At this point, it's becoming personal for those outside of Orlando.

SEC Network analyst and former Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy said Monday that faux national champion UCF would not have beaten any of last season's teams in the College Football Playoff, nor Auburn had the Knights played the Tigers in a meaningful contest.

"Alabama would dust (UCF)," McElroy said ESPNU Radio on SiriusXM. "So would Clemson. So would Georgia. So would all those teams. They would dust Central Florida if a national championship was on the line. And you know what? Auburn would to.

"If a national championship was on the line, Auburn would've played a whole heck of a lot better. Just go watch the effort. Talk to the coaches. They may not want to tell you that. Getting those guys ready to play just after they got their heart ripped out (in the SEC title game) is really difficult."

Nebraska coach Scott Frost, who led UCF to a perfect record last fall, made waves last week after saying he's no longer behind the program's national title cries, but understands the marketing ploy.

UCF led college football in scoring, beat the team that took out Alabama and Georgia during the regular season and handled Maryland on the road, a team that took out Texas. UCF pushed it to the extreme with multiple championship parades, banners and signage, and even paid its assistants national championship contract bonuses.

UCF's title claims haven't simmered this offseason, most recently coming back to the forefront with championship rings given to players.

"The Power 5 and Group of 5 are totally different," McElroy said. "The best Group of 5 is probably a middle-tier Power-5 team, or maybe middle- to upper-tier Power 5 team, depending on the season. The Group of 5's depth and talent in the trenches and length defensively ... They are not close to some of the teams actually contending for national championships."

"There’s a compelling case that our team deserves to be national champions absent a system, an expanded playoff, that truly decides it on the field," UCF athletic director Danny White told 247Sports in January. "I feel like as a leader and athletic director, it’s my job to always prioritize our student-athletes. I always will. And I’m going to fight for them when appropriate and I feel like it’s appropriate to fight for them right now.”

White estimates January's social media noise from UCF boasting about being the "only unbeaten national champion" created more than 100 million social media impressions nationally and gave the Knights platform to tout their brand to its max.