After trampling Bethune-Cookman, the Knights’ versatile trio faces a suffocating Pittsburgh front. This clash of styles tests whether UCF’s explosive ground game can survive against elite ACC resistance.
The UCF Knights' running back room faces an early-season challenge against a historically great Pittsburgh Panthers run defense, as they attempt to build on their 360-yard rushing performance against Bethune-Cookman last Thursday.
Pittsburgh's run defense has finished in the top half of the ACC for the last several years, placing second last season (95.1 yards allowed per game), third in 2024 (112.8 yards allowed per game) and eighth in 2023 (150.2 yards allowed per game).
The Panthers are a hard counter, taking away what makes the Knights' offense so explosive: their versatility.
Duke Watson can burst through open gaps with his speed, as he showed on Thursday a glimpse of why he led the nation in yards per carry in his freshman campaign at Louisville. He rushed for 110 yards and one touchdown on seven carries, averaging 15.7 yards per carry.
Landen Chambers, the heaviest of the group at 215 pounds, is the power back pushing through the trenches for short yardage. He rushed for two touchdowns and 56 yards on six carries.
Taevion Swint is also a speedster, like Watson, breaking open big runs quickly.
If their impact is mitigated, it puts more pressure on quarterback Alonza Barnett III to carry the offense with precise passes to the receiving corps and extend broken plays with his legs.
UCF's running back group has an even-keeled mentality ahead of their toughest challenge on Saturday, credited to the motto running backs coach Jimmy Beal introduced this season.
"We have a motto going on called 'Just Breathe,' and that's when all the things high on pressure and everything just breathe and relax and go back to your basic training," Chambers said during Monday's media availability.
The loud cheers in the Acrisure Bounce House energized the team last Thursday, and the same loud cheers are now their enemy on the road. Beal's motto helps the running backs block the outside noise and focus on the foundation they built throughout the offseason.
Saturday's game will test the Knights' trio as they try to prove they are one of the nation's best running back units. Watson believes so, and besting a historically great run defense will strengthen their case.
UCF isn't favored to defeat another Power Four program, but the team understands how they're perceived and are focusing on their internal belief.
"We've kind of always been on the back burner, so we believe in us," Chambers said. "So, it really doesn't matter. We believe in us."
A victory puts UCF on track to open the year 3-0 for the third straight season and would be its most impressive non-conference victory since defeating the Auburn Tigers in the 2018 Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.
