Despite a 3-0 start to the season, the UCF Knights now find themselves 3-3 on the year, 0-3 in Big 12 Conference play following a 51-22 loss to Kansas over the weekend.
This was perhaps the most dominated UCF has been in a football game in recent history. The Jayhawks scored 31-unanswered points to open up the game, extinguishing any real chance of a Knights comeback on the road. This game was coming on the latter of perhaps UCF's most disappointing loss in recent history, where the Knights blew a 35-7 lead against Baylor and lost 36-35 in their Big 12 home debut.
UCF football is many things heading into the bye week. Injured... Disappointed... Surprised... I would sum it up as lost. This is the first time UCF has lost three consecutive games in a row since the 0-12 season in 2015. 399 rushing yards given up vs Kansas is the most allowed in a game since the 2018 AAC championship game. UCF has been outscored 80-29 in it's last three halves of Big 12 football.
Starting quarterback John Rhys Plumlee remains injured after attempting to play over the weekend. Timmy McClain has filled in the best he can but ultimately the Knights just haven't clicked the same on offense under McClain opposed to JRP.
Defensively this team ranks 87'th in the nation in total defense - allowing an average of 387 yards-per-game to their opponents. 197 of those yards come from the opponents rushing game, ranking 121st of 130 FBS schools.
Dating back to last season, the Knights are 4-6 over their last ten games. Lets look at those wins. A one-score game against a USF team who finished the regular season 1-11, two mid-major conference schools, and a FCS school. Looking at the losses, a home loss to Navy, a loss to Tulane in the AAC Championship, a what could be called non-contest against Duke in the Military Bowl (30-13), and now three losses to begin UCF's tenure in the Big 12.
College football fans had many different opinions of how UCF would perform in their inaugural year in the Big 12. Las Vegas predicted the Knights to win 5.5 games. Fans who predicted the Knights to win six or fewer games were criticized for their lack of confidence. Well, now UCF sits at 3-3 on the year with a full Big 12 schedule to close out the season. Can the Knights turn things around after the bye week and become Bowl Game Eligible? Brandon and Tyler discuss in the podcast below.