FB Continues Road Swing at UCF on Friday Night

WACO, Texas – Baylor football will wrap-up a two-game road swing, traveling to face UCF in Orlando on Friday, with kickoff slated for 6:30 p.m. CT at the Acrisure Bounce House. The game will be televised live on ESPN and broadcast on the Baylor Sports Media Network.

The game will be voiced by Mike Monaco (play-by-play), Jordan Rodgers (analyst) and Dana Boyle (sideline) for ESPN. The game will also be broadcast live on the Baylor Sports Media Network, with the Voice of the Bears, John Morris (play-by-play), Geff Gandy (analyst) and Bryson Jackson (sideline) on the call.

Baylor (4-3, 2-2 Big 12 Conference) will matchup with UCF (4-3, 2-2 Big 12) in a crucial conference clash. The Bears are coming off a pair of setbacks, falling 17-6 vs. TCU before a 25-24 loss at Kansas on Saturday.

Following the loss at Kansas, Baylor Vice President & Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Doug McNamee, relieved seventh-year head coach Dave Aranda of his duties. Baylor has elevated Joe Klanderman to interim head coach for the remainder of the 2026 season. Klanderman built steady and elite defenses at Kansas State since 2019 and has led the BU defense into one of the nation's top units in 2026. Klanderman joined the BU staff after leading K-State to top-30 defensive efficiency ratings in each of his five seasons leading the unit, including top 20 in 2022-23. He previously helped North Dakota State to four straight national titles.

The Bears rank among the nation's leaders in a bevy of defensive categories in 2026, including third in the nation in sacks and fifth in tackles for loss per game. In addition, the Bears rank No. 19 in scoring defense, No. 22 in rushing defense, No. 18 in red-zone defense and No. 24 in passing efficiency defense.

WR Gavin Freeman ranks third in the nation in receptions per game. He has four games of his first seven in a Baylor uniform with over 100 yards receiving, checking in 11th in the NCAA in receiving yards.

The Bears own a 2-1 all-time record vs. UCF, including a historic comeback in 2023 in Orlando. Baylor faced a 35-7 hole in the third quarter and rallied from behind to claim a 36-35 win. Baylor posted a 30-3 win over UCF in 2025 in Waco, using a strong defensive effort.

SCOUTING THE KNIGHTS
• UCF enters the clash with Baylor coming off a thrilling double OT win vs. No. 2 BYU. The Knights posted a 21-13 win over TCU in Orlando on Sept. 26. UCF has had a tough schedule to open league play, falling vs. No. 20 Houston, No. 18 Oklahoma State, before the win over No. 2 BYU. A 12-7 loss at Pitt in non-conference play, combined with wins over Georgia State and a 73-6 rout of Bethune-Cookman spot the Knights to a 4-3 record and a 2-2 mark in league play.
• The Knights are averaging 32.7 points, 370.3 yards of offense, 163.3 rushing and 207 passing yards per game as a team in 2026. Defensively, UCF allows only 23 points per game, with 357.7 yards allowed per game, including 239.7 passing and 118 rushing.
• QB Keyone Jenkins leads the team in passing, throwing for 1,099 yards with 11 TDs and three interceptions. He has also rushed for 76 yards and four scores. RB Duke Watson has a team-high 577 rushing yards with three TDs on 85 carries. WR Josh Derry leads the team with 34 catches for 358 yards and three TDs. Defensively, Tackett Curtis has a club-best 42 tackles.
• UCF is led by Scott Frost, who is in his second year of a second stint in Orlando, also leading the team from 2016-17. He owns a 44-48 record in his career, which also included the 2018-22 seasons at his alma mater, Nebraska. Frost was the OC at Oregon from 2013-15. Frost led the Knights to a 13-0 record and an 8-0 mark in the American Athletic Conference in 2017.
• Known as one of the top defensive minds in college football, Alex Grinch is the DC, after serving as the DC at Wisconsin in 2024, USC in 2022-23 and Oklahoma in 2019-21, Ohio State in 2018 and Washington State in 2015-17. Steve Coopers is the OC, which followed a year as an analyst at Boise State in 2024. Sean Beckton Sr. is the associate head coach.
• Terry Mohajir is the AD at UCF and joined the Knights in 2021 after the 2012-21 seasons as the AD at Arkansas State. He prepped at Kansas (2011-12), FAU (2004-11) and UMKC (1997-04), and was a former assistant coach at Kansas from 1993-97. Mark Ray - who came from Army and Teamworks - and Rich Zvosec - who came from the internal side at Arkansas State - are the Senior Deputy ADs, Chris McFarlane, Mark Wright, Jessie Gardner and Terry Donovan are Deputy ADs.

