Five things we learned about UCF’s loss at Pittsburgh

NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...

PITTSBURGH — UCF struggled to get much going offensively, dropping a 12-7 road contest at Pittsburgh on Saturday.

The loss extends the Knights’ road losing streak to 10 games, the longest such streak since the Knights lost 15 straight contests from 2003 to 2005.

UCF looks to rebound with a home game against Georgia State on Saturday. Here are five things we learned from Saturday’s loss:

Alonza Barnett’s status should be a concern

It feels as if UCF has been snake-bitten when it comes to quarterbacks recently.

As the season kicked off, the Knights were dealing with the challenge of having started six different quarterbacks over their last 24 games. They were optimistic that Alonza Barnett III could finally be the first to hold down the starting position for the entire season, a feat not accomplished since Dillon Gabriel in 2020.

But when Barnett went down late in Saturday’s game with an undisclosed injury, UCF was forced to turn to backup Keyone Jenkins. Jenkins’ debut was auspicious, with the former FIU transfer getting sacks on a 4th-and-4, ending the Knights’ hopes of a comeback.

Coach Scott Frost wasn’t sure of Barnett’s status, which creates a lot of uncertainty at quarterback, at least for the time being, with Jenkins, Kaleb Annett and Rocco Marriott serving as possible substitutes.

Defense appears Big 12-ready

Perhaps the only positive from the loss to Pittsburgh was the play of the Knights’ defense.

The unit held the Panthers to 315 yards of offense, but more importantly, contained quarterback Mason Heintschel. The sophomore was 18 of 29 for 212 yards without a touchdown. That comes on the heels of a career game by Heintschel, who passed for 453 yards while tying a school record with seven touchdowns.

UCF also held Pitt’s ground game in check with 103 rushing yards on 43 carries for a meager 2.4 yards per carry average.

Through the first two games, the Knights are allowing just nine points and 248 yards per game.

Rushing attack clearly a work in progress

A week after rushing for 360 yards and seven touchdowns against Bethune-Cookman, UCF’s ground game came to a grinding halt.

The Knights rushed for 20 yards on 22 carries for a minuscule 0.9 yards per carry average against Pitt. Barnett finished with a team-high 13 yards while Duke Watson had 10 yards on 14 carries.

The 20 yards was the least amount a UCF team has totaled in a game since the 2016 Cure Bowl, when Arkansas State limited the Knights to just 12 yards. The 0.9 YPC average is the lowest output since a negative 1.6 average against Tulane on Oct. 15, 2015.

Lack of explosive plays a concern

UCF’s offensive anemia could be credited with the Knights failing to produce explosive plays against the Panthers.

The team had just two explosive plays of 20-plus yards on Saturday: a 21-yard pass in the second quarter and a 35-yard pass in the third quarter. UCF entered the weekend ranked sixth in the Big 12 in longest plays from scrimmage, with eight plays of 20 yards.

“We’ve got to play better on offense. That starts with the offensive staff and me,” said Frost. “I didn’t think we clicked. We looked clumsy getting lined up, motioning. So we got to take a hard look at whether we had too much in the game plan.”

Ric’Darious Farmer stepping up in Duane Thomas Jr.’s absence

Duane “Speedy” Thomas Jr. missed his second game of the season with what UCF is calling a ‘minor injury’ he suffered in fall camp a few weeks back.

Meanwhile, Ric’Darius “Day Day” Farmer has stepped into the starting lineup in Thomas’ absence.

The redshirt sophomore led the Knights with a career-high 52 receiving yards on 4 catches on Saturday. It’s a welcome sight considering Farmer missed all of last season after suffering a knee injury during fall camp.

His hard work hasn’t gone unnoticed by his teammates.

“Ever since Day Day came back from his injury, he’s had his head down, grinding and putting in the work,” said receiver Waden Charles. “He came back with a chip on his shoulder.”

Please find me on X, Bluesky or Instagram at @osmattmurschel. Email: mmurschel@orlandosentinel.com. Sign up for the Sentinel’s Knights Weekly newsletter for a roundup of all our UCF coverage.

More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos