Football Returns Home, Host Arizona State's Inaugural Trip to Orlando

• UCF earned a 33-32 road victory over Kansas on Nov. 7, snapping a 12-game road losing streak; the Knights' previous most-recent road win was Sept. 14, 2024 in a 35-34 win that included a 21-point comeback over TCU in Fort Worth
• Poetically, Nov. 7, 2026 was day number 785 without a UCF road win, which is the area code of major areas around Kansas City, including Lawrence, Kan., home of the Jayhawks.
• Not only did it snap the road losing streak, but UCF earned its first win in the state of Kansas (previously 0-5) and the first win over the JayhawkS
• During the 12-game skid, UCF had been close to winning many of those road games facing five ranked foes over the dozen road games, three of which were ranked No. 11 or higher. This season in particular saw the Knights lead No. 20 Houston and tied with No. 18 Oklahoma State at halftime.
• UCF fell behind early after a tipped ball was intercepted on the Knights' first offensive play, but proceeded to rip off 26 straight points for a 26-7 lead. Kansas responded with 26 unanswered points, taking a 32-25 advantage with under two minutes to play.
• The Knights put together a 10-play, 73-yard drive in exactly 1:00, scoring with one second left on a catch by redshirt freshman tight end Caden Piening at the front-left pylon with an extra point from Will Stone to win the game.

• After going down with injury during a two-minute drill in UCF's 12-7 loss in a rain-soaked Pittsburgh, QB Alonza Barnett III returned for his first start since the injury in the 33-32 road win at Kansas, executing a two-minute drill in exactly one minute to lift the Knights over the Jayhawks
• Alonza Barnett III is the only quarterback in the Big 12 Conference with College Football Playoff experience after leading James Madison to a Sun Belt Conference title and an appearance in the CFP bracket in 2025. Barnett was named Sun Belt Player of the Year and passed for two touchdowns and rushed for another in the Dukes' CFP game at No. 5 Oregon.
• Barnett transferred to UCF ahead of the 2026 season and boasts 77 career touchdowns, with 53 through the air and another 24 on the ground. He's thrown four touchdowns and rushed for one as a Knight.
• Since 2025, Barnett is 14-3 as a starter, the seventh-best winning percentage by an active qurterback among Power 4 conferences.

• A trio of freshmen on the offensive side of the ball have been impressive so far this season, RB Taevion Swint, WR Tyren Hornes and TE Caden Piening. Together, the trio accounts for seven of UCF's touchdowns. Hornes ranks second on the Knights in receiving yards while Piening ranks fourth.
• Heading into Week 11, Piening is tied for the nation's lead in touchdowns by a rookie tight end, adding to his total with the game-winning grab at Kansas
• A true freshman from Bradenton, Fla., Hornes has worked his way into a prominent role, experiencing a breakout game in the win over No. 2 BYU, hauling in six catches for 137 yards and a two-point conversion in double overtime. The four-star commit was listed as the No. 74 recruit in the SC Next 2026 ESPN top 300 final release.
• Piening and Swint both arrived at UCF in 2025 but suffered injuries that saw them sidelined for most or all of their true freshmen campaigns. The pair now boast a trio of touchdowns each; Piening has snatched 21 catches while Swint has averaged 4.5 yards a carry across 40 rushes

• UCF is tied for second in the Big 12 when it comes to allowing the fewest chunk rushing plays, surrendering 29 rushes of 10+ yards this season, which is one behind the conference leader of TCU
• The Knights have improved their run-stopping compared to the previous campaign and have allowed 133.8 rushing yards per game this season, compared to 150.7 allowed in 2025
• UCF ranks fourth in rushing defense when looking exclusively Big 12 Conference games, allowing 131.83 yards per game in league play in 2026
• UCF's conference-opening win over TCU saw the Knights limit the Horned Frogs to 33 rushing yards on 27 carries before limiting No. 2 BYU to 116 rushing yards, nearly 100 below its average of 206.7 entering that contest

• UCF has forced 14 turnovers so far this season (seven interceptions and seven forced fumbles), which matches the total from all of last season with three games left in 2026. The seven interceptions ranks sixth in the Big 12.
• The Knights had nine interceptions in each of the last two seasons
• UCF recovered a pair of fumbles in the road victory at Kansas, one of which resulted in a touchdown two plays later, helping UCF build a 26-7 lead
• A turning point in the Knights' win over No. 2 BYU was a tipped ball by DT Thomas Collins at the line that was intercepted by LB Tackett Curtis. UCF was trailing 14-10 with BYU driving before the two-minute timeout of halftime. The takeaway turned into seven points and a 17-14 halftime lead for the Black and Gold, going on to topple No. 2 BYU 39-31 in double overtime.

