UCF Knights Had One Impressive Glaring Stat In Win Against Kansas

The UCF Knights finally got over the penalty hump in their thriller road win over the Kansas Jayhawks last Saturday.

UCF recorded zero penalties for the first time since November 2007 against the Marshall Thundering Herd. The team needed every yard in its game-winning drive led by quarterback Alonza Barnett III.

Any negative yardage from a penalty likely would've killed a potential scoring drive and extended the Knights' road game losing skid to 13.

Offensive lineman Preston Cushman acknowledged that it's difficult to finish with no penalties. He said referees can sometimes search for small slips up to throw a flag.

Cushman said last Saturday's zero-penalty outing was a testament to their attention to detail. The Knights emphasized their improved communication throughout spring and fall camp, with 61% of last season's production returning.

Coach Scott Frost's decision to bring back veterans paid off in a moment like that. Hitting the nail on the head about effective communication, blocking out the opposing fans' noise paid off away from the Acrisure Bounce House.

It's poetic that UCF overcame two of its biggest issues in one game: penalties and road losses. Winning over Kansas arguably changes the season's trajectory, but three games remain.

Penalties played a key role in Week 2's loss to the Pittsburgh Panthers, where sophomore wide receiver Waden Charles felt the team beat themselves.

Two of UCF's eight penalties pushed the team back from a short first down, and it could not regain the lost yardage.

A holding penalty on a rush attempt from running back Duke Watson in the first drive pushed the Knights from 2nd-and-6 to 2nd-and-16. Barnett completed two passes for a combined seven yards, ending a six-play drive.

An illegal shift in the mid-second quarter, arguably the worst penalty, pushed UCF deeper into its own end zone. Coach Scott Frost called a play action; running back Taevion Swint slipped on the fake, and Pittsburgh's defense forced Barnett into an intentional grounding flag, resulting in a safety.

It was the first safety since 2020, against the Tulsa Golden Hurricanes in October.

The Knights are coming off their second-most impressive win of the season, only trailing the historic upset over the then-No. 2 BYU Cougars. They have to keep their momentum rolling and can't afford a sluggish performance against the Arizona State Sun Devils on Saturday.

UCF had its worst loss of the season against the Baylor Bears following its upset over BYU.