coping?” debate
2026 Football Schedule Release
Biggest takeaways
Where the season tilts (and where we’ll be screaming)
Spring Practice Dates + Spring Game?
Will we actually get a spring game?
What we want to see (and what we’ll complain about anyway)
Playoff Picture: Power 2 Screws The Pooch
16 vs 24 teams: what’s best for UCF + the Big 12
Why the system is “fair” (said no one honest)
Gus Finally Retires
Reaction, reflections, and what’s next
Moment of silence… followed by immediate takes
UCF Women’s Flag Football: National Championship Run
Knights competing on the big stage
Respect where it’s due (yes, we can do that)
UCF Hoops: Perfect Week, Maximum Chaos
ASU Win Breakdown: The Offense Is Different
Themus Fulks “could’ve shut it down” (but didn’t)
Didn’t shoot well… still won
Ref breaks down at half (same)
Kugel almost throws it down
Why the offense looks actually different
Win Against #11 Texas Tech: Statement Game
Bol’s breakout: why he’s leveling up
Burks matters in the paint (shocking: paint points matter)
How we topped Toppin
How we blanketed the shooters
Starting fast = wins (write it down)
Chris Johnson shines
Bench + game plan were the difference
Felt like a 20-point win… wasn’t
Fulks absence = opponent transition offense
We killed them on the boards
Double court storm + why we should let students storm
“We haven’t been there before” — why it matters now and later
Big 12 Status Check: Best Season Ever?
Where we are in the league
Is this the best UCF season ever?
Big 12 Greater Than SEC (yes we said it, yes we meant it)
Why We Should’ve Been Ranked
We break down the competition
We present the case like lawyers (objection: facts)
Houston Preview + Roger’s Hot Take Regret
“How we thought we’d beat Houston”
Roger’s hot take that immediately set itself on fire
Breaking down Houston
Why We Could Smoke Cincy (but…)
Thiam looks like he’s back though
What has to happen for this to be real
Fan + Fun Segments
Listener Love: Big 12 Fans Rally Around UCF
The rare moment of conference unity
We accept your support… cautiously
Josh’s Sometimes Funny Fact of the Week
Sometimes funny. Sometimes… present.
Other UCF Sports Allen, Andrew & Tre Don’t Watch
All we did was win (how annoying of us)
Big Announcement Tease
Watch the show and see if you caught it 👀
Final Thoughts
What this week says about where UCF is headed
And why we’re still emotionally unstable (sports do that)
Tags / Hashtags
#ucf, #ucffootball, #ucfsports, #tk1, #ucfhoops, #ucfwomensbasketball, #ucfvolleyball, #ucfknights, #UCFSoftball, #nfl, #Scottfrost, #NFL, #transferportal, #NIL, #wvu, #wvufootball, #livestream, #gkco, #acc, #collegefootball, #Nebraskacornhuskers, #big12conference, #Championship, #softball, #MLB, #collegebasketball, #johnnydawkins, #rowing, #ESPN, #UCFflagfootball, #Big12, #UCFrecruiting, #UCFbasketball, #CollegeHuddle,
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