Knights improve to 5-4 in a down-to-the-wire thriller

Photo courtesy of UCF Athletics

UCF escaped an absolute nail-biter on Saturday, winning 33-32 on the road against Kansas at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium.

Unlike the last road outcomes, redshirt senior quarterback Alonza Barnett III capped a game-winning drive with a 6-yard pass to redshirt freshman tight end Caden Piening in the end zone to tie the game at 32 with one second remaining.

“I could try to describe it, but I would come up short,” head coach Scott Frost said postgame. “I feel blessed that we were able to go down and get the play at the end of the game.”

After an extensive review, officials upheld the call, and redshirt senior kicker Will Stone sent the ball between the uprights to secure the winning extra point.

The victory ended a 12-game road losing streak, marking UCF’s first road win since its 35-34 triumph over TCU on Sept. 14, 2024.

As in all the Knights’ (5-4, 3-3 Big 12) road games this season, they looked to hold the advantage for most of the game after building a 26-7 lead in the third quarter. However, 25 unanswered points by the Jayhawks (3-6, 1-5 Big 12) in the second half pushed them ahead 32-26 late in the fourth.

Frost still can’t seem to fully explain the contrast in performances from the first to the second half on the road.

“It’s not a letdown, there’s nothing I’ve asked our kids to do all year long where they don’t try their hardest,” he said. “Maybe it was KU starting figure some things out, maybe we just felt like we had it in the bag and lost just a little bit of focus, I don’t know.”

In Barnett’s first start since UCF’s loss to Pittsburgh on Sept. 12, he finished throwing 18-for-31 for 251 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception.

“The last time I started a game, it ended on a two-minute drive,” he said. “For it to come full circle and for me to be able to finish that two-minute drive upright and healthy, I think that speaks volumes.”

“I’m so happy for him. We recruited him for a reason,” Frost said on Barnett’s impactful return. “We believed he was a really good player, and it showed up when we needed it the most tonight.”

Disaster struck early for the Knights.

On Barnett’s first throw from scrimmage, he was hit as he threw the ball, and it was tipped right into the hands of Kansas linebacker Trey Lathan deep in Knights’ territory.

The Jayhawks struck first off the turnover as Kansas quarterback Isaiah Marshall plowed into the end zone for a 1-yard touchdown run to take an early 7-0 lead.

Stone got the Knights on the board on their ensuing drive with a 37-yard field goal with 6:21 left in the first quarter.

The Knights took their first lead of the game on a 10-yard touchdown run by senior wide receiver Duane Thomas Jr. on 4th-and-1 with 12:03 left in the half. The PAT was missed by Stone, his first in 30 attempts, settling the score at 9-7.

Thomas’ touchdown marked his first since returning from injury and the first rushing touchdown of his UCF career.

The Knights’ defense stayed poised the rest of the first half, holding Kansas scoreless while the offense tallied a 23-yard field goal by Stone with 5:55 left.

As the clock wound down, Stone’s 53-yard field goal attempt fell short and wide left of the goalposts, and UCF entered the locker room with a 12-7 lead.

The Knights’ rushing attack stalled against a stingy Jayhawks defense, with all running backs combining for 22 yards on 15 carries. Barnett led the Knights in the first half with 51 rushing yards on eight attempts.

Junior running back Duke Watson exited the game midway through the first quarter with a lower leg injury; he did not return and was seen with a boot on his right foot on the sideline.

Frost did not have an immediate update on his status.

Besides the early hiccup, the Knights’ defense held it down in the first half, holding Kansas to 61 total yards of offense, including 41 on the ground and 20 through the air.

“That’s an awful way to start a football game,” Frost said on the early turnover. “We missed on a protection, and we basically gave them seven points; they probably wouldn’t have had anything in the first half the way our defense played.”

Coming out of the halftime break, the Knights got off to a better start, with redshirt freshman running back Taevion Swint taking the opening kickoff 43 yards to midfield for the offense to operate.

The offense continued to impose their will on the Jayhawks’ defense with a 1-yard touchdown run by Swint to cap off his return and a 44-yard touchdown pass from Barnett to senior wide receiver Josh Derry.

Stone’s extra point after Derry’s touchdown stamped 26 unanswered points for the Knights with 9:52 left in the third quarter.

Derry, who expressed his frustrations after being tackled at the one-yard line on a 67-yard play in UCF’s 41-9 loss to Baylor, reflected on scoring on a big play.

“It’s just a great connection with my coaches coming to me and understanding my frustration that I can make a play and get in the end zone,” Derry said. “They trusted me, and I made a play.”

Kansas found its first points since the first quarter on a 30-yard touchdown run by Marshall, cutting UCF’s lead down to 26-14. Kansas running backs Khijohnn Cummings-Coleman and Dylan Edwards then scored rushing touchdowns of their own in the fourth quarter. Edwards followed with a successful 2-point conversion.

Those three touchdowns powered a 25-point unanswered sequence for the Jayhawks as they took a 32-26 lead over the Knights with 1:06 left in the contest.

Barnett dialed up a 73-yard game-winning drive, and he found Piening in the end zone, who completed the contested catch. After Stone’s extra point, the Knights etched their fifth win of the season and their first on the road.

As for Piening, he said there was zero doubt the Knights would go out onto the field and execute.

“There was no doubt on the sideline that we weren’t going to go out and win that game,” Piening said. “Offense was hype, everyone was up, and we were all like, ‘we’re going to go win the football game’.”

The Knights finished with 358 total yards of offense. Derry led all receivers with eight receptions for 143 yards and a touchdown.

The defense, meanwhile, allowed 404 total yards of offense from the Jayhawks, 343 of them coming in the second half alone. However, the Knights did record two takeaways.

“We got to be more locked in and not use being tired as an excuse,” fifth-year defensive back Jayden Williams said. “We just got to execute better; coach Grinch emphasizes that all the time, and we just got to be better on our end.”

Marshall completed 21 of 32 passes for 210 yards. Known for his dual-threat ability, he also tallied 125 rush yards with two touchdowns.

The win also puts the Knights one game away from bowl eligibility. For Barnett, one of the team’s captains, UCF has much more to prove.

“I believe we’re better than our record, 5-4; it doesn’t feel too great,” Barnett said. “We still have the pen, we still have a pad, and we still have the rest of the season to write what we want this team’s legacy to be.”

UCF will return home to the Acrisure Bounce as they prepare to host the Arizona State Sun Devils (5-4, 3-3 Big 12) on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.