UCF’s bye week arrives with the Knights in exactly the kind of spot that begs for it.
After a bruising stretch that included back-to-back road losses to ranked opponents, the Knights are 3-3 overall and 1-2 in the Big 12, and the injury list has only made the grind tougher. Five starters have already missed multiple games: quarterback Alonza Barnett III, wide receiver Duane Thomas Jr., offensive linemen Owen Spell and Jacob Maiava, and linebacker Lewis Carter.
“The first thing we need to do is get healthy,” coach Scott Frost said after UCF’s 42-28 loss at No. 18 Oklahoma State on Saturday. “It’s not even just the hurt guys; it’s the other guys that we’ve been leaning on that have been playing more reps.”
That has been the reality of UCF’s season lately. Tackett Curtis said the break should help a roster that has been taking hits all over.
“We’ve got a lot of guys that are dinged up, and having a whole week for those guys to kind of heal up and be ready to go is going to help a lot,” he said.
The Knights started the year with a 73-6 rout of Bethune-Cookman, then ran into a tougher test at Pittsburgh and lost 12-7 on Sept. 12.
They followed that by splitting their next four games: wins over Georgia State, 44-30, and TCU, 21-13, plus losses at then-No. 20 Houston, 27-17, and against Oklahoma State.
“I knew we had a tough stretch to begin the season and we did,” Frost said. “Some of those teams are playing even better than I maybe even expected, but we’ve got six games left, a whole half of a season left and being fresh and ready for those gives us the best chance.”
UCF has now opened 3-3 for the fourth straight season, and the second half hasn’t gone well in those previous years. The Knights were a combined 6-13 after the midpoint in those seasons.
There have been offensive chances left on the table, too. Frost pointed to the Pitt and Houston games in particular.
“We’ve had some plays that we missed on offense,” he said. “We’ve got to cash in on them.
Getting our guys healthy will help. I still think this team can finish the season really strong.”
With Barnett sidelined by a significant hamstring injury suffered against Pittsburgh, Keyone Jenkins has taken over and given UCF steady play. The redshirt senior is 2-2 as a starter, has completed nearly 70% of his passes, and has thrown for 764 yards with seven touchdowns and three interceptions.
There is no timetable for Barnett’s return.
Curtis said getting some of those missing pieces back would make a real difference, especially on defense.
“We have some players that make a big impact that are out right now, especially Lewis Carter being from the linebacker room,” said Curtis, who leads the team with 39 tackles. “He does a great job and having somebody like him on the field really helps us out a lot.”
The schedule after the bye is loaded. UCF returns to host No.
8 BYU on Oct. 24, then Baylor on Oct. 30.
After that comes a road trip to Kansas on Nov. 7, back-to-back home games against Arizona State on Nov. 14 and Iowa State on Nov. 20, and a regular-season finale at Colorado on Nov. 28.
The combined record of those remaining opponents is 19-12, and ESPN Analytics only favors UCF in three of those games: against Arizona State, Iowa State and Colorado.
Still, Frost said the priority now is not squeezing more out of a battered roster during the break. It’s the opposite.
“We’ll gain more on the field by having a fresh team in the second half than we will by grinding them out over the bye week,” he said. “I was in the NFL the one year and when they get a bye week, they say ‘See you in a week,’ and the guys come back ready to go. We’re not going to do that, but the priority for us is making sure we’re fresh, recovered and healthy.”
Jenkins feels the timing works for him, too.
“I’m a little banged up, so I need to get my body back,” Jenkins said. “But other than that, I want to get in the film room with my guys and find out what we can do better. I’ll probably also get in some work with the wide receivers on some timing and those deep balls.”
In Other News...
UCF Just Got A Needed Linebacker Boost Before BYU
UCF finally got a little more depth back in the middle of its defense, and the timing could not be much better with BYU next on the schedule. Fifth-year linebacker Cole Kozlowski had been waiting on the outcome of an eligibility case, and his return gives the Knights a seasoned option at a spot that has been thinned out by injuries.
Kozlowski first got on the field this season against Oklahoma State, and UCF now expects his role to grow as he works back into the rotation. For a linebacker group that has leaned on younger pieces and patchwork availability, simply getting a veteran presence back in the room matters, even before the full version of his impact shows up on Saturdays. [Read more 🡒]
BYU Just Showed UCF What Makes This 2026 Matchup Dangerous
BYUs win over Iowa State offered a useful glimpse at why UCFs 2026 schedule could carry real bite. The Cougars handled one of the AP Top 25 teams on the Knights future slate, and the game also underscored a broader point for anyone scanning ahead: several of UCFs opponents are already showing the kind of form that can turn next season into a week-to-week grind.
Pittsburghs loss to North Carolina snapped a season-opening winning streak, while Houstons win over Kansas State added another reminder that the Knights may have to navigate multiple teams with legitimate momentum. For UCF, the takeaway is less about any single result and more about the mix of styles and confidence waiting down the road, with these recent performances hinting at a schedule that could test the Knights early and often. [Read more 🡒]
Keyone Jenkins Just Raised UCFs Biggest Offensive Question
Keyone Jenkins has been trending up for UCF, and the latest step came in the form of another composed afternoon against Oklahoma State. The Knights starting quarterback completed 30 of 42 passes for 265 yards with one interception, building on the steady progression that has marked his run and adding to a recent stretch that already included a program-record completion percentage in an earlier game.
What has made Jenkins growth so notable is the way UCF has begun shaping the offense around him, leaning into his strengths while asking him to handle more responsibility in the passing game. The staff has already adjusted its play calling to fit what he does best, but the bigger question now is how far that approach can go as the Knights try to keep expanding what he is asked to do. [Read more 🡒]