The UCF Knights beat the #2 ranked BYU Cougars in a dramatic upset that resulted in the Knights’ highest win against a ranked opponent in program history. The Knights came in as 7.5 point underdogs, and students rushed the field in excitement.
The match began with a quick three and out by the Knights, to which the Cougars responded quickly with a drive that was capped off with a 27 yard touchdown pass from quarterback Bear Bachmeier to wide receiver Kyler Kasper.
The second quarter started off with runningback Landen Chambers rushing 2 yards to get the Knights back in the game at 7-7, with a successful extra point from kicker Will Stone. Stone also kicked a successful field goal roughly five minutes later, bringing UCF to the lead at 7-10.
After a series of multiple 20 yard passes from Cougars quarterback Bachmeier that resulted in a BYU touchdown with BYU in the lead at 14-10, linebacker Tackett Curtis then intercepted a 20 yard pass from BYU Bachmeier. The Knights then led a 1:18 long drive after the interception that converted to a touchdown before the half, with UCF going into the second half leading 14-17. This was the 4th time in 7 games that UCF led going into the second half this season.
The third quarter saw both sides take a touchdown each. The Cougars’ runningback Sione Moa rushed for a 1 yard touchdown, and Jenkins responded with a 1 yard touchdown run, a few minutes after completing a 56 yard pass to wide receiver Tyren Hornes. The score was 21-24 with UCF in the lead, going into the fourth quarter.
BYU equalized with a field goal in the fourth quarter to make the match tied at 24-24. With 0:19 left in the fourth quarter, Jenkins appeared to fumble the ball, to which BYU recovered the fumble. The referee reversed this decision, since Jenkins’ arm appeared to be in a forward motion and called the play an incomplete pass.
UCF then attempted a field goal with 0:11 left in the fourth, to which the attempt was blocked by the BYU defense.
However, UCF kicker Will Stone’s helmet came off in the process of recovering the missed field goal. The referee noted that since the kicker lost their helmet, a ten second runoff would need to be played out. Since UCF did not have any timeouts remaining to stop the runoff, and there were only two seconds left in the fourth quarter, regulation ended.
The game went to its first overtime, in which both teams scored and moved on to double overtime. A 28 yard pass for Bachmeier to wide receiver Legend Glasker helped put the Cougars ahead 31-24. UCF instantly responds with Keyone Jenkins throwing a 25 yard pass to wide receiver Josh Derry to tie it up at 31-31 after first overtime.
UCF started with the ball in double overtime, where they kicked a field goal to put them up 31-34.
Then, the referee called a roughing the kicker penalty, which meant that UCF could accept the penalty and gain a first down instead of accepting the three points. The score reset to 31-31. Jenkins then threw a successful pass to tight end Grayson Brousseau, followed by a two point conversion to bring the Knights to 31-39 in double overtime.
With possession now in the hands of the Cougars, quarterback Bachemeier threw an incomplete pass on 4th down, giving the Knights the victory.
This match showed an impressive fight by the Knights, as the first win against an AP top 5 opponent in UCF history. Quarterback Keyone Jenkins recorded 3 touchdowns and 293 yards on a 61% completion rate. Wide receiver Tyren Hornes recorded 137 yards and 6 receptions, and running back Duke Watson achieved 94 rushing yards on 15 carries.
This game serves as an important achievement for UCF to carry on for the rest of the season and program history. After beating the second highest ranked team in the nation, the Knights look forward to their 10th Annual Space Game, where they play against DJ Lagway and the Baylor Bears on Friday, October 30th at 7:30PM.
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