No. 11 BYU (7-0, 4-0 Big 12) at UCF (3-4, 1-3 Big 12)
- Kickoff: Saturday, 1:30 p.m. MDT
- Venue: FBC Mortgage Stadium (Capacity: 45,301)
- TV: ESPN
- Livestream: https://www.espn.com/watch
- Radio: KSL 1160 AM/102.7 FM/BYU Radio Sirius XM 143
- Series: BYU leads, 2-1
- Weather: Partly cloudy skies expected, with highs reaching the mid-80s. Winds out of the northeast with gusts up to 10 mph. There is less than a 10% chance of rain, but with 63% humidity.
The trends
For BYU: The Cougars are off to a 7-0 start for the fifth time in program history, and second time under head coach Kalani Sitake, who was hired in 2016. BYU started 9-0 in 2020, led by now-NFL quarterback Zach Wilson. The Cougars are one of 10 remaining unbeaten FBS teams.
The Cougars are playing in Florida for the first time since opening the 2022 season with a 50-21 win over South Florida. Before that, they downed UCF 49-17 in the 2020 Boca Raton Bowl. But the Cougars are 2-8 in the state of Florida, and were defeated 34-27 by UCF in 2014 in the Sunshine State.
For Central Florida: They have lost four straight games, after opening the 2024 season with three straight wins. They led No. 9 Iowa State late in the fourth quarter last Saturday, but stumbled down the stretch and lost 38-35 to the Cyclones. That was the same score by which BYU beat Oklahoma State on Friday in Provo.
UCF head coach Gus Malzahn was the assistant head coach and co-offensive coordinator for Tulsa when the Golden Hurricane upset BYU 55-47 in a shootout in Oklahoma. The teams combined for 1,289 yards in that wild affair. Another high-scoring game is expected Saturday at the what UCF fans call the “Bounce House” in Orlando.
What to watch for
The Cougars have spent much of the week working on their rush defense, which was riddled for more than 250 yards by an Oklahoma State offense that had struggled to run the football in its previous six games. The Pokes were coming off a bye and were able to surprise BYU with some different formations and plays.
BYU will be without starting WR Kody Epps and starting OL Connor Pay, but are healthy at the running back position. The Cougars are expected to use sophomore RB LJ Martin as much, if not more, than they have in the games in which the Texan has been available.
The Knights have one of the top offenses in the country, and are averaging 465.6 yards per game, which ranks 14th nationally and first in the Big 12. UCF relies on a bruising ground attack to get the job done, and has rushed for 1,962 yards and 19 touchdowns through seven games this season. They are third in the nation with 280.3 rushing yards per game and the only team in the nation that has rushed for at least 140 yards in 19 of their last 20 games.
UCF has recorded 63 rushing plays of at least 10 yards, and are led by RJ Harvey, a Doak Walker Award candidate. Harvey’s 11 rushing touchdowns are the most in the Big 12 and eighth nationally.
Key player
Isaiah Glasker, Sophomore, Linebacker, BYU: Let’s change it up a bit and go with a defensive player who will be tasked with slowing down the powerful UCF rushing attack, and perhaps spying a bit on the Knights’ nifty quarterback, Jacurri Brown.
BYU’s defense has been susceptible to quarterbacks who can run the ball effectively, and the Miami transfer fits that description well. If the Cougars can’t recover from last week’s subpar performance on defense and limit what Brown and RJ Harvey do, it could be a long day in the heat and humidity of central Florida for the visitors.
Quotable
“We gotta stay humble, stay hungry. A lot of good things are happening for our program, but we gotta keep working and this week is no different than any other week. We gotta find ways to get better and stay humble and find ways to improve. That is going to be the key for us.” — BYU coach Kalani Sitake
“We are playing BYU, another top 10, 11 team in the country. You look at them on film, they looked the part, their defense, they do a lot of different things. They’re pretty exotic, even, odd (fronts). Their two defensive ends are really, really good. Secondary is very opportunistic. Then offensively, they’re one of the better offenses in our league.” — UCF coach Gus Malzahn
Next up
- BYU: at Utah on Nov. 9
- UCF: vs. Arizona on Nov. 2
BYU schedule
- Aug. 31 — Defeated Southern Illinois, 41-13
- Sept. 6 — Defeated SMU, 18-15
- Sept. 14 — Defeated Wyoming, 34-14
- Sept. 21 — Defeated Kansas State, 38-9
- Sept. 28 — Defeated Baylor, 34-28
- Oct. 5 — Bye
- Oct. 12 — Defeated Arizona, 41-19
- Oct. 18 — Defeated Oklahoma State, 38-35
- Oct. 26 — at Central Florida
- Nov. 2 — Bye
- Nov. 9 — at Utah
- Nov. 16 — Kansas
- Nov. 23 — at Arizona State
- Nov. 30 — Houston