UCF Football Schedule 2026: Full Knights Slate, Dates, TV, and Key Games

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All times Eastern. Remaining Big 12 kickoff times and networks are announced on 12 day or six day notice. Rankings shown are the preseason AP/Coaches polls. The Big 12 Championship Game is Friday, Dec 4 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.

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.
Record Night to Open
The 67 point margin over Bethune-Cookman is the largest in program history, and 73 points tied the school record set against Austin Peay in 2017. UCF has now won 11 straight season openers and 12 straight Thursday games.
Two Friday Nights
The Space Game against Baylor (ESPN) and Senior Knight against Iowa State (FS1) both moved to Friday, giving UCF two exclusive national windows in its last four home games.
Roth Tower Debut
The opener was the first game under the new Roth Tower on the west side of the Bounce House, in the stadium’s 20th season.

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.