UCF pulled off the kind of ending that makes a campus erupt and a national ranking look flimsy in a hurry.
The Knights knocked off No. 2 BYU 39-31 in double overtime, stunning the Cougars on the road and delivering the first AP Top 5 win in program history. UCF sealed it by stopping BYU on fourth down in the extra session, then celebrating a breakthrough that came one week after the Knights had already upset Notre Dame.
The decisive sequence in double overtime started with UCF settling for a field goal. Then came a roughing the kicker call that changed everything, turning three points into a first-and-goal from the four-yard line. From there, quarterback Keyone Jenkins hit Utah native Gabe Brousseau for a touchdown and then found Tyren Hornes on the two-point conversion to put the pressure squarely on BYU.
The Cougars answered by taking to the air, with quarterback Bear Bachmeier coming up just short on a touchdown throw to wide receiver Kyle Kasper. BYU then moved to second-and-goal from the four, but Bachmeier missed on three straight throws on difficult chances, and the game ended with fans storming the field.
Jenkins, the backup quarterback at UCF, was sensational throughout the night. He threw for 293 yards, ran for 35 more and accounted for four touchdowns in a performance that carried the Knights. Bachmeier had three touchdown passes for BYU, but UCF’s defense delivered when the game was on the line.
The loss also snapped BYU’s run of success against unranked opponents. It was the Cougars’ first loss to an unranked team since a 17-13 defeat against Kansas on Nov. 16, 2024.
Regulation itself nearly ended in chaos before overtime ever arrived. With seconds left, BYU appeared to force a strip-sack that would have sent the Knights into a dangerous spot near the edge of field-goal range.
But replay showed Jenkins was pushing his arm forward with control, so the call was changed to an incomplete pass. A subsequent unsportsmanlike conduct penalty was also added against BYU captain Keanu Tanuvasa.
That penalty moved the ball into field-goal range on third down, and Stone’s kick was blocked by All-American safety Faletau Satuala. Even then, Stone recovered the ball and seemed to have given UCF another shot at the winner, but his helmet coming off during the tackle triggered a mandatory 10-second runoff and ended regulation. Scott Frost was trying to line up a second game-winning field goal with a different kicker, but instead the game rolled into overtime.
BYU’s hangover from last week’s breakthrough was obvious. One week after that historic win, the Cougars had trouble keeping the momentum on a cross-country trip. Bachmeier completed only half his passes, and the defense gave up 463 yards.
Now BYU sits at 3-1 in Big 12 play with a heavyweight meeting against No. 10 Utah still ahead.
And the bigger historical note is hard to miss: this is only the second time in the AP Poll Era that an AP Top 2 team has lost to unranked opponents in three straight weeks. The only other time was 2007.
In Other News...
BYU Just Made Its Support For Kalani Sitake Very Clear
BYU is backing up its public praise for Kalani Sitake with real money, as athletic director Brian Santiago confirmed the school is investing more than $25 million into football capital projects. The message coming out of Provo is that the university wants to keep building around its head coach, even as the athletic department works through administrative changes behind the scenes.
Santiago said the football oversight structure will be a collaborative one with Vice President Keith Vorkink, and the focus is on lifting the program even higher. That comes at a time when BYU is sitting No. 2 nationally, its best ranking since 1984, which only adds to the sense that the Cougars see this as a moment to push forward rather than reset. [Read more 🡒]
GameDay Backed BYU But One Warning Still Looms At UCF
ESPNs College GameDay had plenty of confidence in No. 2 BYU heading into its matchup at UCF, with Nick Saban, Pat McAfee, Desmond Howard and Kirk Herbstreit all backing the Cougars to come away with a win. The pregame chatter centered on BYUs ability to handle the stage, with analysts pointing to the teams key players and the composure it has shown during this run.
Dalton Kincaid was the one voice on the set who went the other way, picking UCF and highlighting the kind of emotional letdown that can follow a big week. He also leaned into the Knights homecoming setting, a reminder that even when the national spotlight is tilted heavily in one direction, a road game can still carry plenty of traps for a highly ranked team. [Read more 🡒]
Nick Saban Just Put BYU And Kalani Sitake In The Spotlight
Nick Sabans recent appearance on the Pat McAfee Show gave BYU another national moment, and it came with a pretty flattering nod from one of the sports most respected voices. Saban praised the excitement and passion of Cougars fans, and he also singled out Kalani Sitake for the leadership he has brought to the program, adding to the sense that BYU has become one of college footballs more compelling stories this season.
The praise landed with even more weight because Saban pointed to the confidence BYU carried into its game against Notre Dame, a performance that helped fuel the buzz around the program. The Cougars College GameDay appearance drew more than 3 million viewers, and 9.2 million watched the upset of Notre Dame, so the spotlight on Sitakes team is no longer just local or regional. The bigger question now is how much more attention this run can keep generating. [Read more 🡒]