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The UCF Knights opened Big 12 play with a 21-13 victory over the TCU Horned Frogs on Saturday, September 26, 2026, at the Acrisure Bounce House in Orlando. UCF improved to 3-1 overall (1-0 Big 12), while TCU fell to 2-2 (0-1 Big 12).

Key Storylines

• UCF’s defense was the difference, forcing four turnovers and holding TCU scoreless in the fourth quarter. Despite allowing 343 total yards, the Knights repeatedly came up with timely takeaways.
• Quarterback Keyone Jenkins was remarkably efficient, completing 19 of 20 passes (95%) for 160 yards and a touchdown, setting a school record for completion percentage in a game with at least 15 attempts.
• TCU actually outgained UCF 343-266, but turnovers and field position swung the game in the Knights’ favor.

How the Game Unfolded

First Quarter

• UCF struck first after forcing a turnover, with Taevion Swint scoring on a 13-yard touchdown run.
• TCU answered with a 75-yard drive capped by a Jeremy Payne 1-yard touchdown run.

Second Quarter

• TCU took a 10-7 lead on a field goal.
• Jenkins responded by leading a scoring drive that ended with a 19-yard touchdown pass to Caden Piening, giving UCF a 14-10 halftime lead.

Third Quarter

• TCU narrowed the score to 14-13 with a 45-yard field goal but could not find the end zone.

Fourth Quarter

• UCF delivered the decisive blow with an 11-play, 75-yard drive finished by Landen Chambers’ 1-yard rushing touchdown, extending the lead to 21-13.
• The Knights’ defense shut down TCU the rest of the way to secure the win.

Notable Stats

• Keyone Jenkins (UCF): 19/20 passing, 160 yards, 1 TD. 
• Jeremy Payne (TCU): 15 carries, 48 yards, 1 TD.
• Josh Dwyer (TCU): 5 receptions, 100 yards.
• Turnovers: TCU 4, UCF 2.

Bottom Line

UCF won with a classic complementary-football formula: efficient quarterback play, a strong rushing attack near the goal line, and a defense that consistently took the ball away. The victory gave the Knights an important conference-opening win and continued their recent success against TCU in Big 12 play.

Next Up

UCF takes on 4-0 #20 Houston at Noon Saturday. The game will be televised live from Houston’s TDCU Stadium on ESPN2.

Story and Photo Courtesy UCF Athletics

The 20th season of the Bounce House began with a bang as the UCF football team tied its program record for points scored in a game and set the record for largest margin of victory, beating Bethune-Cookman 73-6 to start the 2026 campaign.

Under the lights of a brand-new Roth Tower, UCF’s running game shone bright, as six different Knights accounted for seven rushing touchdowns, chalking up 360 yards in the process. The team-effort showed through the air as well, as nine different Knights caught a pass.

The 25th victory of Scott Frost’s UCF career resulted in UCF’s largest margin of victory, posting a 67-point gap over the Wildcats Thursday night, edging the previous best of 64 points against Grand Valley State in 1987. The win also tied the most points scored in a game in program history, equaling the 73 points scored against Austin Peay in 2017.

UCF’s first drive took just two plays, as junior running back Duke Watson took his first carry as a Knight 64 yards to the house for the first touchdown of 2026. Just 20 seconds later, Jayden Williams snagged his third career interception and returned it 47 yards for a pick-six, giving UCF a 14-0 lead with just over four minutes gone by in the game.

Alonza Barnett III scampered for a five-yard touchdown run, his first as a Knight, extending the lead to 21 with 3:11 to play in the opening frame. The first play of the second quarter saw Barnett spin his first pass as a member of the Black and Gold, finding Jonathan Bibbs for his fifth career touchdown snag. The strike through the air was the 50th career passing touchdown.

Will Stone nailed his first career field goal, a 34-yard kick to make it 31-0. Stone wound up finishing the night with 10 extra points, tying a single game UCF record. The Black and Gold added a Landen Chambersbefore halftime, a two-yard run to send UCF into the locker room up 38-0.

The third quarter was more of the same and saw the Knights tally a trio of rushing touchdowns and a strike through the air. Redshirt freshman and local Osceola High product Taevion Swint earned his first rushing touchdown, a 27-yard dash two minutes into the second half. Chambers followed suit with a 27-yard run of his own four minutes later, his second rushing touchdown of the night. Caleb Rollerson snagged a nine-yard touchdown pass from Keyone Jenkins. Agyeman Addae added the first rushing touchdown of his career to make it 66-0 UCF at the end of the third quarter.

The Knights added one more score in the fourth, this time a one-yard rush from Rocco Marriot after he nearly had a diving touchdown after a 17-yard scamper.

Bethune-Cookman added its lone score of the game as the clock expired, an eight-yard touchdown pass.

The Knights improve their season-opening win streak to 11 games with Thursday’s victory over Bethune-Cookman. UCF moves to 30-1 against FCS opponents since turning FBS in 1996.

Additionally, the Black and Gold have won 12 straight games on Thursdays, a mark that sits just three behind the longest winning streak on that particular day in FBS history. Miami owns 15 straight wins on Thursday, a mark posted from 1998-2008. UCF boasts the third-longest active Thursday winning streak, trailing fellow Big 12 Conference members Utah and Oklahoma State who each sit at 13.

Speaking of the Big 12, UCF sits tied for 12th for most points scored by a Big 12 team in the conference’s history; Oklahoma State holds that record of 84.

UP NEXT
The Knights hit the road for a non-conference showdown, visiting Pittsburgh in Acrisure Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 12 at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN2.

Photo/Story appears courtesy of UCF Athletics. Video courtesy Big XII Conference.

For 36 minutes and six seconds, the UCF Citronauts controlled the game on Saturday afternoon. And by the final buzzer inside Addition Financial Arena, there was no mistaking where they belong, as UCF knocked off No. 11 Texas Tech in a decisive 88-80 victory. 

The victory lifts the Citronauts to 17-4 overall, the most wins through the month of January in program history, and 6-3 in Big 12 play, while Texas Tech slips to 16-5 and 6-2. UCF asserted itself on the glass with a double-digit rebounding advantage (35-23) and matched that presence with tight ball security, forcing 13 turnovers while surrendering only six, an effort that underscored their control throughout.

The Citronauts’ defense wasted no time making its presence felt, clamping down on Texas Tech in the opening stretch to force a three-minute scoring drought and race out to a 7-2 lead by the 16:51 mark. Despite giving up four early turnovers and the slow offensive start, the Red Raiders eventually found their footing on the defensive end of the hardwood, forcing back-to-back stops on the Citronauts. That, coupled with a trio of jumpers from JT Toppin, knotted the game at 20 with 10:05 left in the opening frame.

Space U found its answer to the surge behind John Bol, who dominated the early minutes with eight points on a perfect 4-for-4 shooting effort while hauling in five rebounds in the opening nine minutes. Bol, who tallied a career-high 14 points on the day, was a major force for the ‘Nauts throughout the game, spearheading the team’s efforts on the glass to record his second double-double of the season with 10 boards.

Even with Texas Tech’s best effort to push itself out in front of the ‘Nauts, it soon found itself suffocated once more by UCF’s defensive pressure, falling into yet another three-minute scoring dry spell. Using the offensive lull to their advantage, the Citronauts built their lead back out to seven, 34-27, sparked by back-to-back three-pointers from Carmelo Pacheco and Riley Kugel with just over five minutes to play before halftime. A steal in the final minute from Kugel, followed by two free throws from Jamichael Stillwell, gave the Citronauts a four-point edge, 44-40, headed into the break.

Stillwell made his presence in the paint equally as known, bringing in 10 rebounds and 10 points for the ‘Nauts. Marking the third time this season, two players have had a double-double in a single game (Fulks/Stillwell vs Oakland, Fulks/Bol vs FAU).

Momentum stayed firmly on UCF’s side to open the second half, as Bol scored five quick points to stretch the lead to seven, 57-50, just five minutes in. Texas Tech responded with urgency, however, forcing a brief Citronauts scoring drought while knocking down six consecutive field goals to pull within four, 66-62, with 11:29 left. But the ‘Nauts refused to relinquish control, as free throws from Kugel and a timely layup by Themus Fulks restored a six-point advantage, 75-69, with just under seven minutes remaining.

Fulks, remained at the heart of the ‘Nauts offense pouring in a team-high 21 points, while dishing out seven assists. Jordan Burks also added in double-digits of his own, contributing 17 points on an efficient five-of-seven mark from the floor. 

The Red Raiders made one final push late, trimming the deficit to two with 1:55 to go, but the Citronauts delivered the decisive blow, as Chris Johnson threw down a dunk in the final moments, putting an exclamation point on the final score and sealing the 88-80 victory as UCF knocked off No. 11 Texas Tech in Orlando.

