Few are more qualified than Lane Kiffin to execute the college football eyeball test. He’s been an assistant coach on two of this generation’s defining juggernauts – Pete Carroll’s USC teams and Nick Saban’s Alabama teams – and has served as a head coach in the Pac-12, SEC and NFL.

Count Kiffin among the many people baffled at the lack of respect that No. 15 UCF has received in the polls in the wake the Knights’ 45-27 victory over Stanford on Saturday. The Knights eviscerated the Cardinal, leading 38-7 at halftime, forcing three-and-outs on the first three possessions and gaining 545 yards.

The victory improved UCF to 28-1 the past three seasons, as impressive of a run as any program in recent college football history. That included a blowout of Kiffin’s Florida Atlantic team in Week 2.

Kiffin said he’d rank the Knights somewhere between No. 5 and No. 10. He also said he’d consider them a “playoff team” if star quarterback McKenzie Milton was healthy. He couldn’t understand why UCF has stagnated in the polls over the first month, as UCF is No. 15 in the Associated Press poll and No. 16 in the Coaches Poll.

“It’s such a name game,” Kiffin said of the rankings. “People rank teams on the history of the program way too much instead of looking at the quality of the work.”

UCF’s last regular season chance to prove themselves against a so-called power conference team comes this weekend at Pittsburgh. The Knights blasted Pitt, 45-14, last year and watched Pitt win the ACC Coastal division.

While UCF could potentially face better teams this season – Temple, Cincinnati and perhaps Memphis in the AAC title game – this Pitt game looms large in a perception war that UCF is losing convincingly.

“It just seems like this bias toward established brands has become more of a thing since we started this playoff,” UCF athletic director Danny White said in a phone interview on Tuesday. “I don’t think it’s great for the sport.”

View photos UCF head coach Josh Heupel can't be happy with where the Knights are ranked right now. (USAT) More

White wouldn’t take the leap to say that he’s concerned the low poll placement would impact the College Football Playoff committee, which chooses the four-team field. But no one would argue that it’s helping.

Kiffin’s eye test began in pregame warmups, where he’s long taken the time to study personnel.

“They looked just like an ACC or SEC team,” Kiffin told Yahoo Sports in a phone interview on Wednesday night. “Not Alabama or Clemson, but one of the top teams in both of those conferences. They’ve done an unbelievable job recruiting. They have skill. Normally in the Group of Five they have skill players but not the [size on] the lines, well UCF has long and good-looking linemen.”

Kiffin’s Owls also played Ohio State earlier this year, and he said that the talent level was “close,” with Ohio State being “a little bit bigger” on the lines. “I thought Ohio State was as good looking as you can look,” Kiffin said.

As UCF marched to back-to-back undefeated regular seasons, they never had a chance to seriously enter the four-team College Football Playoff discussion. UCF peaked at No. 8 last year and No. 12 in 2017 in the CFP rankings. Where they start this season will be the focus of much debate, as they started at No. 18 in 2017 and No. 12 last year, basically positions where they had no realistic shot at making the playoff. (UCF beat Auburn in the Peach Bowl, 34-27, two years ago and lost to LSU, 40-32, last year without Milton, the dazzling quarterback who is still recovering from a horrific leg injury in November.)

UCF hasn’t lost a regular season football game since November of 2016, and the feeling among Kiffin and others is that this defensive unit is the best they’ve had during the run. But a disconnect remains with the respect they’ve been afforded.

Stanford coach David Shaw politely declined comment when Yahoo Sports reached out this week. It’s hard to blame him, as few coaches relish dwelling on trips to the woodshed. He was direct after the game: “They are one of the best teams in America,” he said.

Story continues