LUBBOCK, Texas — UCF allowed three early touchdowns Saturday, falling behind 21-0 before eventually losing at No. 6 Texas Tech 48-9.
Here are five key takeaways from UCF’s loss.
Quarterback room is getting bare
Tayven Jackson started his eighth game on Saturday, but the redshirt junior quarterback found himself sharing duties with backup Davi Belfort. While Jackson took most of the snaps against Texas Tech, Belfort did play a few series in the first half.
UCF was without backup quarterback Cam Fancher and Jacurri Brown, who were listed as out on the weekly player availability reports. Fancher has been dealing with a broken rib he suffered against Cincinnati on Oct. 11 while Brown has been out of action while recovering from a strained AC joint he sustained at Kansas State on Sept. 27.
When asked whether he thought Fancher or Brown could be back anytime soon, coach Scott Frost painted a bleak picture.
“No, I think they’re both going to be unavailable. We’re going to get through with what we had today,” he said.
Jackson missed time this season while recovering from a strained AC joint and was also hobbled by a hamstring injury during the Knights’ 30-27 loss to Houston on Nov. 7.
He finished 27 of 33 for 178 yards with one touchdown and one interception against Texas Tech but was sacked four times.
Belfort, meanwhile, didn’t attempt a pass and rushed for 4 yards on 2 carries. He didn’t take any snaps in the second half. That was by design, according to Frost.
“Davi deserves a chance to play,” he said. “We’re down two quarterbacks and we’re trying to finish the season with a quarterback ready to play. We put Davi in but I didn’t want to play him a whole game either for fear of him getting beat around.”
Injuries have left Knights depleted at several positions
UCF had a season-high 15 players listed on its player availability report heading into its game with Texas Tech, including 10 players who were listed as OUT. Two of those were offensive linemen: center Carter Miller and right guard Keegan Smith, both of whom were starters.
Cam Kinnie and Connor Meadows stepped in during their absence.
“We’re just out of guys,” Frost said. “We’re out of depth. I was excited to see Kinnie going in there, and Connor Meadows deserves some playing time. I feel good about Gaard Memmelaar going in there.”
Added Kinnie: “I miss my guys, but it’s next-man mentality. Carter and Keegan have been instrumental in the mental aspect of the game. They share what they see. They share the things that they’ve been taught.”
Agyeman Addae steps up in backfield
Freshman running back Agyeman Addae stepped up in the absence of injured starter Myles Montgomery, who missed his first game of the season while dealing with a shoulder injury he suffered in the loss to Houston.
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Addae finished with a season-high 30 yards on 4 carries, finishing second behind Jaden Nixon’s 32 yards on 15 carries.
“It’s just been that kind of year,” said Frost. “I felt good in spring [camp] watching Taevion Swint, Stacy Gage, Myles Montgomery, Jaden Nixon, and Agyeman was our fifth option. Now he’s our second. He has a couple of good runs. He’s inexperienced right now, but he’s got ability.”
“It’s unfortunate where we are. The one positive is we’re getting some young guys some plays to evaluate them and get them some experience.”
Addae has 12 carries for 50 yards this season.
Frost wasn’t able to confirm whether Montgomery would be available for next week’s game against Oklahoma State.
“Myles is doing everything he can to get back, and that’s the type of character kid that he is,” he said.
Fast start sets defense back
Texas Tech scored 14 points in less than six minutes to start the game, putting UCF in a hole from which the Knights could not emerge.
UCF’s defense allowed season-highs in points (48) and total yards (499) to the Red Raiders.
“The one thing I was disappointed about and I told the guys at halftime is that there were a couple of plays where we had somebody stopped, and I didn’t see hats flying to the ball,” Frost said. “They’ve got to push for a little bit. That’s effort. That’s on me as a coach; that’s on our coaching staff and the players.”
Safety Demari Henderson and linebacker Lewis Carter finished with a team-high 12 tackles each, but the Knights managed just 3 tackles for loss and failed to record a sack.
“Being down by that deficit to start off, especially against a top-10 opponent, that’s just a bad recipe,” said linebacker Keli Lawson. “That ties into the mindset. We need to come in better prepared mentally, with confidence and swagger, especially on the road. If we do that, I feel like we would have a different story at the end of the game.”
Texas Tech is measuring stick for UCF
The Knights got an up-and-close look at one of the best teams in the country in Texas Tech.
The Red Raiders are favorites in the Big 12 race and could be playing in the College Football Playoff at the end of the season.
“The parity in the league is apparent to me, and this team might be a little bit of an outlier because of the talent they’ve been able to accumulate, but we’re not at the bottom of the mountain,” Frost said. “We’re part way up the mountain and we’ve climbed quite a bit in Year 1 and we’ve just got to make sure that we do the things to be even better next year.”
Lawson wasn’t willing to crown Texas Tech national champs just yet.
“I don’t want to give them too much, but they’ve got my respect,” Lawson said. “They got the team’s respect when they came out there. They knew what they wanted and they knew what it took to win.”
Please find me on X, Bluesky or Instagram @osmattmurschel. Email: mmurschel@orlandosentinel.com. Sign up for the Sentinel’s Knights Weekly newsletter for a roundup of all our UCF coverage.
