UCF opened its 20th season at the Bounce House on a Thursday night and set a program record for margin of victory, beating Bethune-Cookman 73-6 under the new Roth Tower. Six different Knights ran for touchdowns, Alonza Barnett III accounted for two scores in his first start, and Jayden Williams returned an interception for a touchdown 20 seconds after the opening drive. The rest of the schedule is harder: a trip to Pitt, seven home games, two Friday nights on national TV, and a Big 12 slate that ends in Boulder.
Scott Frost is in his second season back in Orlando, and Thursday was his 25th win as UCF’s head coach. The lone bye is Oct. 17, sandwiched between road trips to Houston and Oklahoma State and the Homecoming date with BYU.
Games That Will Define the Knights’ Season
| Sept 12 at Pittsburgh | The only Power Four nonconference game, on ESPN2 against a Pitt team that went 8-5 last year and returns a quarterback who won five straight down the stretch. The first real read on how much better Frost’s second team is. |
| Oct 24 vs BYU | Homecoming against a preseason top 15 team that played in the 2025 Big 12 title game. BYU plays nine straight weeks after an early bye, and this is the middle of that run. |
| Oct 30 vs Baylor | The 10th Space Game, a Friday night on ESPN. UCF’s last Space Game on ESPN was the 45-3 rout of No. 15 Oklahoma State in 2023. Baylor comes in one week after its bye. |
| Nov 20 vs Iowa State | Senior Knight on a Friday on FS1, and the Cyclones’ first ever visit to the Bounce House. It is the last home game before the season ends in Boulder. |
How the Schedule Sets Up
Three of the first four are at home, with Pitt the exception. The Big 12 opener against TCU leads into back to back road trips at Houston and Oklahoma State, and then the bye. The stretch after the break is the season: BYU, Baylor and Arizona State at home around a trip to Kansas, then Iowa State on Senior Knight and the Black Friday weekend finale at Colorado.
For the other side of several of these dates, see our Baylor schedule, BYU schedule and Pitt schedule. The official schedule and ticket details are on UCFKnights.com.
The Bottom Line
Seven home games, a 1-0 start with a record margin, two Friday night national windows, and an October bye placed right before the toughest home stretch. Frost’s second season back has a new quarterback in Barnett and a deep backfield. Bookmark this page; results and kickoff times are updated throughout the season.