When UCF defeated Auburn in last year’s Peach Bowl, the Knights started declaring themselves the national champions. That, obviously, upset some fans of Alabama — the team that won the College Football Playoff.

Interestingly, those two teams potentially could have opened the 2018 season against one another, per a report from the Tuscaloosa News.

According to the report, UCF was asked about their interest in playing Alabama, but the discussions didn’t proceed much further beyond that:

Central Florida received an inquiry from officials with Florida Citrus Sports that floated the idea of playing Alabama in the 2018 Camping World Kickoff, The Tuscaloosa News has learned. UCF would have replaced Louisville in the Crimson Tide’s opener.

No official proposal to change the game was ever made. UCF indicated that it would be interested if it became a real possibility, but never heard back after receiving the initial phone call. The idea was raised after UCF defeated Auburn in the Peach Bowl on Jan. 1 and before Alabama won the national championship on Jan. 8.

Obviously, the logistics of replacing Louisville would have been tough to manage, and it doesn’t appear the talks even reached Alabama. Alabama AD Greg Byrne said he’d never heard of the discussion:

“We weren’t approached about changing our game against Louisville, and the first I heard of it was when The Tuscaloosa News asked me a couple of days ago,” Byrne said.

Maybe the two teams will play in the near future, but this would have been a lot of fun to see in Week 1.