GAME INFORMATION
Date: Thursday, Sept. 3
Time: 7 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN+
TV Talent: Doug Sherman (PxP), Doc Holladay (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
First Bounce
UCF Knights
Bethune-Cookman Wildcats
A WIN WOULD...
- Be better than a loss
- Extend UCF's winning streak on Thursdays to 12
- Extend UCF's season-opening win streak to 11
- Improve UCF to 30-1 against FCS schools since going FBS in 1996
- Be Scott Frost's 25th victory as UCF's head coach
1ST AND 10
AB3 = QB1
- After leading James Madison to the College Football Playoff in 2025, QB Alonza Barnett III joins UCF out of the transfer portal for the 2026 campaign
- Tabbed as the Sun Belt Player of the Year, Barnett had a remarkable 2025 season, leading the Dukes to a Sun Belt Conference title and an appearance in the CFP against Oregon where he passed for two touchdowns and ran for one
- Barnett is the lone quarterback in the Big 12 this season with CFP experience
- He is one of 11 QBs (starters or backups) to play in the 2025 CFP to return to college football this season and is one of seven who started in the CFP, joined by Dante Moore (Oregon), John Mateer (Oklahoma), Trinidad Chambliss (Ole Miss), Jake Retzlaff (Tulane), Marcel Reed (Texas A&M), Julian Sayin (Ohio State) and Gunner Stockton (Georgia)
- Barnett has compiled 72 touchdowns throughout his college career, 49 through the air and another 23 on the ground. His 2025 campaign saw him throw for 2,806 yards and 23 touchdowns with only eight interceptions while he rushed for 589 yards and 15 touchdowns
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 realistic territory to set UCF FBS career-highs for a tight end. He sits 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 while hauling in 20 catches and chalking up 301 yards over the last four.
THRIVING ON THURSDAYS
- UCF enters the year riding an 11-game winning streak on Thursdays, improving the mark with last year's season-opening win on Thursday, Aug. 28 against Jacksonville State, a 17-10 victory
- The streak of 11-straight wins stands as the third-longest active streak in college football, with two Big 12 Conference mates, Oklahoma State and Utah leading the active list with 13 and 12 respectively
- The longest streak of Thursday wins in college football history belongs to Miami (FL) who posted 15 from 1998-2008
- Beyond Miami's record, the list fairly short. Washington & Jefferson posted 14 straight Thursday wins from 1905-21. Oklahoma State sits third with 13 (2005-present), followed by 12 each from Utah (2014-present), Pitt (1922-34), Georgia Tech (1908-18), Lafayette (1904-15). UCF (2017-present) sits tied with Virginia tech (1998-2005) and ahead of Texas who had 10 (1957-66).
- Other active streaks include Toledo and Clemson, each with eight.
SEASON OPENING STREAK
- UCF enters 2026 on a 10-game winning streak in the first game of the year
- 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 19 of the last 21 seasons and has won 21 of 31 openers since becoming an FBS program in 1996
- Entering the 20th season of Acrisure Bounce House, UCF has won 16 of 19 home openers, including five in a row and nine of the last 10
NO FLY ZONE
- 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
RETURNING RECEIVING PRODUCTION
- UCF returns its top three pass catchers from last season with WR Duane Thomas Jr., WR Waden Charles and TE Dylan Wade
- The returning trio totaled 1,341 yards and five touchdowns on 122 receptions
- When totaling all returners that caught a pass last season, UCF chalked up an additional 164 yards on 13 catches for a total of 1,505 yards on 135 grabs
- The wide receiver room added a few new pieces over the offseason, welcoming transfers Josh Derry (Monmouth) and Jonathan Bibbs (Louisiana-Monroe) as well the No. 74 recruit in the SC Next 2026 ESPN Top 300, Tyren Hornes (Booker HS).
- Derry is tabbed as the highest-graded wide receiver with returning production in the Big 12, grading out as an 89.9 via PFF. He chalked up 1,123 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns with Monmouth in 2025 and has over 2,000 career receiving yards and 19 touchdowns en route to multiple FCS All-America First and Second Team honors.
RUNNING BACK REFRESH
- The Knights return just 95 rushing yards from last year's squad, with 50 of those yards coming from one returning running back, Agyeman Addae
- Redshirt freshman Taevion Swint missed all of 2025 after suffering an injury early in fall camp, but returns squarely in the mix for carries in 2026
- A pair of experienced transfers look to lead the backfield this season, as Duke Watson arrives from Louisville and Landen Chambers from Central Arkansas. The pair have combined for 2,204 rushing yards and 19 touchdowns.
- Watson has compiled eight rushing touchdowns over his first two collegiate seasons and totaled 755 rushing yards over that span after leading the nation with 8.9 rushing yards per carry during his freshman season at Louisville
- After just 32 carries in his freshman season, Chambers set a Central Arkansas record with eight straight games with 100+ yards rushing en route to a 1,273 yard, 10 rushing touchdown 2025 campaign
SUCCESS VS. FCS
- UCF opens the season against Bethune-Cookman of the FCS level with the Knights having won 12 of their last 13 games against the Wildcats
- The Knights own a nine-game winning streak over FCS opponents
- Additionally, UCF is 21-1 since 2000 against FCS foes and 29-1 overall since transitioning to FBS; the only blemish was in UCF's 0-12 season of 2015, a 16-15 loss to Furman
- Before rising to the FBS level in 1996, UCF spent the 1990-95 seasons at the FCS level, becoming the first school in the sport's history to qualify for the FCS playoffs in the first season of eligibility in 1990, reaching the semifinal
20TH SEASON OF THE BOUNCE HOUSE
- 2026 will be the 20th season that UCF plays its home games in Acrisure Bounce House, the Knights' on-campus stadium
- Opening its doors in 2007, some called building the on-campus venue a risk, but it proved to be a launch pad for UCF and Orlando. The Bounce House didn’t just change Saturdays, it changed the trajectory of a community.
- UCF is tied for 21st in the nation in home wins since the Bounce House opened, tallying 90 victories heading into the 2026 season. In the Big 12, that win total is tied for third, sitting behind BYU (92) and Oklahoma State (91) and is tied with Cincinnati and Kansas State.
- "Why We Bounce" is a season long celebration surrounding the history of the Bounce House, as Knight Nation will relive the moments, feel the energy and create new memories in the Bounce House and help build what's next
WINS SINCE 2017
- The Knights have compiled 74 wins since 2017, which is the most in the state of Florida and tied for second-most in the Big 12. UCF sits tied for 20th nationally over that span, which included a perfect 13-0 in 2017 in 2017, 12 victories in 2018 and 10 in 2019.
- In the Big 12, UCF trails only BYU, who start 2026 with 75 home wins over the same period of time while Utah is tied with the Black and Gold and Cincinnati has tallied 72, rounding out the nation's top 25 in home wins since 2017
- In Florida, UCF leads Miami who has 73 home wins since 2017, followed by Florida (62), Florida State (56), Florida Atlantic (53) and South Florida (48)