Knights sputter in Big 12 opener

BY ADAM EATON | Sons of UCF

The UCF Knights strolled into Bill Snyder Family Stadium as a team filled with emotion. Excitement, nerves, and sadness were palpable for a squad facing its first Big 12 conference game mere days after the tragic death of offensive line coach Shawn Clark. As the game got underway, it was clear the Knights were indeed a bit out of sorts, amassing only 20 yards of total offense in the first 15 minutes of game action. 

Things only marginally improved throughout the rest of the afternoon as the Knights struggled to gain any consistent traction on offense while their defense was tasked with keeping the game within reach. In the end, an inspired Kansas State team, and execution errors in key moments by UCF, proved too much to overcome.

Here’s a look at what worked, and what didn’t, for the Knights:

What worked

1. The Big Play – Perhaps the lone bright spot for the Knights was their ability to strike on big plays – including an 82-yard touchdown pass to DJ Black, and a 56-yard touchdown run by Jaden Nixon. Running back Myles Montgomery also had carries of 44 and 45 yards, respectively.
2. Turnover Streak – Defensive back Demari Henderson’s first-quarter interception on a trick play gives the Knights at least one turnover in each game this season.
3. Field Goal Unit – Kicker Noe Ruelas bailed out a stalling offense by connecting on field goals of 40 and 53 yards.

What didn’t work

1. Offensive Line Play – The Kansas State defense had three sacks and eight tackles for loss, and mixed in six quarterback hurries, effectively neutering the Knights’ offensive game plan throughout the day. Additionally, the Knights gained 143 of their team’s total 205 rushing yards on three plays, which, if removed from the stat sheet, amounts to a pedestrian average of 2 yards per carry. 
2. Turnovers – Quarterbacks Tayven Jackson (1) and Jacurri Brown (2) accounted for three total turnovers for the Knights, with a fumble by Brown on 4th and short proving to be the costliest.
3. Rush Defense – The return of Dylan Edwards and the spark provided by backup QB Blake Barnett helped to set the tone for a Wildcats rushing attack that racked up 266 yards while averaging 6 yards per carry.
4. Situational Awareness – The youth and inexperience of the Knights at Quarterback showed up in a few key moments throughout the afternoon. First, while running untouched down the middle of the field on a big third down, Tayven Jackson went into a slide to avoid contact from the defender. However, he started his slide short of the line to gain, which led to Brown’s fourth-down fumble. Later in the fourth quarter, while driving in K-State territory down two scores, the Knights appeared to have communication issues, leading to two false starts and two delay-of-game penalties. This caused UCF to settle for a field goal, which proved to be their last scoring opportunity of the day. 

What’s Next

The Knights (3-1, 0-1) will welcome the Kansas Jayhawks to Orlando for the Big 12 home opener this weekend. Scott Frost did not reveal who would be available at Quarterback, with Jackson and Brown both nursing injuries suffered against K-State, and week 1 starter Cam Fancher still working towards getting healthy from a back injury. 

Regardless of who lines up at QB, Frost and his coaching staff will have to find ways to get consistent offensive line play if they want to see this offense get on track. Defensively, can the Knights contain the electric Kansas QB Jalon Daniels, who accounted for 500 yards of total offense in the Jayhawks’ week 4 loss at Cincinnati?

The Knights and Jayhawks will kick off on Saturday, October 4th, at 7:30 PM on ESPN2.

Fun Fact

In the two years that UCF has competed in the Big 12, they have never won a conference game in October, going a combined 0-6 across 2023 and 2024. 

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