UCF football survives brutal first half, rallies past Oklahoma State

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UCF football survives brutal first half, rallies past Oklahoma State

ORLANDO — “Saying it wasn’t a great first half is probably an understatement.”

Scott Frost acknowledged UCF‘s putrid performance prior to halftime in the opening words of his postgame press conference. The Knights entered the locker room trailing by 14, at home, to an Oklahoma State team that fired its head coach two months ago and hadn’t won a Big 12 game in nearly two full years.

Fans booed the Knights off the field, and students swarmed to the top of Section 220 to remove their shirts and swing them around like a helicopter roto — a growing trend started in October in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

As daylight faded, the Knights breathed life back into their bleak bowl hopes and avoided a potentially humiliating defeat against the conference’s last-place team.

Nov 22, 2025; Orlando, Florida, USA; UCF Knights tight end Dylan Wade (0) reacts after scoring during the second half against the Oklahoma State Cowboys at Acrisure Bounce House. Mandatory Credit: Mike Watters-Imagn Images

Tayven Jackson and Dylan Wade connected for a pair of second-half touchdowns, Noe Ruelas kicked a go-ahead field goal with 57 seconds left and Braeden Marshall secured a 17-14 victory with a pick off a deflection. If UCF (5-6, 2-6) can score what would be an enormous upset at BYU on Nov. 29, it will achieve an automatic berth into a bowl game.

“My challenge all week was that we’ve got to play hard and we’ve got to play fast. To some degree, there’s another gear in there that I don’t even know if our guys know they have,” Frost said. “To our guys’ credit, they came out and got a spark on the first play, and the defense played a great second half.

“I wish we could do that the whole game and just really grind down somebody. But you can’t say anything bad about the way that the defense played in the second half. The offense, despite a million mistakes, did just enough.”

Here are three takeaways from the Knights’ two-score rally in their home finale.

Dylan Wade, Waden Charles emerge as premier playmakers

Nov 22, 2025; Orlando, Florida, USA; UCF Knights quarterback Tayven Jackson (2) drops back to pass during the first quarter against the Oklahoma State Cowboys at Acrisure Bounce House. Mandatory Credit: Mike Watters-Imagn Images

While UCF’s offense has largely underwhelmed to date in Frost’s return, averaging 24.6 points per game, junior tight end Wade and freshman wide receiver Waden Charles appear to be important building blocks for the immediate future.

Wade gave the Knights a jolt out of halftime, running free on a wheel route and catching Jackson’s pass in stride down the right sideline for an 84-yard score — the team’s longest passing play this season.

“We knew about that play all week. We knew it was going to be a big hitter,” Wade said. “And (Frost) called it at the right moment.”

Season-long issues with pre-snap penalties and inabilities to generate consistent push in the run game prevented UCF from seizing further momentum on its next three possessions, all of which stalled out near midfield.

But the Knights finally tied the game with 9:12 left in regulation, thanks to two key fourth-down conversions.

UCF called a screen on fourth-and-1 from Oklahoma State’s 36-yard line. Primary target Agyeman Addae was held in the flat, but Jackson found Charles further downfield for a 26-yard gain. Four plays later, Wade worked himself wide open on a crossing route for a 2-yard touchdown to knot the score.

Wade caught four passes for 145 yards in his first multi-touchdown game, and Charles secured a game-high six receptions on nine targets for 78 yards. Jackson finished 16-of-25 passing for 271 yards, matching two touchdowns with two picks — his seventh straight start with at least one turnover.

UCF defense holds Oklahoma State to 1 first down in 2nd half

Nov 22, 2025; Orlando, Florida, USA; UCF Knights defensive back Braeden Marshall (4) intercepts a pass during the second half against the Oklahoma State Cowboys at Acrisure Bounce House. Mandatory Credit: Mike Watters-Imagn Images

Oklahoma State (1-10, 0-8), the 132nd-ranked scoring offense in the country, marched 75 yards on 13 plays to open the game with a touchdown — a 5-yard pass from Zane Flores to Gavin Freeman. The Cowboys doubled their lead in the final minute of the first half on Flores’ 6-yard scramble.

From there, UCF’s defense dominated as one might have expected.

The Cowboys mustered 27 yards over the game’s final 30 minutes, punting on five straight drives while picking up just one first down.

“The biggest thing was winning first down,” senior linebacker Cole Kozlowski said. “In the first half, they were getting way too many yards on first downs. … The difference was first down and flying around the ball.”

Oklahoma State had 57 seconds to mount a tying or winning drive after Ruelas’ kick. Instead, Jayden Bellamy batted Flores’ underthrown pass intended for Shamar Rigby, and Marshall snagged the ball in mid-air to ice the win.

Lou Groza Award semifinalist Noe Ruelas comes up clutch

Oct 4, 2025; Orlando, Florida, USA; UCF Knights kicker Noe Ruelas (16) kicks the extra point during the first quarter against the Kansas Jayhawks at FBC Mortgage Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Watters-Imagn Images

Earlier this week, Ruelas — a transfer portal arrival in the spring from James Madison — was chosen as one of 20 national semifinalists for the Lou Groza Award, given to the nation’s top placekicker. The redshirt senior is turning in one of the better seasons for a specialist in school history.

Including his game-winner, Ruelas has connected on 14 of 16 field goal attempts, tying a career-long of 54 yards two weeks ago against Houston. His 87.5% accuracy mark is currently tied for fourth all-time among kickers with a minimum of 10 tries.

“I think we knew he was going to make it when there was four minutes (left on the clock),” Jackson said.

Placekicking inconsistency plagued UCF throughout Gus Malzahn’s final year in charge. Colton Boomer made 3 of 6 kicks, with two blocked, before opting out and entering the transfer portal in mid-October, and Grant Reddick went 6 for 9 before struggling throughout spring camp.

Special teams coach Pete Alamar overhauled the room in May, and Ruelas can be considered one of UCF’s best finds in the portal during the 2025 offseason.

“Noe Ruelas, I will say I think he’s the best kicker in the country,” Kozlowski said. “If you’re an NFL team, I don’t see why you wouldn’t take him.”

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: UCF Knights football takeaways in comeback win over Oklahoma State

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