Jahleel Culbreath knows exactly what UCF is walking into in Lawrence.
The Knights are trying to stop a 12-game road losing streak, and the assignment in front of them is a tricky one: slow down Dylan Edwards and a Kansas ground game that can punish teams in a hurry. UCF and Kansas both come in looking to bounce back after rough losses last week, with the Knights taking their worst defeat of the season in a 41-9 loss to Baylor and the Jayhawks coughing up a 13-0 second-half lead against TCU.
Kansas is 3-5 after that collapse, but UCF isn’t treating the Jayhawks like a wounded team. Culbreath pointed to the pieces that make this offense dangerous, from the backfield to the line in front of it.
“they have a good running back, a physical offensive line and their quarterback returning from injury.”
Edwards has been the engine. Under Lance Leipold, the Kansas State transfer is putting together a career year with 573 rushing yards and four touchdowns, just one short of his career high of five from 2024. He leads a Kansas rushing attack that ranks seventh in the Big 12 at 202.3 yards per game, a number that got a major boost in the Jayhawks’ 55-0 win over Middle Tennessee on Oct. 3, when they rolled up 480 yards on the ground as a team.
Culbreath said Kansas uses a gap scheme that puts stress on the defense.
“challenges our run fit.”
That scheme asks the offensive line to create lanes with down blocks, wrap blocks and pulling linemen, opening up space for Edwards instead of simply sealing off an area. And with his burst, that’s a dangerous combination. Edwards showed that against Baylor, when he ripped off a season-high 156 yards and sealed the win with a crucial 16-yard run on third-and-1 with under two minutes left.
UCF’s defense will have to answer with one of its strengths. The Knights are seventh in the conference against the run, giving up 126.3 yards per game, and they turned in their best showing against TCU. The Horned Frogs managed only 33 rushing yards in their Big 12 road opener at Acrisure Bounce House, and once the run game was taken away, quarterback Jaden Craig was forced into 40 pass attempts and threw two interceptions.
For Scott Frost’s team, Saturday is another chance to solve the road problem that has followed it since 2024. The Knights haven’t won away from Orlando in 12 straight tries, and this trip to Kansas gives them another test they can’t afford to miss.
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UCF Opened A New Era With A Debut Night Fans Will Remember
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The performance offered an early glimpse of a team that can defend and score with confidence, and it also gave UCF a strong opening statement under a coach making history in his own right. Keyera Roseby led the way with 22 points, helping the Knights turn the opener into a night their fans will remember, even if the bigger questions about how far this group can go are only beginning to take shape. [Read more 🡒]