Forty-eight hours after the kind of win that leaves a stadium buzzing long after the final whistle, UCF was already trying to reset.
The Knights returned to work Monday with the remnants of Saturday night still visible around Acrisure Bounce House Stadium. Cleanup crews were out after UCF’s 39-31 double-overtime stunner over No. 2 BYU, and the scene told its own story: a field rush, thousands of fans spilling onto the turf, and the end-zone cabanas left damaged after students used them to reach the field.
Now comes the harder part.
UCF, sitting at 4-3 overall and 2-2 in Big 12 play, has a short turnaround before hosting Baylor on Friday at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN. Scott Frost made it clear the challenge is less about reliving the upset and more about matching the same edge that produced it.
“We’ve got to play with the same intensity that we played with on Saturday,” Frost said Monday. “I asked the guys to find another level, to find a bit more and they did.
That can be a one-time thing, or it can set the stage for the rest of the season. We have to figure it out.
“There have been a lot of teams that have won big games and not played as well the next week. That’s a challenge for us.”
The message inside the program has been the same. Quarterback Keyone Jenkins said the Knights need to keep the bar where they set it against BYU.
“We’ve seen we could do it. I was about going out there, doing it every day, for real, and just proving to ourselves that we are who we are,” Jenkins said following the win.
Receiver Josh Derry framed the postgame mood in practical terms.
“You celebrate for 24 hours, and then you move on. That’s the part of the game. You can’t let you know one game obviously keep the momentum going to other games, but not let that emotion just drag on and turn to a letdown.”
Frost said he wanted his team to enjoy what it accomplished, but he also understood how quickly a huge victory can turn into a distraction. Social media has been full of videos, photos and memes from Saturday night, and even Frost found himself as part of the imagery after he was captured sitting on the field after the game.
“It’s not that dramatic. I was tired and I wanted to go home,” he recalled.
“We had some good friends in town, and they wanted to go back out on the field to get a picture by the scoreboard. … I was just sitting on the ground, just tired and wondering how long we were going to be there before we go home.”
The recognition has continued to roll in for the Knights, who earned Pop Tarts Bowl Team of the Week honors. Frost also received Paul “Bear” Bryant National Coach of the Week honors.
On the injury front, Frost confirmed Jenkins will start again Friday against Baylor. Jenkins has opened the last five games for UCF while filling in for injured Alonza Barnett III, and he just delivered the biggest performance of his season.
Against BYU, he threw a touchdown in overtime, followed it with the game-winning touchdown and then added the two-point conversion. He finished with a season-high 293 passing yards and also scored on a third-quarter run.
“He played a pretty special game Saturday. (He) made plays when we needed to make them. I thought playing the first overtime was elite,” Frost said.
Barnett is getting closer after rehabbing a hamstring injury he suffered late in UCF’s 12-7 loss at Pittsburgh on Sept. 12, but Frost said he is not sure the senior will be fully at 100% for Friday.
Baylor arrives with its own coaching shakeup. The Bears fired Dave Aranda on Sunday after a 25-24 loss to Kansas, and athletics director Doug McNamee promoted defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman to interim head coach for the rest of the season.
Frost said he has respect for Aranda and understands how quickly things can change in the league.
“Dave is one of the better guys in the business. He’s a really good football coach,” said Frost.
“That’s this business. They have the same record and the same conference record as we do.
“Everybody in this league is about the same. You can win any week and you can lose any week.
I feel for Dave. That’s tough.”
In Other News...
Baylors Coaching Search Just Got Tied To A Stunning USC Name
Baylors coaching search is already drawing attention beyond Waco, especially with openings piling up around the country and the Bears now part of a wider carousel that also includes NC State. The combination of a disappointing season and a vacant job naturally invites speculation, and one of the biggest names suddenly linked to the discussion is USC coach Lincoln Riley, whose profile makes him impossible to ignore.
Rileys situation at USC has grown more complicated after recent losses, and multiple sources have described his future there as uncertain. A move would not be simple, given the size of his contract, but the mere possibility of Baylor entering the conversation changes the tone of the search and gives this opening a far bigger spotlight than many expected. [Read more 🡒]
Baylor WBB Showed One Encouraging Sign Fans Will Notice Fast
Baylors exhibition win over West Texas A&M offered the kind of early October look that can make a fan base feel a little better about what comes next. The Bears rolled to a 96-56 victory at the Paul and Alejandra Foster Pavilion, and the most eye-catching part was how often they turned defense into offense. Baylor forced 30 turnovers and turned those mistakes into 37 points, a sharp sign that the pressure and pace were already creating problems for an opponent.
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Baylor's Next Coaching Hire Carries A Standard Fans Can't Ignore
Baylors football program is back in the market for a new leader after athletic director Doug McNamee announced the dismissal of Dave Aranda following the loss to Kansas. Aranda leaves Waco with an even 40-40 record, a mark that captures both the promise and the frustration of a tenure that never fully settled into the kind of week-to-week consistency the program wanted.
Defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman has been elevated to interim head coach for the rest of the season, while McNamee begins the search for a permanent replacement. The standard is clear: Baylor wants a coach who can turn the program into a steadier winner, and the next hire will be judged against that expectation from the start. [Read more 🡒]