BEARS TURN TO KLANDERMAN IN INTERIM ROLE
• Baylor has turned to first-year defensive coordinator and safeties coach Joe Klanderman in an interim role following the Kansas loss in Lawrence.
• BU Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics, Doug McNamee made the decision to relieve seventh-year head coach Dave Aranda of his duties following consecutive losses to TCU and Kansas.
• "Anyone who knows Dave Aranda understands what a genuine and honorable person he is and how much he deeply cares for his players, staff and this University," McNamee said. "He is a gifted coach and a brilliant football mind whose leadership brought some of our best Baylor football memories. While this is a difficult moment, we believe a change in leadership is necessary at this time for our program. We will forever be thankful to Dave and his family for their time here at Baylor, and we wish them well."
• Klanderman came over to the Bears following seven years leading the defense at Kansas State. He has paced one of the nation's top defensive units in 2026 in his first year in Waco and brings a championship pedigree as a four-time national champion at North Dakota State.

BEARS ROUT UCF WITH STIFLING DEFENSE IN 2025
• Baylor posted its most complete win of 2025 with a 30-3 Homecoming rout of UCF on Nov. 1 at McLane Stadium. The Bears jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter and used that start to fuel a 20-0 lead just before halftime, with a late fumble allowing UCF to jump on the board at the break. Baylor added to its lead and used the stiff defensive effort to post the win, marking the fewest points allowed to a Big 12 foe since 2006.
• Baylor opened the scoring with consecutive TD drives that saw Michael Trigg and Josh Cameron each connect with Sawyer Robertson on scoring plays. Connor Hawkins added a pair of field goals to complete lengthy drives and the Bears added another Hawkins FG and a Kole Wilson TD grab for the final margin.
• BU thwarted UCF on third and fourth down throughout the game, holding the Knights to 1-of-11 on third down and 0-for-3 on fourth down, while adding stops on 10 of 11 drives and forcing a pair of interceptions. BU held UCF to just 225 yards of total offense, including 74 yards rushing and 151 yards passing. Offensively, BU had 417 yards, including 267 passing. Freshman Caden Knighten had the best game of his career, rushing 21 times for 104 yards. Ashtyn Hawkins hauled in eight balls and Trigg had five catches for 82 yards.

HISTORIC COMEBACK IN ORLANDO IN 2023
• Baylor made history in its road league debut at UCF in the meeting in 2023, rallying from down 35-7 with just under four minutes left in the third quarter to score 29 unanswered points and clip the Knights in a 36-35 win on Sept. 30 in Orlando.
• It marked the largest comeback in Baylor football history, topping a 21-point comeback win in 2014 vs. TCU, in 2011 at Kansas and in 1080 vs. SMU.
• Baylor's 28-point comeback win marked the largest by an FBS school since 2019.
• The last 892 FBS teams, trailing by at least 25 points entering the fourth quarter, lost.
• Baylor's 26-0 fourth quarter at UCF marks the 21st time BU has scored 26 or more in a quarter in program history and it was the highest scoring fourth quarter in program history, eclipsing the previous mark of 24 points vs. Sam Houston in 2012 and TCU in 2014.

