The annual Space Game was a disaster for the UCF Knights. Less than a week removed from their biggest win since joining the Big 12, when they knocked off the No. 2 BYU Cougars, the Knights got blown out by the Baylor Bears.
Worse, this was a Baylor team that a week ago had fired its head coach. On top of that, UCF didn’t just lose. They were never competitive with Baylor.
Baylor won 41-9. They had 503 yards of offense to 281 for UCF. The Bears had 7.5 yards per play compared to 4.2 for the Knights. Then, UCF had two turnovers to zero from Baylor. This was in a game when UCF was 2 for 15 on third downs and 0 for 3 on fourth down.
UCF Knights HC Scott Frost Blamed Himself
Following the game, UCF head coach Scott Frost was apologetic toward the fanbase. He also would admit that he failed to prepare his team for the game.
“You know, I don’t know,” Scott Frost said. “I failed them, I guess. The messaging all week was how many teams have been in this situation, and the results of those teams, and how this is a really good team. They’re going to be energized. We’ve got to come out and be better than we were last week to win this football game.”
Certainly, teams have been known to have letdown games before. BYU had one against UCF. Keeping focus is difficult. Still, Frost also wanted to give some credit to Baylor, even if the bigger issues are internal.
“And I do think we played against a really good team. That’s the best front seven I’ve seen that we’ve played. My hat’s off and congratulations to them, but we got whipped tonight,” Frost said.
“And I know the narrative is going to be that we weren’t ready to play. I take that. I don’t know how I could have messaged it any more or more often to the guys. But on top of that, we just got whipped, and my hat’s off to them.”
The Disappointment for UCF
Coming off the win against BYU, it looked like UCF was in a position to get to a double-digit win season. They had to win out, sure, but after beating BYU, they looked like the better team in each of their remaining games.
“Yeah, I think that’s why I wasn’t over the moon last week after the game,” Frost said. “I was happy. I was grateful for the win. We probably punched a little above our weight last week to get that done. We probably punched below our weight a little this game. That team might be better than us. I don’t think they’re that many points better than us.”
What’s still on the table is going to a bowl game. That would be a major win for a UCF team that hasn’t done that since 2023. However, the schedule seems much more difficult now, starting with the Kansas Jayhawks next week.
“Like I said, this game will reward you and this game will humble you. I don’t think we played our best game, but that’s not taking away from them. They whipped us tonight,” Frost said.
UCF HC Scott Frost Admits He Failed Prepping for Baylor, After BYU Win