UCF’s Secondary Must Communication Issues Before Road Trip

The UCF Knights' secondary had one too many miscommunications in their worst loss of the season to the Baylor Bears last Friday.

Baylor quarterback DJ Lagway threw for 319 yards and four touchdowns, leading his team to a blowout 41-9 win. He trailed a personal-best 333 yards against the Auburn Tigers on Sept. 5 and tied his season-best touchdown total from the Bears' 55-19 win against the Arizona State Sun Devils.

Lagway became the third quarterback to throw for 300-plus yards against the Knights, joining TCU's Jaden Craig and Oklahoma State's Drew Mestemaker. UCF sports a 1-2 record when quarterbacks reach that stat line.

Coach Scott Frost said the secondary made multiple catastrophic mistakes. Defensive coordinator Alex Grinch said not everybody got the signal from the sideline during one instance.

Those miscommunications led to several big-yardage throws from Lagway. Baylor scored on all five drives where the junior completed a pass for over 20 yards.

Lagway launched a 77-yard bomb to wide receiver Gavin Freeman in the third quarter for his third touchdown. UCF's secondary has struggled with big plays this season, but Friday was its worst display.

Grinch led a top-3 pass defense last season, and this degree of regression is shocking. Frost and his staff brought back most of their secondary during January's transfer portal cycle.

Their leadership and experience should have primed them for similar production this season. They took one step forward in generating turnovers and one step backward in defending the passing game.

The Knights allowed 185.1 yards per game, third-best in the conference behind the Utah Utes and Arizona Wildcats. They finished 10th with nine interceptions, tying with Baylor.

UCF is the fifth-worst passing defense, allowing 249.6 yards per game and ranking sixth with seven interceptions.

Grinch's secondary could have an easier matchup on Saturday against the Kansas Jayhawks. Their opponent has the ninth-best passing attack in the Big 12, averaging 244 yards per game.

Jayhawks quarterback Isaiah Marshall has thrown for 1,506 yards, 11 touchdowns and seven interceptions this season. Marshall has thrown for over 300 yards once: 333 yards and two touchdowns against then-No. 12 Utah on Oct. 10.

The miscommunication issues must be solved before going on the road to Kansas. UCF is on a 12-game road losing streak and could be in danger of missing a bowl game for the third straight year.