GAME INFORMATION
Date: Saturday, Sept. 19
Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN+
TV Talent: Mike Corey (PxP), Tyoka Jackson (Analyst)
Radio: FM 96.9/AM 740 The Game
Radio Talent: Marc Daniels (PxP), Gary Parris (Analyst), Scott Adams (Sideline)
Spanish Radio: UCFKnights.com, YouTube.com/UCFKnights
Spanish Radio Talent: Carlos Bohorquez (PxP), Sergio Ruiz Torres (Analyst)
Live Stats: click here
Acrisure Bounce House
Week 3
UCF Knights
1-1 (0-0 Big 12)
Georgia State Panthers
2-0 (0-0 Sun Belt)
A WIN WOULD...
- Be better than a loss
- Give UCF at least two wins in its first three games for the 10th consecutive season (since 2016)
- Be the 10th straight non-conference home victory
- Keep UCF atop the state of Florida in wins since 2017
1ST AND 10
EDGED IN RAIN-SOAKED PITTSBURGH
- The Knights' defense held Pitt to 10 points in their Week 2 tilt, surrendering just 315 yards of total offense, but still the Knights fell 12-7 in a game where rain was relentless in the second half
- The loss is the first in head coach Scott Frost's UCF tenure where the Knights had allowed 19 points or less, now sitting at 15-1. Additionally, the Black and Gold offense surrendered zero turnovers, the first lost of its kind across the Frost eras as well, now 9-1 in that category. On the flip side, UCF falls to 2-6 when scoring less than 19 points in a game under Frost.
- UCF gave themselves a chance late as Alonza Barnett III found Waden Charles for his first career receiving touchdown with 2:51 to play, but couldn't find a way to score on the final drive of the game
PLETHORA OF POINTS & YARDS IN GAME 1
- The Knights tied a program record with 73 points scored in the season opener against Bethune-Cookman, prevailing 73-6 to improve to 30-1 against FCS teams since becoming an FBS program in 1996; the mark tied the 73 points achieved against Austin Peay on Oct. 28, 2017, during UCF's perfect season
- UCF rushed for seven touchdowns, chewing up 360 ground yards which stand as the most by a Scott Frost-led Knights squad over his four seasons. Additionally, UCF totaled 560 yards of offense which stand as one of 12 500+ yard performances in Frost's time at the helm of the Black and Gold
- Six different rushers scored the seven rushing touchdowns, as Landen Chambers led the way with a pair of scores while Duke Watson had 110 yards
- On the other side of the ball, the defense allowed the fewest total yards of any Frost-led team, limiting Bethune-Cookman to 181 yards
- Kicker Will Stone tied a UCF record for kicks made in a single game with 11, converting on his first field goal attempt and tying a record for 10 extra points made in one contest
STAYING POWER: CAREER-LONG KNIGHTS
- A handful of Knights that are in their fourth or fifth seasons on the 2026 roster that have been at UCF for their entire careers, with three residing in Orlando for all five seasons while five are entering their fourth season as members of the Black and Gold
- DB Demari Henderson, TE Thomas Wadsworth and DB Nicholas Antione all enter their fifth seasons with the Knights
- DB Braeden Marshall and EDGE Isaiah Nixon enter their fourth season as a Knight while walk-ons Quentin Hatch, Matthew Prigmore and Ethan Higgins also have been with the squad for a quartet of seasons
NO FLY ZONE
- Through two games, UCF's pass defense ranks third in the Big 12 and 29th in the nation. UCF finished the 2025 season ranking third in the Big 12 and 22nd in the nation in passing defense, allowing 185.1 passing yards per game.
- That clip was the third-lowest passing yards allowed per contest mark in UCF's FBS history and the best since 2001, which is UCF's FBS record 178.0 clip
- The Knights return four starters in the secondary from last year's stout pass defense, welcoming back cornerbacks Jayden Bellamy and Antione Jackson, safety Demari Henderson and nickel Braeden Marshall
DYLAN THE DIFFERENCE MAKER
- TE Dylan Wade made a name for himself in his first season as a Knight in 2025, posting a team-best five receiving touchdowns while finishing second on the team in receiving yards (523) and receptions (43). All three marks were single-season UCF records in its FBS era for the tight end position
- With single-season records in hands, Wade is in range to set UCF FBS career-highs for a tight end. He's No. 5 in receiving yards, as UCF's leader is Jordan Akins with 1,149 career receiving yards. Wade needs four touchdowns to pass Akins for UCF's FBS leader in touchdowns by a tight end, as Akins collected eight scores from 2014-17. Wade enters the season tied for fifth in catches by a tight end in UCF's FBS era, needing 82 to set the record.
