GAME INFORMATION
Date: Saturday, Sept. 12
Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN2
TV Talent: Lowell Galindo (PxP), Kirk Morrison (Analyst), Dawn Davenport (Sideline)
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 Stadium
Week 2 - at Pitt
UCF Knights
1-0 (0-0 Big 12)
Pittsburgh Panthers
1-0 (0-0 ACC)
A WIN WOULD...
- Be better than a loss
- Snap a nine-game road losing streak and mark the first road victory since Sept. 14, 2024 (35-34 win at TCU)
- Give UCF wins in seven of its last eight games in NFL stadiums
- Give UCF a win over ACC foes in back-to-back seasons
1ST AND 10
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
UCF IN NFL STADIUMS
- UCF will play in an NFL stadium for the first time since 2023, visiting the Panthers in Acrisure Stadium, home of the Pittsburgh Steelers. UCF's last game in an NFL stadium was its Gasparilla Bowl loss to Georgia Tech in 2023, snapping a six game winning streak dating back to midway through 2019.
- The Knights have won six of their last seven games in NFL stadiums dating back to 2019. Overall, the Knights are 12-9 in NFL stadiums in their history, with the first occurrence happening in 2002
- UCF has played in the home of six NFL teams: Tampa Bay Buccaneers (11 times at South Florida or in Gasparilla Bowl, 7-4 record), Philadelphia Eagles (four times at Temple, 3-1 record), Pittsburgh Steelers (once at Pitt, loss), Arizona Cardinals (twice at the Fiesta Bowl, 1-1 record, once at Arizona State in 2002, loss), Miami Dolphins (once at Miami, loss) and Atlanta Falcons (once in Peach Bowl, win)
GETTING ACC-LIMATED
- UCF and Pitt open up a home-and-home scheduling agreement during the 2026 season, with the Black and Gold heading north to play in Acrisure Stadium...not to be confused with the Knights' home stadium, Acrisure Bounce House, which the Panthers are scheduled to visit in 2029.
- The Knights and Panthers completed a home-and-home in the 2018 and 2019 seasons, with the teams splitting the results; UCF earned a 45-14 win in Orlando in 2018 before falling 35-34 in Pittsburgh in 2019 on a last-minute touchdown and two-point conversion "Philly Special" trick play to snap UCF's impressive regular season 25-game winning streak
- The Black and Gold's matchup against Pitt means UCF will face an ACC opponent during the regular season for the second straight campaign and for the eighth time over the last eight regular season slates in 2026. The Knights are 4-3 in those contests, with two wins against Georgia Tech, and one each against Pitt and North Carolina along with two losses to Louisville and one to Pitt.
- The Big 12 went 6-1 against the ACC during the 2025 regular season and 7-1 when counting bowl season
- The Knights helped the conference's remarkable record against the ACC in 2025 with their statement 34-9 victory over North Carolina Sept. 20, 2025. In front of a national audience on FOX, head coach Scott Frost got his squad off to a 3-0 start, topping his mentor Bill Belichick who coached Frost while he was a defensive back in the NFL for the New York Jets during the 1998 and 1999 seasons. After their two previous scheduled meetings were canceled (hurricane, COVID-19), UNC and UCF finally met for the first time in program history, with another meeting scheduled for 2027 in Chapel Hill.
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
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 and posted a passing and rushing touchdown in his UCF debut
- Barnett is the lone quarterback in the Big 12 this season with CFP experience
- 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 has compiled 74 touchdowns throughout his college career, 50 through the air and another 24 on the ground
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 AND FOURTH QUARTER LOCKDOWN
- 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 meet 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 b teams saw that streak snapped in week seven.
WINS SINCE 2017
- The Knights have compiled 75 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, 12 victories in 2018 and 10 in 2019.
- In the Big 12, UCF trails only BYU, who starts 2026 with 76 wins over the same period of time while Utah is tied with the Black and Gold and Cincinnati has tallied 73, rounding out the nation's top 25 in wins since 2017
- In Florida, UCF leads Miami who has 74 wins since 2017, followed by Florida (63), Florida State (56), Florida Atlantic (53) and South Florida (49)
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