Written by Sam Foth.
Coming out of the bye week, UCF traveled to McLane Stadium to play against the Baylor Bears, where the Knights struggled on both sides of the ball in the 30-3 loss, bringing their road game losing streak up to seven.
The first quarter was all Sawyer Robertson and the Bears as Robertson passed for two touchdowns, bringing the Bears up 14-0 with UCF’s two possessions resulting in a punt and turnover on downs.
In the second quarter, the Bears came back down to reality, scoring two field goals and missing another. UCF continued to struggle offensively after three possessions, resulting in two points and a turnover on downs.
To end the half, the Knights recovered a Sawyer Robertson fumble forced by Malachi Lawrence, then used the great field position to kick a field goal as time expired.
Going into the half, Baylor was up 20-3 and racked up more than double the amount of offensive yards that UCF gained. During the first half, UCF did not convert a single third down, going 0-5 on third down conversions.
Coming out of the half, UCF received the ball but still could not find any spark. UCF only totaled 32 yards in the third quarter and missed a field goal that would’ve brought the score within 14 points. The defense allowed only a field goal in the quarter, bringing the lead to 23-3 going into the fourth quarter.
To start the fourth quarter, the referees reversed a completed pass that would’ve converted a Baylor fourth down, so UCF had the ball to start the final 15 minutes. Even after driving the ball down to inside the red zone, the Knights couldn’t convert a fourth down, giving the ball back to the Bears.
UCF finally got the Bears to punt the ball back to them after three quarters with no punts, but after a Tayven Jackson interception, Baylor had the ball within the 10-yard line and scored a touchdown to bring the score up 30-3. With Tayven Jackson throwing another interception and Baylor draining down the clock, UCF would officially fall to Baylor with the final score of 30-3.
Tayven Jackson was 18-33 in the air with 151 yards and 2 interceptions. Duane Thomas Jr. was the leading receiver for UCF with 77 yards on 8 receptions. Myles Montgomery was UCF’s top runner with 50 rushing yards on 12 carries.
The UCF Knights move to 1-4 in Big 12 play, and 4-4 overall. The UCF ‘Nauts come back to the Acrisure Bounce House next week on Friday, November 7th, to play the 7-2 Houston Cougars in UCF’s annual space game, where they look to stay undefeated in Space Games.