- Wade put on a show down the stretch of 2025, posting 145 receiving yards and two touchdowns on four catches in UCF's home finale against Oklahoma State. He scored four touchdowns over the final three games.
RUNNING BACK REFRESH
- After returning just 95 rushing yards from last year's squad, UCF compiled 360 rushing yards in game one of 2026; 336 of those came from the RB room
- Duke Watson led the charge with 110 rushing yards, including a 64-yard dash for a touchdown on his first rush as a Knight.
- Landen Chambers tallied a pair of rushing touchdowns on six carries and 56 yards after chalking up 1,273 at Central Arkansas last season
- Redshirt freshman Taevion Swint missed all of 2025 after suffering an injury early in fall camp and posted a 27-yard score in his collegiate debut as well as 121 all-purpose yards
- Agyeman Addae also added a touchdown, giving UCF running backs five of the seven touchdowns scored in the win over Bethune-Cookman
FIRST & FOURTH QUARTER LOCKDOWN
- The Knights have allowed just nine points across the first and fourth quarters of their first two games of 2026
- UCF shutout its 2025 opponents in the first quarter in eight of the 12 games, allowing just 42 points, and held its first five foes scoreless in the opening frame
- Oddly enough, UCF also surrendered exactly 42 points combined over last season's fourth quarters. The Knights outscored opponents 76-42 in the first quarter and 66-42 in the fourth for a combined edge of 142-84 across the opening and closing sessions.
- Also a coincidence: UCF and Pitt, who met in Week 2, were the only two FBS programs to hold its opponents scoreless in the first quarter through the first six weeks of 2025, and both teams saw that streak snapped in week seven.
WINS SINCE 2017
- The Knights have compiled 75 wins since 2017, which is tied for the most in the state of Florida and the third-most in the Big 12. UCF sits tied for 21st nationally over that span, which included a perfect 13-0 in 2017, 12 victories in 2018 and 10 in 2019.
- In the Big 12, UCF trails only BYU and Utah, who have 77 and 76, respectively. The Black and Gold are ahead of Cincinnati, who have 74 wins since 2017
- In Florida, UCF and Miami are tied with 75 wins since 2017, followed by Florida (64), Florida State (57), Florida Atlantic (54) and South Florida (50)
SEASON OPENING STREAK
- With the 73-6 win over Bethune-Cookman, UCF extended its winning streak to 11 in the opening games. The streak began in Scott Frost's first season of his first tenure with UCF, posting a 38-0 win over South Carolina St. in his head coaching debut
- Beyond that, UCF has started 1-0 in 20 of the last 22 seasons and has won 22 of 32 openers since becoming an FBS program in 1996
- UCF has won 17 of 20 home openers in Acrisure Bounce House, including six in a row and 10 of the last 11
FUTURE NON-CONFERENCE GAMES
- UCF's tilt with Georgia State will be the final non-conference game of 2026
- In addition to a nine-game Big 12 Conference schedule, the Knights have an additional Power 4 Conference opponent on the schedule through 2032
- After opening a home-and-home with Pittsburgh at Acrisure Stadium this season, UCF will host the Panthers in Acrisure Bounce House in 2029
- UCF and North Carolina will wrap up their home-and-home agreement in Chapel Hill in 2027 after a 34-9 UCF win in Orlando in 2025. It was the first time the two programs met after having a previous home-and-home canceled by Hurricane Florence in Carolinas in 2018 and the COVID-19 pandemic canceling the ACC's non-conference schedule in 2020.
- Northwestern will start a home-and-home with UCF in 2028. Currently, the Knights will be the first non-conference Power 4 Conference opponent for the Wildcats in the new Ryan Field. The two sides have never met on the gridiron. Northwestern will be the first Big 10 opponent that UCF has faced since visiting Maryland in 2017 and leaving with a 38-10 win.
- The Knights and Gators will clash in Orlando for the first time in program history when 2030 rolls around before going back to Gainesville in 2033. The pair of games are the tail end of a two-for-one that started in 2024 in The Swamp.
- A full list of UCF's future games...2027: at North Carolina, Louisiana, UT Martin; 2028: at Northwestern, Florida Atlantic, Maine; 2029: Pittsburgh, James Madison, UMass; 2030: Florida, FIU; 2031: Northwestern; 2033: at Florida