UCF will spend the 2026 season looking up at a handful of ranked teams, and three of them show up on the Knights’ own schedule. The AP Preseason Top 25 dropped with four Big 12 teams inside the poll, and UCF is not among them, but the road ahead still includes a few heavyweight tests.
The first ranked opponent waiting for the Knights is Houston, which checks in at No. 23.
UCF heads to TDECU Stadium on Saturday, October 3 for that game, the fifth contest on its 2026 slate. It also marks Houston’s highest preseason AP ranking since the Cougars were slotted 15th before the 2016 season.
A week later, Oklahoma State comes into the picture. The Cowboys, now led by new head coach Eric Morris, host UCF on Saturday, October 10. Oklahoma State did not crack the top 25, but it did collect eight points in the poll, while UCF picked up eight points of its own.
The biggest ranked matchup on the schedule lands on Saturday, October 24, when BYU visits Orlando for the Knights’ homecoming game. The Cougars start the year at No. 14, making them UCF’s highest-ranked opponent of the season. BYU has now landed in the Preseason AP Top 25 for the 13th time in the modern era of the poll, and its No. 14 spot is the second-highest preseason ranking in program history.
Pittsburgh, another UCF opponent, also drew some attention in the poll. The Panthers, who meet the Knights in the second game of the season on Saturday, September 12, received seven points.
UCF opens the 2026 season on Thursday, September 3 against Bethune-Cookman in Orlando. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
At the top of the AP poll, Ohio State opens No. 1 with 1672 points, followed by Oregon, Georgia, Notre Dame and Texas. The full top 25 also includes Indiana, Miami (FL), Texas A&M, Ole Miss, Oklahoma, LSU, Texas Tech, Alabama, BYU, USC, Michigan, Washington, Penn State, SMU, Tennessee, Utah, Iowa, Houston, Louisville and Missouri.
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