FIRST MEETING IN SERIES
• In the first meeting in the series, the Knights posted a 52-42 win over the Bears in the 2013 Fiesta Bowl, with UCF ranked No. 15 and the Bears No. 6. UCF finished the year 12-1 while Baylor sported an 11-2 record.
• UCF took a 35-28 lead midway through the third quarter and scored 24 of the final 38 points to post the high-scoring win. UCF totaled 556 yards of total offense with Baylor going for 550, including 356 through the air. Blake Bortles threw for 301 yards with three TDs and two picks, adding 93 yards rushing, while Bryce Petty was 30-for-47 with two TDs and 356 yards. Storm Johnson had 130 yards rushing and three TDs, with Lache Seastrunk toting it 17 times for 119 yards.

CONNECTING THE TEAMS
• A pair of recent UCF staff additions connect the two teams, including Matt List, the Associate Director of Sports Performance, and Austin Lewis, Assistant AD and Head Football Athletic Trainer. The duo were on the Baylor staff prior to moving to Orlando in similar roles.

SERIES HISTORY
• Baylor leads the series, 2-1, with both of its wins coming after UCF shifted into the Big 12 Conference. The Bears won in 2023, in a historic comeback after trailing 35-7 in the third quarter, and then routed UCF in Waco in 2025 in a dominating defensive effort.
• The first meeting came in the 2013 Fiesta Bowl, a 52-42 win for the Knights in Glendale, Ariz.

KANSAS SNAPS BAYLOR STREAK IN LAWRENCE
• Baylor saw a 14-game winning streak vs. Kansas snapped in a 25-24 loss in Lawrence on Saturday.
• Rhett Armstrong's attempted game-winning field goal with 22 seconds left was blocked, leading Kansas to a 25-24 win over Baylor, on Saturday afternoon at David Booth Memorial Stadium.
• Baylor lined up for the go-ahead field goal from 45 yards out with 22 seconds remaining but for the third time in the game Kansas blocked a BU field-goal attempt, this time coming on a low-lining kick that allowed Kansas to finish off the win. It snapped a 14-game winning streak for Baylor in its series with Kansas and handed the Jayhawks their first win since 2007 vs. Baylor.
• After a 7-7 tie at halftime, the Bears had opened up a 21-10 lead midway through the third quarter only to see the Jayhawks rally with 15 of the final 18 points. After Kansas marched 71 yards on six plays to take a 25-24 lead with 1:18 left in regulation, the Bears took over on their 25-yard line needing to climb into field-goal range to rally back. Sparked by a 34-yard completion from DJ Lagway to Gavin Freeman on first and 20, Baylor marched to the Kansas 27-yard line, working around a pair of costly penalties.
• Armstrong, who had a pair of point after attempts blocked – with each sliding through the uprights – earlier in the game, lined up for the 45-yard, game-winning field goal. Blake Herold rose up and got a hand on the kick, leading Kansas to the 25-24 win.
• Kansas snapped Baylor's streak of six straight games of allowing 20 or less points to open the year by collecting 25 points on 421 yards. The Jayhawks accounted for 209 yards rushing and 212 yards passing. Baylor was held to 358 yards of total offense, featuring 122 rushing and 236 passing.Lagway threw for 236 yards with a TD and an interception on 20-of-31 passing, while adding a team-high 47 yards rushing on a club-best 11 carries. Michael Turner, making his first career start, had nine carries for 40 yards. Freeman had nine catches for 123 yards, while Jayden McGowan – who had a 51-yard kickoff return in the first half to set up BU's first TD – had four catches for 31 yards and a TD.

NEXT UP
• Baylor returns home to host Iowa State in Homecoming at McLane Stadium on Nov. 7.

- BaylorBears.com -

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Rhett Armstrong

Josh Cameron

Gavin Freeman

Ashtyn Hawkins

Connor Hawkins

Caden Knighten

DJ Lagway

Jayden McGowan

Sawyer Robertson

Michael Trigg

Michael Turner

Kole Wilson

Footer