The UCF Knights pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the season on Saturday, knocking off the No. 2 BYU Cougars. They were able to pull that off behind a much more consistent offensive performance throughout the game, which wouldn’t be denied once overtime came.
Since then, UCF head coach Scott Frost shared a little insight into the game. He didn’t do much playcalling on offense, instead leaving it to offensive coordinator Steve Cooper.
“Yes, Steve did the majority of it Saturday,” Scott Frost said. “He and I are kind of this one unit, and there’s always a collaboration. He did the majority of it Saturday and did an unbelievable job.”
That’s a pretty notable change for Frost. He’s long since held onto playcalling on the offensive side of the ball, but if the results are there stepping back, it makes sense to do so.
What This Means for Scott Frost, UCF Knights
Just because Scott Frost gave up playcalling against BYU doesn’t mean he’s given it up calling plays for good at UCF. That’s something that’s subject to change.
“I think it’s week by week. We kind of did it this way last week, knowing there’s a short week this week and having to get a jump start on Baylor. We planned the game well, so we’ll continue to talk about that week by week,” Frost said.
“The whole staff — McKenzie gives us plays during the week and suggestions, and Beck and Bass and AJ — so it’s really a collaboration. That’s why I complimented our staff so much after the game.”
Reading between the lines, it sounds like Frost will have a bit more influence this week than he did against BYU. At the same time, it’s hard not to admit how well the plan worked on Saturday.
What’s Next for UCF?
Next up for UCF is the annual Space Game. They’re looking to bounce back in year 10 of the Space Game, having lost it for the first time ever in 2025.
The Knights will need to do so on a short week, with the game scheduled for Friday, October 30th at 7:30 p.m. EST. That’s when the Baylor Bears, with an interim head coach, are coming to Orlando.
The Baylor game is one of five Big 12 games that UCF still has on the schedule. The good news is that they’re all very winnable. That’s particularly true for a battle-tested UCF team that has played multiple Top 25 teams on the road, and played them tight, before finally getting the massive win against BYU.
At 4-3 on the season and 2-2 in Big 12 play, it would take a lot of chaos to get back into the conference title race. That isn’t out of the question. More realistic, though, is that UCF is two wins away from bowl eligibility. They haven’t managed that since 2023.
On top of that, if UCF wins out, they’ll wrap up the regular season at 9-3. That would be their most wins since being in the American Athletic Conference. Add a bowl win, and UCF could have its first double-digit win season since 2019, under Josh Heupel.
UCF HC Scott Frost Gave Up Playcalling for BYU, What it Means Moving Forward