UCF Set to Open Big 12 Play at Kansas State

• Offensive line coach Shawn Clark, 50, passed away the evening of Sep. 21 at a local hospital unexpectedly, with his wife, Jonelle, by his side. He was admitted on Tuesday, Sept. 9, after experiencing a medical emergency and remained in stable condition before passing away.
• A veteran coach with more than two decades of experience, Coach Clark joined UCF in December 2024 following a successful tenure as head coach at Appalachian State, where he compiled a 40-24 record across five seasons. His App State tenure was highlighted by a 10-win season in 2021 and three bowl wins. Coach Clark’s teams earned multiple Sun Belt East Division titles and developed some of the nation’s top offensive line units, with his 2018 and 2019 groups ranked among the best in the country.
• Clark graduated from App State with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice in 1998 and earned a master’s in education from Louisville in 2003. He is survived by his wife, Jonelle, and their two children, Giana and Braxton.
• The Knights will honor Coach Clark with a decal on the back of their helmets

• Following UCF football’s 34-9 victory over North Carolina, the Knights’ offensive line group was honored as Big 12 Offensive Line of the Week.
• The UCF offensive line’s play was a story of resilience in tribute to offensive line coach Shawn Clark. The unit responded by allowing zero sacks in the Knights’ victory, the first time this season and the first since Oct. 19, 2024 at No. 9 Iowa State. The Black and Gold controlled the game with three scoring drives of 13 plays or more, including a final march of 18 plays for 93 yards and a touchdown that took over 10 minutes off the clock in the fourth quarter.
• In addition to keeping the quarterback clean against the Tar Heels, UCF’s starting offensive line graded out as the second-best pass blocking performance in the Big 12 Conference this week, according to PFF.

• UCF concluded its non-conference slate with a resounding 34-9 victory over Bill Belichick-led North Carolina, securing a 3-0 start to the 2025 schedule and for the third straight season
• Scott Frost, who was a defensive back in the NFL for the New York Jets during the 1998 and 1999 seasons, was coached by Belichick who was the defensive coordinator at the time, earning the victory over his former coach
• After their two previous meetings were canceled (see additional info later in notes), UNC and UCF finally met for the first time in program history, with another meeting scheduled for 2027 in Chapel Hill
• UCF set the tone early, scoring in 13 plays on the game's opening drive to take a 7-0 lead. North Carolina's first possession ended in an interception as Horace Lockett batted the pass at the line, setting up Nyjalik Kelly for a one-handed pick. The Knights cashed in by adding three points to the scoreboard.
• Quarterback Tayven Jackson was an impressive 25-for-32 including a passing and rushing touchdown, earning his longest career rush and most career rushing yards in a single game in his career. He helped orchestrate a two-minute drill at the end of the first half that resulted in a 20-3 lead.

• The Knights have yet to be stopped on fourth down this season, going a perfect 8-for-8, including 4-of-4 in the 34-9 victory over North Carolina
• UCF is one of 11 FBS teams that are perfect on fourth down so far, and have converted the most fourth downs of the perfect teams
• The Knights' eight conversions on fourth down is tied for fourth most in FBS

• The Knights have the fifth-best ranked passing defense in the country when it comes to yards allowed, surrendering just 117.0 yards per game thus far
• It has helped the Knights to earn the sixth-best scoring defense ranking in FBS as well, limiting foes to 8.7 points per game
• The UCF defense has compiled four interceptions through three games, including 12 pass breakups and seven sacks of the quarterback
• UCF's 40 passing yards allowed against N.C. A&T was the fourth-lowest in the Knights' FBS history (since 1996)

• A phrase often muttered on long car rides, but for the Knights, they thrived on long drives on the gridiron against North Carolina. UCF scored on three drives of 13 plays or more in the win over the Tar Heels, earning touchdowns on two of the three with the other being a field goal. Each drive ate up at least 6:37 of clock, including a 10:26 drive in the fourth to ice the game.
• It was an improvement from UCF's first game of the season, where they had drives of 13 and 17 plays stall out and result in punts vs. Jacksonville State

• UCF is set for its third season as members of the Big 12 Conference
• The Knights visited Kansas State for UCF's first league game as members of the Big 12. Similarly, conference play begins in Manhattan for the 2025 slate
• UCF is in search of its second season with a 1-0 start to league play after erasing a 21-point deficit at TCU for a 35-34 victory in 2024
• The Knights have started each of their three Big 12 campaigns on the road

• The Knights have shut out their opponents in seven of 12 quarters this season
• UCF's defense has yet to allow a touchdown in the first half of any game this season, allowing just one field goal to North Carolina through three games.
• Prior to Week 4's results, UCF was one of three FBS teams to not allow a point during the first half, the other two also had their streaks broken (TTU, BYU)

• With three victories to open the season, Coach Frost has won 16 straight games as UCF's head coach after going 13-0 in 2017, putting him among some of the nation's elite coaches in terms of consecutive victories leading a school.
• The victory over North Carolina tied Frost with Nick Saban of Alabama and Lincoln Riley with Oklahoma; Saban pieced together 16 straight wins from Jan. 1, 2017 - Dec. 29, 2018 while Riley did it from Oct. 10, 2020 - Oct. 30, 2021
• Next on the list is another Saban streak, a 19-game winning streak with Alabama from Jan. 1, 2020 - Oct. 2, 2021.

• The Knights are one of 30 FBS programs that have a new head coach; 28 of which are completely new while the other two were elevated from interim.
• UCF began the season with four scheduled games vs. teams with new head coaches, but now will have five after Oklahoma State's leadership change.
• The Knights have gone unbeaten thus far against teams with new coaches in 2025, beating Jacksonville St. with Charles Kelly, N.C. A&T (FCS) with Shawn Gibbs and North Carolina with Bill Belichick. All games were at home.
• UCF will face West Virginia and Rich Rodriguez (Oct. 18) and Oklahoma State and interm head coach Doug Meacham (Nov. 22), both at home as well.
• Of the new crop this year, Frost and Rodriguez are the only pair of FBS head coaches to have coached at a school, leave, and return as head coach again.

RECEIVING VOTES IN AP POLL

• UCF saw its name crack into the AP Poll this week, receiving three votes
• The Knights are seeking their first ranking in the AP Poll since Week 13 of the 2022 season when they sat at No. 22
• Prior to Scott Frost's arrival, UCF had been ranked just 13 times in the AP Poll as an FBS school. In just 2017 alone, Frost nearly doubled the time UCF spent in the rankings, checking in for the 11 final polls of his final season in his first tenure as a Knight. In total, Frost sparked 33 straight appearances in the AP Poll, lasting through the entirety of the 2018 season and coming to an end in Week 6 of 2019, well after Frost had departed.
• The Knights total 57 AP poll appearances after popping their head back in for the finall 2019 ranking as well as five weeks in 2020 and 2022

FEELING TRENDY

• The return of Scott Frost as UCF's head coach reignites some trends from his first tenure, showcasing where the program was at 2017's end
• UCF outscored their opponents 627-329 in 2017, scoring 30 points or more in all 13 victories. The Knights' offense ranked No. 1 in the nation, averaging 48.2 points per game. UCF's high-powered offense continued even after Frost had departed, as the Black and Gold tacked on 18 more consecutive games scoring 30 points or more.
• UCF compiled 500+ yards of offense in eight of their 13 wins in 2017
• So far in 2025, UCF has scored 30+ points twice and has 500+ yards of offense in one of its three games
• When looking at 2016-17 and the 2025 season, Frost's UCF teams have posted 30 or more points in 20 of his 29 games at the helm and has scored 24 or more points in 25 of the 29. Additionally, Frost's UCF squads have tallied 500+ yards of offense 10 times across his three seasons in Black and Gold.