Football Visits #20 Houston for First Big 12 Road Game of 2026

• The Knights earned a 21-13 win in their conference opener over TCU, starting 1-0 in Big 12 Conference play for the second time in UCF's four-year tenure
• Oddly enough, the last time UCF started 1-0 in Big 12 play was also against TCU after the Knights erased a 21-point deficit in Fort Worth to win 35-34 in the 2024 conference opener. The 2026 game vs. TCU was the first time UCF opened its Big 12 slate at home.
• UCF forced four turnovers in this season's win over TCU, including an interception and a forced fumble by DB Jayden Bellamy. The forced fumble was on TCU's first drive of the game, giving UCF the ball back and setting up a touchdown. UCF has scored on three of its four opening drives this season while holding foes scoreless on their first drives in games this season.
• UCF's defense limited TCU to 33 rushing yards while EDGE Isaiah Nixon and DT Jeffson Lafontant tallied big days up front, chalking up 2.5 TFLs each
• QB Keyone Jenkins set a UCF record for passing completion percentage in a single game, going 19-for-20 (see later in notes)

• After a stout performance up front against TCU, UCF football’s defensive line was been named Big 12 Conference Defensive Line of the Week
• The defensive front proved to be UCFierce in the 21-13 win, tallying six of the Knights’ eight tackles for loss while tallying three of UCF's four sacks. In total, the defensive line accounted for 19 tackles in the conference-opening win.
• TCU was only able to record 33 rushing yards against the Knights’ defense, which was the lowest mark UCF has allowed since Nov. 2, 2024 against Arizona. With TCU rushing the ball 27 times, the 33 yards were the 14th fewest in UCF’s FBS history by an opponent who rushed the ball 25 or more times.
• DT Jeffson Lafontant and EDGE Isaiah Nixon led the charge up front, each tallying 2.5 tackles for loss. Nixon recorded 1.5 sacks while Laftontant also recorded a sack.
• The defensive line of the week honor is the second time that UCF has won the honor during its time in the Big 12, the last coming after an outstanding performance against West Virginia Oct. 18, 2025

• UCF's defense has allowed just 15 points in the second half through the first four games this season, outscoring opponents 73-15 during that stretch
• UCF ranks sixth in the nation when it comes to fewest points allowed in the second half, sitting behind Duke, Notre Dame, TCU, Pitt and Liberty
• The Knights haven't allowed a touchdown to an FBS team in the second half, as the only touchdown was a buzzer beater by Bethune-Cookman in Week 1
• UCF shutout Pitt in the second half in Pittsburgh and allowed just three points to TCU in the second half of this season's conference opener

• UCF has snatched six interceptions so far this season which is tied for fifth in the country; the Knights trail the national leader New Mexico with nine, followed by UCLA, Colorado State and North Dakota State
• The Knights had just nine interceptions in each of the last two seasons
• UCF returned four starters in the secondary from last year's defense: CB Jayden Bellamy, CB Antione Jackson, S Demari Henderson and NKL Braeden Marshall
• UCF finished 2025 ranking third in the Big 12 and 22nd in the FBS in passing defense, allowing 185.1 passing yards per game. Last season's 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. So far in 2026, UCF has surrendered an average of 219.5 passing yards per game but have earned more interceptions.

• QB Keyone Jenkins completed 19-of-20 passes in the victory over TCU, a UCF record when it comes to pass completion percentage
• The new record surpasses that of UCF QB Coach McKenzie Milton, who completed 24-of-26 (92%) Oct. 28, 2017 against Austin Peay
• Jenkins has a shot at more history in the team's game against No. 20 Houston. He finished the game against TCU with 14 straight completion and needs five to set UCF's consecutive completions record, which is currently held by Dillon Gabriel, who had 18 straight Sept. 26, 2020 at East Carolina

• RB Duke Watson enters Week 5 boasting the second-highest yards per carry average, ripping off 8.85 yards per carry. His freshman season saw him lead the nation in rushing at 8.9 yards per carry in 2024 at Louisville
• Watson is tied for the Big 12 lead in most rushing plays of 10+ yards this season, tallying 13; he is tied with West Virginia's Michael Hawkins Jr.; the duo are tied for seventh nationally
• With 354 rushing yards through the first four games, Watson is out to the eighth-fastest start for a UCF running back in a single season since 1996, the start of UCF's FBS tenure; Kevin Smith leads the category with 713 in 2007
• Watson has a pair of 100+ yard rushing performances this season after having a total of two over his first two collegiate seasons
• The Forsyth, Ga. native put on a show in Week 3 against Georgia State, rushing for a career-best 177 yards while tying a career-high with 14 carries, scoring two touchdowns in the win. The 12.6 yards per carry for Watson's performance against the Panthers was the second-highest yards per carry mark in program history, behind only Latavius Murray who averaged 13.27 yards per rush on Nov. 20, 2010 in a 61-14 win at Tulane.

• Through four games, the UCF's running game has proved to be UCFast (said UCF-Fast), averaging 197 yards a contest. That number is up significantly from 2025 where the Knights rushed for 158 yards per game, ranking 67th in FBS.
• Additionally, UCF ranks third in the Big 12 in rushing plays of 10+ yards this season with 29; that clip ranks 10th in FBS thus far
• In his fourth season at UCF (year two of second stint), head coach Scott Frost has seen his offenses rush for 250+ yards eight times, two of which came this season. Both times were 300+ yard rushing games for the Black and Gold, making those outings two of just four occurances in Frost's four seasons.
• The RB room is virtually brand new this season, returning just 95 rush yards
• Transfers Duke Watson (from Louisville) and Landen Chambers (from Central Arkansas) have added an immediate spark. Redshirt freshman Taevion Swint has been a contributor as well in his first season of collegiate action after going down with an injury early in fall camp in his true freshman season. Walk-on turned scholarship Agyeman Addae also contributes and accounted for 50 of UCF's 95 returning rush yards from a season ago.

• UCF's is set to face three straight ranked opponents, which would be the first time doing so since 2017 when the Knights beat No. 22/19 South Florida 49-42, No. 16/14 Memphis 62-55 and No. 7/8 Auburn 34-27 to finish 13-0 in 2017
• UCF is one of five FBS programs scheduled to face three ranked opponents over its next three games; they're joined by Alabama, Auburn, Colorado, and Oklahoma

• 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 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.

• The Knights have compiled 77 wins since 2017, which is tied for the most in the state of Florida and is third-most in the Big 12. UCF is tied for 20th nationally over that span, which includes a perfect 13-0 in 2017, 12 wins in 2018 and 10 in 2019.
• In the Big 12, UCF trails only BYU and Utah, who eac have 78. The Black and Gold are ahead of Cincinnati, who have 76 wins since 2017
• In Florida, UCF and Miami are tied with 77 wins since 2017, followed by Florida (66), Florida State (58), Florida Atlantic (56) and South Florida (52)

ADDITIONAL NOTES

Bertrams Booting it Far

• Punter Atticus Bertrams enters Week 5 ranked fourth in the nation in average distance per punt with a 48.3 average
• If Bertrams can maintain that pace for the year, it would set a new UCF record, which is currently held by Matt Prater who average 47.9 yards per punt
• Bertrams' career-high mark for average yards per punt in a season was 45.3, set during his 2024 campaign at Wisconsin

Sunshine State Winning Week

• UCF was part of a perfect day by the FBS teams in the state of Florida on Sept. 26, 2026. The Knights, along with Miami, Florida, Florida State, South Florida, Florida Atlantic and FIU combined to go 7-0 for just the second time, joining Oct. 5, 2013 as the only other time the state's seven FBS teams all won on the same day.

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.