ORLANDO — UCF will inevitably fall short of its primary goal for the 2026 football season. Losing three conference games before November knocked the Knights out of the running for a Big 12 championship.
However, there is still plenty for the team to achieve in the home stretch — starting with bowl eligibility for the first time since 2023. It will have a chance to clinch that feat starting Saturday afternoon.
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UCF (5-4, 3-3 Big 12), which snapped its 12-game road losing streak with a last-second touchdown pass to upend Kansas 33-32, returns to the Acrisure Bounce House to face Arizona State (5-4, 3-3) at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN2.
Alonza Barnett III, who tossed the game-tying, 6-yard score to tight end Caden Piening and set up Will Stone’s decisive PAT just before the buzzer, said the Knights can rework the narrative with a strong close.
LAWRENCE, KANSAS – NOVEMBER 07: Quarterback Alonza Barnett III #14 of the UCF Knights passes against defensive end Leroy Harris III #33 of the Kansas Jayhawks at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium on November 07, 2026 in Lawrence, Kansas. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images)
“I believe we’re better than our record — 5-4. it doesn’t feel too great, but we still have a pen and we still have a pad,” Barnett said. “We still have the rest of the season to write what we want this team’s legacy to be.”
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Knights coach Scott Frost, on the other hand, rebuffed the idea of looking at the bigger picture.
“We’re focused on this week. Our players better be focused on this week,” Frost said during his Nov. 9 press conference. “If we win this week, we get to six, and we can talk about (a bowl game) then.”
UCF followed its last emotional release, a landmark 39-31 double-overtime triumph over then-No. 2 BYU, with a resounding thud. Baylor walloped the Knights 41-9 five days after parting ways with its head coach, Dave Aranda.
Arizona State quarterback Jake Fette (2) celebrates a touchdown pass against Colorado during a game at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe, on Nov. 7, 2026.
Arizona State has not strung together consecutive wins yet this fall, but poses enough of a threat to keep the Knights honest and humble about the upcoming assignment. Kenny Dillingham’s squad has a 1-3 record on the road, though its lone win occurred in a neutral-site trip to London — defeating Kansas 24-17 at Wembley Stadium.
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Freshman quarterback Jake Fette threw a touchdown and caught another in last weekend’s 20-10 win over Colorado. The Sun Devils have held each of their last three opponents under the 100-yard rushing mark, led by linebacker Owen Long (career-high 17 tackles vs. Colorado) and defensive end Albert Smith III (three sacks vs. Colorado).
“Arizona State’s a really good team; they’ve been in every game except one, similar to us,” Frost said. “I think they’ve settled in on their quarterback. They’ve done a really good job against the run, particularly lately.
“There’s definitely no time to take a breath now. We need to double down on effort and intensity. I’ll be really disappointed in all of us if we don’t play really hard and well on Saturday.”
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: UCF football reshapes narrative with bowl eligibility in sight
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
