Sure, there is frustration.
How could there not be when you’re coming off a disappointing 20-11 loss at Cincinnati on Saturday that sent UCF to its third straight loss and sixth straight against Big 12 opposition?
It was another failed opportunity that the Knights let slip through their fingers.
But that’s not the f-word that coach Scott Frost has in mind when he thinks about how his team has handled the challenges so far this season.
That word is fight.
Nearly a dozen times the word “fight’ was uttered during the team’s media availability on Monday, either from Frost or players such as edge rusher Nyjalik Kelly and offensive guard Cam Kinnie.
“I really liked the fight on our team and I told them that afterward,” Frost said. “I knew this year would be a growth process due to the relative inexperience and the 70 new players. It would be really nice to be 4-2 or 5-1 right now, and we had our chances.
“I don’t think we were out-matched in any one of those three games. We need to execute better, which falls on the coaching staff and the players to continually find ways to improve throughout the season. We’re going to have a chance in every game, so there’s no reason we can’t do some special things here down the road.”
UCF sits at 3-3 at the midway point of the season, the same record the Knights had at the same time the previous two seasons. In each of those campaigns, the team opened with three straight victories only to fall into five-game losing streaks.
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“Every loss feels the same, but I feel this team can get through it better than last year’s team because of how together we are this year,” said Kelly, who was a defensive standout on last year’s team that finished with a disappointing 4-8 record.
Kinnie is confident that the deep camaraderie among himself and his teammates will be instrumental in helping the team navigate and recover from the recent struggles.
“I would say, the resiliency and the encouragement I feel in the locker room,” said Kinnie, a 5th-year senior. “We look at each other and we’re like, ‘We lost this game. They didn’t necessarily win it.’ So when you can look in a locker room and see guys who understand that this is on us, we’re good enough to win these games. It’s very encouraging to see the team and then we just come to work the next day.”
There is plenty left for the Knights to play for, but it won’t be easy.
The remainder of UCF’s schedule features teams with a combined record of 24-12 (67%), including three road contests at Baylor, No. 7 Texas Tech and No. 15 BYU.
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ESPN’s Football Power Index has the Knights with a 63.5% chance of reaching six wins or bowl eligibility. According to ESPN’s matchup predictor, UCF is favored against West Virginia (72%) on Saturday, Houston (60.1%) and Oklahoma State (92.1%).
To pull off a shot at a strong finish, UCF needs to eliminate costly mistakes.
The Knights were flagged a season-high 10 times against the Bearcats on Saturday. Several of those calls nullified positive plays on offense, including a 50-yard pass completion to DJ Black from Cam Fancher, which was called back on a holding call, and a 35-yard catch by Duane Thomas Jr., which was wiped away by an ineligible receiver downfield.
Despite the recent downturn, Frost likes what he’s seen from his players, particularly in the locker room.
“The confidence level is fine,” he explained. “I really liked the togetherness of the team in the locker room after the game. When you’re learning new things and coming together as a football team, it’s not always going to happen the same way. It’s going to happen differently every time.
“When you’re not experienced, then new situations can affect you differently every time. The one thing that’s common is just key mistakes at the wrong times right now. We’re going to keep coaching those things, but we got to be in those situations and experience them and then handle them better the next time.”
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.
