BOISE, Idaho — The battle for the top of spot for the Group of 5 is now set - in a few years - after Boise State announced that they have scheduled the Central Florida Golden Knights for a two-game series in 2021 and 2023.
For college football fans, the importance of the series is undeniable. Boise State has been a stalwart of the non-AQ conferences of the BCS era and of the Group of 5 during the College Football Playoff era. UCF on the other hand, is a rising star of the G5, earning the Group of 5's bid to a New Year's 6 bowl for the last two seasons and stringing together an impressive 27 regular-season game winning streak.
Both schools have played in three BCS/NY6 bowls - Boise State in 2007, 2009, and 2014 and UFC in 2013, 2017, and 2018.
This season, both teams are keeping tabs on each other in the race for the Group of 5's bid to play in the Cotton Bowl in December. UCF (3-1, 1-0) was ranked 15th in the country, but lost to Pitt over the weekend, dropping them to No. 22 in the AP Top 25 Poll. Boise State (4-0, 1-0) is now the highest-ranked G5 team in the country, at No. 16.
RELATED: Boise State is now the highest-ranked Group of 5 team in both AP Top 25 Poll and Coaches Poll
The first game between the Broncos and Knights will be in 2021 in Orlando and in 2023, the matchup will be in Boise.
“I believe this is a match-up that college football fans throughout the country want to see, and one that our student-athletes will be excited to play," Boise State Athletic Director Curt Aspey said in a statement. "We are excited to have this series on the schedule, and thrilled to be able to bring our fans another marquee game on The Blue."
To get the matchup with UCF into their schedule in 2021 and 2023, Boise State moved their game against Houston that was set for 2021 to 2025 and their matchup against Rice that was penciled in for 2023 was moved to 2029.
The game in 2021 will be the first time that Boise State and UCF have played against each other and is scheduled for week one, but has no set date.
The Boise State-UCF matchup in 2023 is scheduled for September 9 at Albertson Stadium.
The announcement of the series comes two weeks after Boise State signed an agreement with BYU to extend their rivalry series for another ten years.
Watch more on Boise State Football:
Catch up on all of our Broncos coverage in our YouTube Playlist:
