Nixon's Historic Knight Leads to UCF 68-7 Victory Over N.C. A&T

ORLANDO - An hour and twelve minutes of stormy suspense delayed Saturday evening's kickoff, but when the skies finally cleared, Jaden Nixon wasted no time reigniting head coach Scott Frost’s signature #UCFast philosophy to take down North Carolina A&T in a convincing 68-7 win.

And Nixon delivered exactly that, blazing 96 yards on the game’s opening kickoff, to become the first player in over a decade to take it back to the house from play one. The last player to manage that feat was Quincy McDuffie, who took one 95 yards to the end zone against Tulane on Nov. 20, 2010. Some may also remember a similar spark from Mike Hughes in 2017, the last player to score on a kickoff of any kind until tonight, which helped catapult that magical 2017 season.

If it looked familiar, it's because it was 🤯 @_Bigmikee1 🤝 @Jusynixon pic.twitter.com/wp3n2qmWK7

— UCF Football (@UCF_Football) September 7, 2025

The offense didn’t miss a beat after Nixon’s burst. Quarterback Tayven Jackson orchestrated back-to-back touchdown drives, each under three minutes, and capped both with rushing scores—his first career multi-rushing touchdown performance.

From the defensive end of the ball, UCF struck late in the first quarter. Edge rusher Nyjalik Kelly recorded a strip-sack, and redshirt sophomore Rodney Lora capitalized, scooping up the loose ball in the end zone for his first career touchdown.

This first-quarter frenzy marked a rare trifecta of touchdowns on offense, defense and special teams. UCF last accomplished that in a full game on October 28, 2017, against Austin Peay. Doing it all within the first quarter? That hadn’t happened since October 1, 2016, when Frost’s first UCF squad pulled off a score in all three categories against East Carolina, although the defensive score was a safety.

From that moment on, the Knights never looked back. They held the Aggies scoreless until the final three minutes of regulation, when A&T finally broke through for its lone touchdown of the night.

As for Nixon, he cleared the smoke and made the night one for the history books, becoming the first player in UCF’s FBS era to record both a kickoff return and a rushing touchdown in the same game—and just the fourth to combine a kickoff return score with any type of offensive touchdown.

His second of three touchdowns was an 87-yard sprint that tied for the third-longest run from scrimmage in program history, further cementing his breakout performance. In all, Nixon touched the ball five times on the night and registered three scores. He tallied 156 yards on the ground on four carries, while housing his lone kickoff return for 96 yards.

UCF chalked up 560 yards on offense, averaging exactly a first down on each play, finishing the contest with 10 yards per offensive snap. The entire offense was humming throughout the night, as Jacurri Brown secured a pair of touchdowns of his own while Stacy Gage closed out UCF’s tab for the night, earning his first career score on a 23-yard scamper.

In addition to the strip stack for a score, Jayden McDonald snagged an interception while Antione Jackson recovered a fumble, resulting in three takeaways, securing an all-around team victory.

UP NEXT
The Knights will enter their bye week as they prepare to wrap up their non-conference slate against North Carolina on Saturday, Sept. 20. Time and broadcast information for the matchup will be announced at a later date.

About UCF Athletics
UCF is a proud member of the Big 12 Conference. Our mission is to positively transform the lives of our students academically, athletically, and personally through a nationally competitive intercollegiate athletics program that enhances the reputation and visibility of the University. We strive to be Florida's preeminent athletic program representing UCF and our community with distinction on the national stage as "Orlando's Hometown Team". To learn more about UCF and Athletics, please visit our websites at www.ucf.edu and www.ucfknights.com.