UCF hosts Baylor on Friday night in Orlando, and there may not be two Big 12 teams who had more divergent results last weekend.
The Knights (4-3, 2-2 Big 12) recorded their biggest win in school history, a 39-31 double-overtime stunner over then-undefeated No. 2 BYU that had the Bounce House rocking on the central Florida campus.
The Bears (4-3, 2-2), meanwhile, fired seventh-year coach Dave Aranda on Sunday, one day after a 25-24 loss at Kansas. Baylor promoted defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman to interim head coach.
“Everybody in this league is about the same,” UCF coach Scott Frost said Monday, citing the teams’ identical records. “You can win any week, you can lose any week.”
UCF’s Keyone Jenkins passed for 293 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 35 yards and a score, outdueling BYU’s Bear Bachmeier in the upset.
The shocker almost did not happen with Jenkins at the helm.
The left-hander felt he was concussed and went into tent after his game-winning throw to Grayson Brousseau in the second overtime.
“I don’t think he would have been cleared in time for a third overtime,” Frost said of the Florida International transfer. “We were going to have to do something else in the third overtime if the game hadn’t ended when it did.”
Frost said Jenkins would start Friday but added that Alonza Barnett III, the original starter this season who hurt his hamstring in September, is close to full health.
In his second season at Baylor in 2021, Aranda led the Bears to their best season ever: a 12-2 record (program-high for wins), a Sugar Bowl victory and the No. 5 ranking in the AP’s final Top 25. Since then, the program has gone 26-31 overall and 0-2 in bowl games.
Outside of a 55-point effort against Arizona State, the Bears’ offense has sputtered against top competition. In the teams’ other four games against Power Four competition, Baylor has averaged 17.3 points per contest.
Signal-caller DJ Lagway has been solid but unspectacular in his first season in his home state. The Florida transfer is 113-for-217 (52.1%) for 1,352 yards with nine touchdowns and four interceptions.
Klanderman spent time with Lagway on Sunday night and reinforced the message he gave the team earlier in the day.
“I want to take the pressure off of you,” the new head coach said of what he told the players. “I want to let you guys play free and let you play relaxed. I want you to play with intensity and passion. … I want that to be the staple of Baylor football.
“That’s not a Baylor defense thing, that’s not a Baylor offense thing. That’s Baylor. That’s how we play. When you play Baylor, that’s what you’re going to get.”
