Life on the road has been rough for UCF football, and Saturday gives the Knights another shot to change the story.
UCF heads to Pittsburgh with a nine-game road losing streak hanging over it, the seventh-longest such skid in the Football Bowl Subdivision. Only Oklahoma State, with 11 straight road losses, has a longer one in the Big 12. The Knights’ last road win came on Sept. 14, 2024, when they rallied past TCU 35-34.
That stretch has spanned both recent coaches: UCF went 3-8 on the road under Gus Malzahn and is 0-5 away from home under Scott Frost since the school joined the Big 12 in 2023. Frost, though, isn’t spending much time dwelling on it.
“I don’t want to make a big deal out of that,” he said on Monday. “… We’ll do the best we can to get them prepared and go try to play our best.
“With the character of players that we have on this team and the level of competitiveness that we have on this team, I expect a higher level of execution away from home.”
Redshirt junior running back Landen Chambers offered a simpler answer for handling the pressure that comes with going on the road.
“We have a motto here, ‘just breathe,’ ” Chambers said. “When things get tough, just breathe and relax and go back to your basic training. It helped me relax and just be calm in high-pressure situations.”
The challenge gets bigger with Pittsburgh quarterback Mason Heintschel coming off a huge day. In the Panthers’ 59-14 win over Miami of Ohio on Saturday, the 6-foot-2, 215-pound sophomore tied a school record with seven touchdown passes, going 31 of 41 for 453 yards as Pittsburgh rolled up 646 total yards.
That performance earned Heintschel a 90.4 grade from Pro Football Focus, which ranked eighth among all 138 quarterbacks in the FBS. Frost sees a quarterback who can make life difficult in a variety of ways.
“He does a great job extending plays, keeping things alive, running when he has to,” said Frost. “It’s certainly a different style (quarterback) than we’ve probably seen in a while.”
UCF’s defense did get after Bethune-Cookman last Thursday, generating pressure 33 times according to PFF and finishing with three combined sacks. The Knights will need a similar approach against Heintschel, especially with his scrambling ability.
On the other side, UCF’s rebuilt offensive line has already shown it can set a tone. After the Knights’ 73-6 win over Bethune-Cookman, Duke Watson, Taevion Swint, Landen Chambers and Alonza Barnett III all praised the group.
UCF ran for 360 yards, its most since piling up 384 against Sam Houston State on Sept. 7, 2024.
The starters - Henry Tabansi, Brady Wayburn, Connor Meadows, Owen Spell and Preston Cushman - combined for 198 offensive snaps and didn’t allow a sack or a pressure.
“Everybody looked pretty good in that game, but we were playing a smaller school and we moved people pretty well,” said Frost. “These guys this week are going to be a lot harder to move up front.”
Pittsburgh’s front is listed at an average of 6-foot-2 1/2 and 273 pounds, while UCF’s offensive line averages 6-foot-5 and 304 pounds.
Turnovers may be another deciding factor. Defensive coordinator Alex Grinch has been pushing the Knights to create takeaways since spring camp opened in January, and last season UCF finished with only 14, which ranked 12th in the Big 12.
The opener against Bethune-Cookman showed some progress. Safety Jayden Williams returned an interception 47 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter, giving UCF its first pick-six since Phillip Dunnam did it against Houston on Nov.
11, 2025. Later, edge rusher Aymeric Koumba forced a fumble that tackle Horace Lockett recovered.
“I feel like the more possessions we have on offense, the greater the chances we win,” Lockett said.
Grinch said the standard has to be higher than simply hoping turnovers show up.
“It’s the expectation to create takeaways, not extra credit to do so. After one game you can’t obviously make that claim, but it’s got to start somewhere.”
In Other News...
UCFs Fast Start Faces A Much Bigger Test At Pitt
UCFs opener was the kind of one-sided start that can make a team feel good about itself for a few days, at least until the schedule stiffens. The Knights rolled past Bethune-Cookman 73-6, showing plenty of punch on offense and a defense that never let the game breathe, while Duke Watson announced himself in a hurry with a long touchdown run in his debut and a productive first afternoon in the backfield.
Now comes the part that will say more about where this team really stands. Pittsburgh is a different kind of test, and Mason Heintschel gives the Panthers a quarterback capable of forcing UCF to defend the full field and stay disciplined for four quarters. A fast start can cover a lot of flaws in Week 1, but it does not tell the whole story, and the Knights are about to find out whether their opener was simply dominant or actually revealing. [Read more 🡒]
UCFs Ground Game Faces Its First Real ACC Test
UCFs rushing attack is about to get a clearer read on where it stands, and the timing matters. With Duke Watson, Landen Chambers and Taevion Swint leading the ground game, the Knights have leaned on a versatile backfield that has carried real importance in setting the tone for the offense, but the next opponent brings a different level of resistance.
Pittsburgh has built its reputation on controlling the line of scrimmage and making teams earn every yard on the ground, which is exactly the kind of test UCF wanted to measure itself against. For the Knights backs, the focus is less on the matchup label than on staying composed, trusting the work theyve put in and finding out whether their preparation translates when the run lanes get tighter. [Read more 🡒]
Scott Frost Just Raised Expectations For UCFs Defensive Leader
Lewis Carter arrived at UCF with the kind of resume that suggested he could steady a defense, and after the Knights opened the season with a Week 1 win, the senior linebacker looked every bit the part. Carter was active throughout the game, finished with five tackles and helped anchor a unit that needed its veteran presence, building on the strong close he gave UCF last fall after transferring from Oklahoma.
Scott Frost has clearly noticed the jump. The Knights coach praised Carters offseason work and left little doubt about how high the internal expectations now are for the middle of UCFs defense, which is a meaningful development for a team trying to establish itself in a rugged Big 12 race. Carters past production already made him an important piece, but the next stretch will reveal whether he can turn that early praise into the kind of week-to-week impact UCF is now counting on. [Read more 🡒]