The Space Game lights were flashing, the drone show was doing its thing, and UCF still never found its footing Friday night.
Instead of a spark, the Knights got a 41-9 beatdown from Baylor at Acrisure Bounce House Stadium, a flat performance that looked nothing like the surge they showed a week earlier in a 39-31 double-overtime upset of No. 2 BYU.
The result left UCF at 4-4 overall and 2-3 in the Big 12, and it marked back-to-back Space Game losses for the first time since the tradition began in 2017. Houston beat UCF 30-27 in last season’s edition.
Baylor, meanwhile, improved to 5-3 and 3-2 in league play, snapping a two-game skid and giving interim coach Joe Klanderman his first win since taking over after Dave Aranda was fired on Sunday.
UCF hoped the return of quarterback Alonza Barnett III might help jolt the offense, but the Knights never got rolling and finished with a season-low point total.
The game started with defenses setting the tone. Both teams opened with punts, and Baylor’s next possession appeared to stall after it marched to the UCF 24 before quarterback DJ Lagway failed to convert a fourth-and-1.
But UCF couldn’t take advantage. Two plays later, Keyone Jenkins scrambled left trying to find Waden Charles and instead threw into the hands of Baylor cornerback Devon Jordan for his fourth interception of the season.
Baylor wasted no time making that turnover hurt. Lagway completed four passes on an eight-play march that ended with a 4-yard touchdown to tight end Tony Livingston, the quarterback’s 10th TD pass of the year and a quick 7-0 Baylor lead.
UCF’s offense was stuck in neutral in the first quarter, logging just six yards on eight plays across three drives. The defense did manage a stop when linebacker Tackett Curtis got to Lagway on third-and-5, forcing a punt.
The Bears kept chipping away in the second quarter. Caden Knighton punched in a 2-yard touchdown run to make it 14-0, his third rushing score of the season.
UCF finally put together its best drive of the half, moving 54 yards to the Baylor 21, but the Knights couldn’t cash in on third-and-12 and settled for Matt Stone’s 39-yard field goal with 3:24 left before halftime.
Baylor answered fast. Lagway hit Jadon Porter on a 53-yard strike to the UCF 32, and though the Bears later came up short on another third-and-12, Rhett Armstrong drilled a 45-yard field goal for a 17-3 cushion with 1:44 left in the half.
The Knights went nowhere on their next series and punted with 1:28 remaining. Baylor then moved back into scoring range after a 32-yard completion to Jayden McGowan and a roughing-the-passer penalty, then overcame a delay-of-game flag. Armstrong finished that drive with a 29-yard field goal, stretching the lead to 20-3.
UCF did salvage a little momentum just before the break when Stone nailed a 57-yard field goal, the longest in school history, to trim the margin to 20-6.
The second half brought more trouble. UCF couldn’t convert a third-and-21 early in the third quarter, and Jenkins went down with what appeared to be a lower-leg injury. Medical staff attended to him, helped him off the field, and took him to the medical tent.
Barnett III entered with 9:58 left in the third quarter. He had missed the previous five games while recovering from a hamstring injury.
His first throw went to Charles for 5 yards, but Baylor hit him with a sack on the next play, and his following pass fell incomplete. That sequence led to Atticus Bertram’s sixth punt of the night.
Baylor then delivered the knockout blow. Lagway connected with Gavin Freeman, who sprinted 77 yards for a touchdown - the Bears’ longest pass play of the season - and pushed the score to 34-6.
UCF’s biggest offensive burst came on Barnett’s throw to Josh Derry, who raced 67 yards to the Baylor 8 for the Knights’ longest play from scrimmage this season. But after Baylor added its fifth sack of the night, Stone’s 35-yard field goal was all UCF could manage.
The Knights head back on the road next week to face Kansas on Saturday. The Big 12 has placed the matchup on a six-day hold, so kickoff time and television network will be finalized Sunday.
In Other News...
UCFs Space Game Collapse Exposed A Problem Fans Cant Ignore
Scott Frost had little choice but to own the moment after UCFs Space Game turned into a lopsided 41-9 loss to Baylor, and the Knights coach did exactly that in apologizing to fans afterward. The night was supposed to be one of the programs showcase events, but instead it laid bare how much the offense struggled, especially on the ground and in protecting the quarterback, leaving the Knights chasing answers after a flat outing.
The bigger concern was the toll the game took on the offense, with the line unable to keep things clean long enough to settle in. Even in a rough night, there was one bright spot for UCF, as Will Stone provided a rare highlight by drilling a 57-yard field goal to set a program record, a reminder that not everything about the evening went sideways even if the final score said plenty. [Read more 🡒]
Baylor Showed Fans Exactly Why This Team Feels Different
Dave Arandas first game as Baylors head coach gave fans an immediate look at why this team can feel different, and it started with a level of balance that had been missing too often in recent seasons. DJ Lagway was sharp from the opening stretch, completing 16 passes for 319 yards and four touchdowns without an interception, while the offense as a whole looked more coordinated across multiple position groups than UCF had seen from Baylor in a long time.
The defensive side matched it with the kind of disruption that changes a game before it ever settles in. Baylors front got into the backfield repeatedly, and UCF never found much room to breathe on the ground, a combination that made the Knights chase the game from early on. For a program trying to reset its identity under a new coach, this was the sort of complete performance that can make a first impression linger. [Read more 🡒]