Baylor heads to Florida on Friday night looking to halt a skid, while UCF comes in with a little momentum after a statement win over BYU.
The Bears started the year with a loss to Auburn, then rattled off four straight wins. Since then, though, Baylor has stumbled twice in a row. One of those setbacks came last week, when the Bears fell 25-24 at Kansas after opening October with a road blowout of Arizona State.
UCF has had its own uneven stretch, but the Knights snapped a two-game losing streak in dramatic fashion. Both of those losses came against top-20 opponents, and last week UCF answered with a 39-31 upset of then No. 2 BYU in double overtime.
That win put the spotlight on Keyone Jenkins, who is wrapping up his collegiate career with the Knights after three seasons as the starter at Florida International. The senior has put together a steady season so far, completing 67.9% of his passes, going 108 of 159 for 1,0999 yards and 11 touchdowns against three interceptions. He has also been involved on the ground 42 times for 76 yards and four scores.
Against BYU, Jenkins delivered his best performance yet. He threw for 293 yards and three touchdowns, then added 35 rushing yards and a score on 11 carries in the double-overtime win.
UCF has also been tough to beat at home. The Knights are 4-0 in Florida, while Baylor is 1-1 away from home. With the level of competition UCF has just faced, this looks like a much friendlier spot.
I have to roll with UCF at home against an easier opponent when compared to its recent competition.
In Other News...
Baylor Faces Immediate Pressure In First Game After Dave Aranda Fired
Baylor arrives in Orlando with the sort of backdrop that can change a game before the opening kickoff. The Bears are coming off a coaching change, with defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman stepping in as interim head coach while still carrying his usual defensive responsibilities, and that puts an extra layer of pressure on a team already trying to sort out its offensive rhythm and defensive identity.
For UCF, the timing makes this a useful measuring-stick matchup against a Baylor group that will be leaning on key contributors like DJ Lagway, Gavin Freeman and Louis Brown to steady things. The Knights know they are facing a team searching for answers on both sides of the ball, but the bigger question is how Baylor responds when the noise around the program is as loud as the opponent across from it. [Read more 🡒]
Tyren Hornes Is Giving UCF Fans A New Reason For Hope
Tyren Hornes has gone from promising freshman to one of the more intriguing pieces in UCFs passing game, and the timing could not be better. His production has climbed as conference play has unfolded, and the Knights have seen enough from the young receiver to start leaning on him more heavily as part of the future of the room.
The most eye-catching moment came in the upset of then-No. 2 BYU, when Hornes delivered a career-best performance and showed the kind of poise that can change how a season feels for a team. For UCF fans looking for a reason to believe the receiving corps has a new building block, Hornes is making a compelling case and leaving plenty of room for bigger moments ahead. [Read more 🡒]
Arizona State Has A Real Reason To Watch The Big 12 Now
Brett Yormarks run as Big 12 commissioner has been one of the defining stretches for the league in recent memory, especially for the programs that came in through the conferences expansion push. Since taking over in 2022, he helped steer the Big 12 through a major realignment era that brought in Colorado, Utah, Arizona and Arizona State, while also locking in a media rights agreement with ESPN and Fox that gave the league a clearer long-term footing.
For Arizona State, and for anyone tracking how the Big 12 is positioning itself, Yormarks departure date now adds another layer of uncertainty. He is set to leave on Jan. 31, 2027, and his next move has not been announced, leaving the conference to eventually navigate a transition after a tenure that also included the league handling messy off-field issues such as the Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby situation and its federal lawsuit fallout. [Read more 🡒]