The West Virginia Mountaineers are off to an 0-3 start in conference play and sit at 2-4 overall. Coming off the bye week, WVU will be on the road against the Knights of UCF. Kickoff is set for 1 PM EST on TNT. Let’s get familiar with the Knights and who they are heading into the Big 12 clash.
UCF Knights
Like West Virginia, UCF is also winless in Big 12 play, sitting at 0-3 and 3-3 overall. In the non-conference, UCF picked up wins over Jacksonville State, North Carolina A&T, and UNC.
In Big 12 play, the Knights fell to Kansas State on the road in a 34-20 loss and to Kansas in a 27-20 home loss. Then last week, the Knights fell to the Cincinnati Bearcats by a final score of 20-11. Cincinnati is the surprise team of the Big 12 thus far. At 5-1 and 3-0 in conference play, the Bearcats are ranked 24th in the AP Poll.
Numbers to Know:
17.8
Due in large part to an impressive non-conference showing, the UCF Knights are allowing just 17.8 points per game on the season, good for fifth in the Big 12. In three non-conference games, UCF surrendered just 26 points.
27
The tale has turned a bit in conference play, however, as the UCF defense hasn't looked quite as sharp – resulting in three consecutive losses for the Knights. UCF has allowed 81 points over 3 games for an average of 27 points per game.
86
UCF Running Back Myles Montgomery has proven to be a bit of a workhorse through the first half of the season. Montgomery has picked up 434 yards on 86 carries. The Senior back had just 51 total carries in 2024. His 86 carries have him ranked seventh in the Big 12 in that department.
3
WVU and UCF have had similar struggles at quarterback, with the team playing three different players at the position so far. The Knights will face the Mountaineers with some lingering injury issues, leaving it hard to figure out which UCF signal caller will earn the starting role. Last week, it was senior quarterback and former Marshall starter Cam Fancher got the nod, and he tallied 222 passing yards and went 28-of-49 through the air, while also adding 108 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown.
But Tayven Jackson, who transferred from Indiana, has seen the most snaps at the position this season for UCF, and has accumulated 906 passing yards, three touchdowns, and one interception.
Jacurri Brown, who has received the least amount of reps at quarterback, did not play last Saturday after being listed as a game-time decision. Interestingly enough, Tayven Jackson was listed as questionable all week but was left off the final injury report before the Cincinnati game, indicating that he was available to go. However, Cam Fancher played the whole game for the Knights.