UCF stuns No. 2 BYU 39-31 in double overtime for the biggest win in program history

UCF handed No. 2 BYU its first loss of the season on Saturday, Oct. 24, beating the Cougars 39-31 in double overtime in Orlando. Keyone Jenkins threw a short touchdown pass to tight end Grayson Brousseau in the second overtime, and the Knights’ defense stopped BYU four straight times from inside the 10 to finish it, according to the Associated Press and UCF Athletics.

It was UCF’s first win over a top-5 team in school history and the highest-ranked win the program has ever recorded, the school said. Fans stormed the field and tore down a goalpost afterward, the AP reported.

BYU vs. UCF final score

BYU fell to 6-1 (3-1 Big 12). UCF improved to 4-3 (2-2).

How UCF won in double overtime

The game was close throughout, with five lead changes in regulation, per the AP. UCF led 17-14 at halftime after Landen Chambers scored on a 2-yard run and later caught his first career touchdown pass. Sione Moa’s 1-yard run put BYU back in front early in the third quarter, and Jenkins answered with a 1-yard touchdown run to cap an 11-play, 75-yard drive for a 24-21 lead. BYU’s Matthias Dunn tied it at 24 with a 47-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter.

In the first overtime, Bear Bachmeier found Legend Glasker for a 28-yard touchdown, and UCF tied it on its very first snap when Jenkins hit Josh Derry from 25 yards. In the second overtime, a roughing-the-kicker penalty on BYU kept UCF’s drive alive, and Jenkins found Brousseau for the touchdown; Tyren Hornes caught the two-point conversion. Needing a touchdown and a two-point try to force a third overtime, BYU reached the UCF 4, but Bachmeier’s fourth-down pass to Walker Lyons fell incomplete, the AP reported.

The strange end of regulation

The final minutes of regulation were chaotic. UCF reached the BYU 1-yard line with under two minutes left, but Jenkins was stopped on a quarterback sneak on fourth-and-goal. After a BYU three-and-out, UCF drove again, and a play first ruled a fumble on a sack was overturned on review to an incomplete pass, with BYU also flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct, according to the AP.

That moved UCF into range for kicker Will Stone, but BYU blocked his 47-yard attempt. Stone recovered the ball, and because it was third down UCF might have had another try, but his helmet came off on the play, which triggered a 10-second runoff and sent the game to overtime. “That’s the weirdest end of a game I have ever seen,” UCF coach Scott Frost said, per the AP.

Key performers

Jenkins was making his fifth start since replacing Alonza Barnett III, who is sidelined with a hamstring injury, the AP said. “Our backup is not a backup,” Frost said. “He had an unbelievable game tonight.”

What it means for both teams

For Frost, who led UCF to a 13-0 season in 2017 before leaving for Nebraska, it is a signature win in the second season of his return, according to the AP. He also credited his coordinators, including Alex Grinch on defense: “Grinch was aggressive tonight, we did better against that offense than most people have,” Frost said, per UCF Athletics. The Knights had lost close games to Oklahoma State and Houston in recent weeks after leading at halftime, the school noted.

BYU had beaten then-No. 2 Notre Dame a week earlier and climbed to its highest AP ranking since its 1984 national title season. “UCF put us on our heels and put us in some uncomfortable positions,” BYU coach Kalani Sitake said. “They deserve the win.”

The Cougars still have a path to the Big 12 title game and the College Football Playoff, the AP noted, and they visit unbeaten Utah on Nov. 7. “We go win out and do what we’re supposed to do, we’ll be where we want to be in the playoffs,” Kasper said.

FAQ

Earlier coverage: BYU vs. UCF: What to know as No. 2 BYU visits the Knights in Orlando (Oct 24)