UCF has now won three consecutive Big 12 games for the first time since joining the conference ahead of the 2023-24 season. The victory also marks the program’s first win over a No. 11-ranked opponent, snapping an 0-6 mark in such matchups before Saturday afternoon. Video highlights linked below:

The UCF Knights (12-1; 1-0 Big XII) opened their conference play with a HUGE win against the #17 Jayhawks of Kansas. As reported by UCF Athletics:

ORLANDO – “J-Mike [Jamichael Stillwell] and I were telling him during the game, ‘Bro, your time is gonna come. You’re going to get a big shot for us,’”  said UCF point guard Themus Fulks about Jordan Burks in the minutes following Saturday evening’s matchup against No. 17 Kansas.

And he was right. With the game tied at 72 and under a minute remaining, Burks delivered when it mattered most. UCF and Kansas had battled every second, each team vying to start the Big 12 season 1-0. But Kansas’ hopes were dashed as Burks pulled up from the long range in the final moments, sinking a clutch three-pointer to lift the Knights to an 81-75 upset at Addition Financial Arena.

Although the Knights led for nearly 27 minutes, the game was a back-and-forth battle from the opening tip. Kansas held a narrow 10-9 edge at the 16-minute media timeout, with both teams trading baskets in quick succession. Midway through the first half, though, the pace stalled as the Jayhawks went scoreless for 3:15. UCF forced three turnovers but couldn’t turn convert, hitting a two-minute dry spell of its own, and by the 9:43 mark, Kansas still clung to a razor-thin 21-20 lead.

That changed when Riley Kugel took over. His layup at the 7:21 mark gave the Knights their first lead, and a pull-up three on the next possession pushed UCF in front 27-23. Building on that momentum, Jamichael Stillwell drained a three-pointer to push Knight’s lead to seven, 36-29, their largest lead of the opening frame, with just over four minutes to go. 

Kugel led the way for the Knights, finishing atop the stat sheet with 19 points on 8-of-17 shooting. Fulks and Burks also scored in double figures, contributing 16 and 14 points respectively, and each added four rebounds on the day, while Fulks piloted the offense with three assists.

Kansas made several attempts to reclaim the lead in the closing minutes of the half, but a last-second pull-up jumper from Fulks sent the Knights into the locker room with a 44-41 edge. The Black and Gold’s 44 first-half points marked the most the Jayhawks have allowed this season, after previously holding then-No. 5 Duke and then-No. 17 Tennessee to 41 points apiece.

The Knights opened the second half as strong as they ended the first, quickly extending their lead back to seven, 48-41, just 1:30 into the period. Refusing to let the game slip away, Kansas responded by clawing back to tie the game at 56 with 13:09 remaining. A three-pointer from Darryn Peterson, who ended the evening with 26 of Kansas’s total points, gave the Jayhawks their first lead since 7:21 of the opening frame, 59-58, with just over 11 minutes to play.

UCF had an answer, though – four quick free throws from Devan Cambridge gave the Knights their lead back, 62-59, with a three-pointer from Burks to follow, pushing the Knights’ advantage to six, 65-59, with 9:53 to play. 

Capitalizing on that momentum, and a four-minute Jayhawk scoring drought, the Knights forced four turnovers to generate a 12-point run, taking the lead 70-61, their largest of the game, with just under five minutes remaining.

Despite continued offensive struggles, Kansas surged back with a 7-0 run in just over a minute, pulling within two, 70-68, with 3:36 left and forcing a UCF timeout. Bringing that energy out of the break, the Jayhawks tied the game at 72 with 59 seconds to play. But pressing for the Knights’ first Big 12 win, Burks delivered a pivotal three-pointer to put the Knights back on top, 75-72, with 42 seconds remaining. 

Although Kansas attempted to rally with a trio of free throws in the final moments, Burks’ basket proved decisive, as UCF held on to upset No. 17 Kansas, 81-75, in its Big 12 home opener.

This is the second consecutive season the Knights have won their conference opener, and the first time they’ve beaten a ranked opponent since last year’s season home opener against then No. 13/15 Texas A&M. Dawkins, as a player and coach, is now a combined 7-3 in meetings against either Kansas or Bill Self, or a combination of both.

The Knights committed just six turnovers all evening while forcing 12 from the Jayhawks, who normally average 10.8 turnovers per game and force 9.46 themselves.

UP NEXT
Dawkins and his squad will travel to Stillwater, Okla., for their first Big 12 road contest of the season, facing the Oklahoma State Cowboys on Jan. 6 for an 8 PM tipoff.