Injuries, missing run game lowlights of UCF loss at No. 20 Houston | 5 things we learned

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HOUSTON — UCF couldn’t maintain a double-digit lead halfway through the third quarter, allowing 27 unanswered points before ultimately losing to No. 20 Houston, 27-17, on Saturday.

It was the Knights’ 11th straight road loss, the longest streak in the Big 12.

The Knights raced out to a 10-0 lead by halftime, then pushed the advantage to 17-0 midway through the third quarter. However, the Cougars rallied behind the strong play of quarterback Conner Weigman, who scored three rushing touchdowns to power UH to the win.

UCF travels to Oklahoma State on Saturday, searching for its first road win since Sept. 14, 2024. Here are five things we learned from the Knights’ loss at Houston:

Injuries continue to plague the Knights

UCF was down four starters against the Cougars, with quarterback Alonza Barnett III, wide receiver Duane Thomas Jr., guard Owen Spell and linebacker Lewis Carter all listed as out for Saturday’s contest.

That number increased when center Jacob Maiava left the game with an apparent hip injury, leaving the Knights to rotate Cooper Terpstra and Conner Meadows in the middle.

Linebacker Jayden Jennings, who stepped in for Carter, left the game with an undisclosed arm injury, leaving the senior in an arm sling.

Coach Scott Frost admits the injuries have been frustrating, but it’s next man up.

“It’s unfortunate, but there’s nothing you can do about it,” he said. “The majority of our injuries aren’t anything we could have affected with training differently. You’ve just got to deal with it.

“You always hope you’re the team that doesn’t get touched by the injury bug at this point, but we’re not that lucky. Hopefully, we’ll start getting these guys back.”

Ground game disappeared when needed most

Duke Watson’s 37-yard run early in the third quarter set the tone as the Knights put together an impressive nine-play, 71-yard drive capped by a 5-yard touchdown run by quarterback Keyone Jenkins to put UCF up 17-0.

The Knights ran the ball just once more over the final 23 minutes of the game.

When asked about the decision, Frost said Houston’s defense stacked the box, looking to eliminate any chance of an explosive run.

“It’s not that we didn’t call run plays,” said Frost. “They’re very multiple and they’re going to give you different looks a lot, and all run plays have RPOs (run-pass option) on them. When they get too many in the box, we’re throwing the RPO. So that led to fewer carries.”

UCF finished with 73 rushing yards on 21 carries, the second-lowest output of the season.

Jenkins continues strong play in relief

Despite the end result, Jenkins has been a solid option at quarterback for the Knights while Barnett continues to rehab from his hamstring injury.

He finished 23 of 35 for 253 yards with a touchdown pass and a touchdown run, even though Frost said he was cramping throughout much of the second half.

In three starts this season, Jenkins has completed nearly 70% (53 of 76) of his pass attempts for 541 yards with 4 touchdowns and two interceptions.

His third-quarter interception set up Houston’s second touchdown of the day.

“He played well again, but the interception was just unfortunate,” said Frost.

Jenkins left the game after the turnover and was replaced by Kaleb Annett for one series.

Josh Derry becomes solid option at receiver

While Thomas remains out of the lineup, Monmouth transfer Josh Derry has stepped up to become a solid replacement.

The senior entered the game as the Knights’ top target, catching 10 passes for 119 yards.

On Saturday, Derry had his best game since arriving at UCF, catching seven passes for 101 yards, including a 13-yard pass early in the first quarter.

“I was open and caught the ball and I saw my lineman get downfield and get the block, so I came behind him and the only thing left was green grass,” said Derry.

Defense needs to rebound after second-half letdown

After holding Houston scoreless for the first half, including an impressive trio of fourth-and-goal opportunities, UCF’s defense ran out of gas in the second half, allowing the Cougars to rack up 200 yards of offense and 27 points.

Safety Jayden Williams doesn’t believe his group fell flat when it mattered.

“We could have been better on all phases of the ball,” said Williams. “We didn’t hone in as much as on the details as much as we should have. We’ve just got to get better.”

The Knights allowed just 15 points in the second half through the first four games, but gave up nearly double that against the Cougars.

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.

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