After a 3-0 start to the season, UCF suffered its first loss, falling 34-20 to Kansas State in its Big 12 opener. The Knights showed flashes of offensive continuity, but failed to string together long drives consistently.
"When you earn first downs, the tide starts to go with you," said UCF Head Coach Scott Frost in Monday's press conference." Frost highlighted his team's big plays for touchdowns, but said that the offense struggled to execute for the entire game. Still, he expressed his upmost confidence in his team, and assured the media that they would bounce back.
"We got a team that can play with hopefully anybody that we play on the schedule," Frost said. "We have to execute well and play fast."
For the Knights, the week leading up to their Big 12 opener against Kansas State was dampened with the news of Offensive Line Coach Shawn Clark's unexpected passing. Clark joined UCF's staff this past offseason.
Clark's handpicked assistant, Alex Farah, and Clark's mentor, Danny Hope, took over the co-offensive line duties for this week's match-up. Frost, along with redshirt junior offensive guard Carter Miller, both praised the tandem for how they have filled in.
"They've done a phenomenal job," Miller said. "He [Hope] is a lot like Coach Clark. Coach Clark learned from him, so it's all the same terminology. He's got the same fieriness, some little phrases that Clark said. So, it's good to have him around."
Hope was brought onto the staff earlier this week.
After originally exiting the game with an apparent shoulder injury, UCF starting quarterback Tayven Jackson returned in the third quarter - a promising sign for UCF fans. After the game, both he and redshirt junior Jacurri Brown, who filled in for Jackson, were diagnosed with AC joint sprains.
Frost says he will have a better grasp of both of their statuses after evaluating them at practice tonight.
Next on the schedule for UCF is Kansas. The evening kick-off will mark UCF's first time hosting a Big 12 night game since entering the conference in 2023. Junior linebacker Lewis Carter told the media that the team is looking forward to coming back home and is preparing for a bounce back.
"Just flush it. Flush the loss. It's a new week, new game, different team," Carter said. "We're back at home. Just attack this week. Prepare every day like it's our last day."
UCF (3-1, 0-1 Big 12) will welcome Kansas to the Bounce House this Saturday, Oct 4, at 7:30 pm.