TCU opens Big 12 play at UCF behind red-hot quarterback Jaden Craig, while the Knights counter with a dangerous rushing attack and backup QB Keyone Jenkins.
TCU’s Big 12 season begins Saturday in Orlando, and the Horned Frogs will face a UCF team that looks very different depending on which side of the ball has control.
TCU enters the matchup 2-1 after consecutive wins over Grambling State and Arkansas State. The Horned Frogs have scored 94 points in those two victories, with Harvard transfer Jaden Craig emerging as one of the Big 12’s most productive quarterbacks.
Craig leads the conference with 903 passing yards through three games and has posted back-to-back 300-yard performances.
He threw for 337 yards and three touchdowns in last week’s 31-7 win over Arkansas State, while receiver Ed Small broke out with seven catches for 164 yards and a touchdown.
“We’re nowhere where we need to be,” TCU coach Sonny Dykes said. “And I’m confident we’re nowhere near where we’re gonna be.”
That offense now faces a UCF secondary that has already produced four interceptions and is allowing just 189.3 passing yards per game.
The bigger challenge for TCU’s defense may come on the ground.
UCF is averaging 228 rushing yards per game, led by Louisville transfer Duke Watson. Watson erupted for 177 yards and two touchdowns in last week’s 44-30 win over Georgia State, including a 63-yard touchdown run on the first play of the second half.
Quarterback is where the Knights have uncertainty.
Starter Alonza Barnett III remains sidelined with a hamstring injury, leaving FIU transfer Keyone Jenkins in line to make another start.
Jenkins completed 7 of 17 passes for 86 yards last week, but he also rushed for two touchdowns.
“Keyone came in and did a good job,” UCF coach Scott Frost said. “All you can do is figure them out. You don’t have another option.”
TCU’s defense has quietly been excellent, allowing just 29 total points through three games, its best three-game start defensively since 2014.
Saturday also carries some revenge value. UCF won the only previous meeting between the schools, rallying from a 21-point deficit to beat TCU 35-34 in 2024.
Now the Frogs get their first trip to the Bounce House with a chance to start Big 12 play by taking back one they let slip away two years ago.
