LAWRENCE, Kan. - UCF finally got back in the win column away from home, and it took every last second to do it.
After 12 straight road losses and more than two years without a road victory, the Knights survived Kansas, 33-32, on Saturday at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium. UCF had a 26-7 cushion in the third quarter, watched it disappear, then answered with a game-winning strike in the final seconds.
Alonza Barnett III hit tight end Caden Piening on a 6-yard touchdown pass with 3 seconds left to pull UCF even at 32-32. The play went to replay review before the ruling on the field stood. Will Stone then drilled the extra point to finish off the comeback.
The Knights, now 5-4 overall and 3-3 in the Big 12, had to absorb a wild swing after Kansas (4-5, 2-4 Big 12) scored 25 straight points to flip the game. The Jayhawks grabbed a 32-26 lead with 1:06 remaining on a 2-yard run by Dylan Edwards, followed by a successful two-point conversion, before UCF answered with its final march.
It was UCF’s first road win since beating TCU, 35-34, on Sept. 14, 2024.
Barnett, making his first start since Sept. 12 in Pittsburgh, finished 18 of 31 for 251 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Josh Derry was the top target, hauling in seven passes for 143 yards and a 44-yard touchdown in the third quarter.
UCF’s opening possession set the tone for how shaky the afternoon could get. Barnett was hit hard by Kansas defensive lineman Blake Herold, the ball came loose, and Jayhawks linebacker Trey Lathan picked it off before fumbling it back. Defensive tackle Marcus Calvin recovered and returned it to the UCF 3, and on fourth-and-1, Isaiah Marshall punched in a 1-yard touchdown run.
The Knights answered with a 37-yard field goal from Stone on their next drive, trimming the margin to 7-3.
There were more injury concerns for UCF as the game unfolded. Running back Duke Watson left midway through the first quarter on a cart. Backup Taevion Swint, already working back from an ankle injury, was used sparingly out of the backfield, which left Landen Chambers and Agyeman Addae to shoulder more of the workload.
UCF found the end zone for the first time in the second quarter when Duane Thomas Jr. took a handoff and slipped through the Kansas defense for a 10-yard touchdown, the first rushing score of his career. Stone missed the extra point, his first miss in 30 attempts.
The Knights’ defense tightened after that, forcing Kansas to punt on three straight possessions. UCF added another Stone field goal, this one from 23 yards, after a drive stalled at the Jayhawks’ 2-yard line.
Turnovers kept the game choppy. Kansas running back Dylan Edwards fumbled to UCF cornerback Antione Jackson, but two plays later Chambers gave it right back to the Jayhawks.
Stone had a chance to add points before halftime, but his 54-yard field goal try was short and wide, leaving UCF ahead 12-7 at the break.
The second half started with a boost from Swint, who ripped off a 43-yard kickoff return to set up a short field. He finished the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run, pushing the lead to 19-7 with 11:58 left in the third quarter. It was his third touchdown of the season.
UCF’s defense then forced another takeaway when safety Jayden Williams stripped Kansas running back Khijohnn Cummings-Coleman. Safety Braeden Marshall recovered at the Kansas 46, and two plays later Barnett connected with Derry for a 44-yard touchdown to make it 26-7.
Kansas refused to go away. Marshall led a 75-yard drive capped by a 30-yard run, then came back with another possession that ended in a 34-yard field goal by Martin Connington to cut the deficit to 26-24.
Marshall had returned after missing Kansas’ 22-16 loss at TCU last Saturday because of a lower leg injury. The Jayhawks kept pressing from there, eventually taking the late lead before UCF’s 10-play, 73-yard final drive delivered the finish.
In Other News...
UCF Finally Ended Its Road Misery But One Problem Still Lingers
UCF finally broke through away from home with a 33-32 win at Kansas, a result that snapped a 12-game road losing streak and put the Knights one victory from bowl eligibility. The finish came in the kind of game that can change the tone of a season, with quarterback Alonza Barnett III helping engineer a late comeback and the offense finding just enough rhythm to survive in a place where UCF had struggled for far too long.
The relief, though, comes with another concern attached. The Knights are still sorting through injuries in the backfield, and that matters for a team trying to build on a breakthrough road win and keep its postseason path intact. Scott Frost had reasons to be encouraged by the way his team closed, but the health of the running backs now hangs over what should have been a clean celebration. [Read more 🡒]