• UCF's defense has stood strong against opponent's first drive of a game, surrendering just one opening-drive score this season to No. 2 BYU.
• Dating back to the beginning of head coach Scott Frost's second tenure at UCF in 2025, the Knights have limited opponents to just four scores in their first 21 opening drives thus far. The Knights have forced two turnovers on opponents' opening drives across its six Big 12 games in 2026.
• UCF has scored a touchdown on its first drive in four of nine games this season, seeing a streak of four-straight come to an end vs. No. 2 BYU

• Arizona State is one of four teams on UCF's 2026 schedule who are making thier first trip to Acrisure Bounce House this season. Iowa State, UCF's home foe for the home finale, will also visit UCF for the first time.
• The trip will be Arizona State's first time playing a game in Orlando and second-longest trip in the continental U.S. behind its trip to Miami (FL) in 1997
• UCF is 2-0 against first-timers in the Bounce House this season. The Knights beat TCU 21-13 in Week 4, sending the Horned Frogs home from their first trip to Florida since 2003 with a 4-6 record in games in the state. Georgia State left The City Beautiful with a 44-30 loss in Week 3; the Panthers had played in Orlando twice before in the Cure Bowl with a win in 2017 and a loss in 2015
• Iowa State has played in Orlando before, earning a 42-41 victory over then-No. 15 Miami in the 2024 Pop-Tarts Bowl at Camping World Stadium.

• UCF is 24-1 across four seasons under Scott Frost when scoring 30 points or more in a game, a trend that became apparent in the magical perfect season in 2017 where UCF scored 30+ points in all 13 victories. The Knights have four 30+ point showings in 2026 and have seven since Frost's return in 2025.
• The lone blemish in Frost's 30+ points record was the final regular season game of 2016, a 48-31 loss at South Florida, which wound up being the Bull's final win in the rivalry game before UCF won the final six meetings
• Between Frost's two tenures, UCF went 46-11 when scoring 30+ points throughout the 2018-24 campaigns with two different coaches at the helm

• UCF is seeking bowl eligibility for the first time since 2023 and for its second time as members of the Big 12 Conference. A bowl berth would be the ninth for UCF in the last 11 seasons after the Knights made it to eight straight bowl games from 2016-23.
• Some of UCF's biggest wins in program history came in bowl games. The Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl victory over No. 7 Auburn at the end of the 2017 season earned the Knights a National Championship. A few years prior, the Knights topped No. 6 Baylor in the 2014 Fiesta Bowl, which stood as the highest ranked win in program history until UCF beat No. 2 BYU this season.

• The Knights have compiled 79 wins since 2017, which is second-most in the state of Florida and third-most in the Big 12. UCF ranks 23rd 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 both have 82 victories. The Black and Gold are ahead of Cincinnati, which has 77 wins since 2017.
• in Florida, Miami (81) edged in front of UCF (79) in wins since 2017, followed by Florida (67), Florida State (60), Florida Atlantic (59) and South Florida (54)

• UCF didn't commit a penalty in the victory over Kansas in Week 10, marking the second time doing so in program history and the first time since Nov. 3, 2007 in a 47-13 win over Marshall in Orlando
• The Knights are one of three teams in the Big 12 Conference to not commit a penalty in a game since joining the league in 2023, the other two being Kansas State against UT Martin Aug. 31, 2024 and Colorado vs. Kansas State Nov. 29, 2025. The feat has happened 25 times across power conferences in that time.

• Punter Atticus Bertrams enters Week 11 ranked eighth in the nation and third in the BIg 12 in average distance per punt with a 46.9 yard per punt clip.
• Bertrams is in range to set a new UCF record for average punt distance, which is currently held by Matt Prater who averaged 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
• The Sydney, Australia native was named to Ray Guy Award Ray's 8 for his efforts in UCF's win over No. 2 BYU (more on page 8). He was named to the Ray Guy Midseason Watch List as one of 63 punters listed out of a field of over 100 nominees.
• Bertrams averaged 55 yards per punt in the win over Kansas, the highest average in a game of his career including the second-longest punt in his collegiate tenure of 64 yards. He had four punts for 220 yards in the victory.

JOEY CHESTNUT BRINGING COMPETITION TO UCF NOV. 13-14