Scott Frost doesn’t see a giant leap between what UCF has done through three games and what TCU has put on the field. To him, the matchup looks like two teams arriving at the same spot through a similar stretch of uneven but revealing results.
“Our season and TCU’s have been pretty close,” Frost said Monday. “We’ve both played a really tough game and lost a close one. We played an opponent we both had advantages over, did what we’re supposed to do, and played a pretty good Group of Six team.
“We’ve had similar paths to get to this point.”
That’s the backdrop for Saturday’s Big 12 opener at 3:30 p.m. on FS1, when UCF (2-1) hosts TCU (2-1) in the Knights’ first home conference opener since joining the league. The past three seasons, UCF opened league play on the road.
Both teams have already shown a little of everything. UCF blasted Bethune-Cookman 73-6, then dropped a tight 12-7 decision at Pittsburgh before grinding out a 44-30 win over Georgia State on Saturday. TCU opened with a 15-10 loss to North Carolina in Ireland, then rolled past Grambling 63-7 and handled Arkansas State 31-7 last weekend.
Frost called it a chance for both programs to keep climbing.
“Both teams want to continue improving and getting better,” said Frost. “We’re looking forward to the challenge.”
There’s a bit of history here, too. This is just the second meeting between the schools, and UCF won the first one, 35-34, at TCU on Sept. 14, 2024.
Still, Frost isn’t treating this as some grand turning point.
“It’s just another opportunity,” Frost explained. “Our team has a chance to earn it every week, earn some respect and earn what we want for our season. We’re not looking at anything except this week.”
That message has been echoing through the locker room. The Knights have spent the opening weeks fighting the outside noise, with most national outlets slotting them in the bottom half of the Big 12 preseason picture. TCU, coming off a 9-4 season and a ninth-place finish in the conference last year, was picked much higher.
UCF’s players have noticed. They’re not hiding from it.
Running back Duke Watson, who leads the team with 297 rushing yards, said the Knights are trying to show they’re not the same group people think they know.
“I really want to show the world what this team is,” said Watson. “We’re way different from last year.
We’re a different UCF. The offense is going to get more comfortable and the defense is always on.
If we have each other’s backs, we’ll go a long way.”
Safety Demari Henderson, who picked off two passes against Georgia State, said the Knights intend to bring their own identity for the full game.
“We’re going to play our brand of football for all four quarters from start to finish,” said added safety Demari Henderson, who had two interceptions against Georgia State.
Senior offensive tackle Preston Cushman sees the game as another chance to change the conversation around the program.
“As (Frost) said, it’s another game, another opportunity to put us on the map and just help us beat all the expectations, per se,” said Cushman. “People still have got us down, so we’ve got to prove to everyone and earn it. It’s like we say all the time, just earn it.”
That phrase is more than talk inside the building. It’s printed on shirts the players wear, including edge rusher Sincere Edwards.
“It’s a saying that we made this year, because we feel like we need to earn it, not for anybody else but for ourselves,” Edwards said.
In Other News...
UCF Opens Big 12 Play Facing An Early Test They Cant Dodge
Big 12 play arrives quickly for UCF, and the opener in Orlando brings a familiar kind of early-season pressure. The Knights and TCU both come in at 2-1, both trying to sort out who they are after uneven starts, and both coaches have already pointed out the parallels in their seasons. TCU has steadied itself with back-to-back wins since its opening loss, while UCF is coming off a victory built around the run game and another start from Keyone Jenkins at quarterback.
For UCF, the larger question is whether that formula can hold once conference play begins and the margin for error gets thinner. TCU has already shown it can recover from an early setback, with Jaden Craig and Ed Small helping push the Horned Frogs into a better rhythm, and that makes this feel less like a warmup than a first real measuring stick. The Knights do not get the luxury of easing into the league schedule, and the answer to how well they can handle that test is about to start coming into focus. [Read more 🡒]
UCF Faces A Big 12 Test That Could Change How Fans See Them
UCF is heading into a Big 12 matchup with TCU looking for a result that could do more than just add a conference win. Since joining the league, the Knights have gone 7-20, and that record has shaped the way they are viewed as they keep trying to climb above the low expectations that have followed them. This one feels like another measuring stick, and it comes against a defense that is built to force offenses to earn everything.
The challenge gets sharper because TCU has been particularly stout against the run, which means UCF may have to find answers in a game plan where space is limited and mistakes can linger. Offensive lineman Preston Cushman framed it as a matter of winning individual battles, with the Knights needing their playmakers to handle their business if someone up front slips. For UCF, the bigger question is not just whether it can move the ball, but whether it can do enough in a tough setting to start changing the conversation around the program. [Read more 🡒]
UCF May Have Found The Backfield Threat Fans Were Hoping For
Duke Watsons first few weeks at UCF have looked like the kind of backfield spark the Knights were hoping to uncover when they brought in the Louisville transfer. He broke loose for 177 yards and two touchdowns against Georgia State, flashing the burst and decisiveness that can change an offense in a hurry and quickly giving UCF a runner who looks comfortable in space and dangerous between the tackles.
Watsons fast start has done more than just put yards on the board. He has praised coach Scott Frost and pointed to his prior relationship with general manager Trent Mossbrucker as part of what drew him to Orlando, a reminder that UCFs transfer work has to fit both on and off the field. The bigger question now is whether this opening surge is a glimpse of what the Knights can ride all season, or just the first chapter of a much longer evaluation. [Read more 🡒]