Five things we learned from UCF’s win over Bethune-Cookman

UCF opened the 2026 season with an impressive 73-6 win over Bethune-Cookman on Thursday night. The Knights scored nine touchdowns, tying a program-best record for points scored in a game while setting a new record for margin of victory.

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New quarterback Alonza Barnett III had two total touchdowns as six different players scored a rushing touchdown in the win.

UCF hits the road to take on Pittsburgh on Saturday. In the meantime, here’s a look at five key takeaways from the Knights’ dominating win.

Alonza Barnett looked comfortable in the offense

The former James Madison transfer showcased his skills impressively on Thursday, even though he played just over half of the game. He completed seven of his first nine pass attempts, highlighted by a 23-yard touchdown pass to receiver Jonathan Bibbs at the start of the second quarter.

“There’s some good, some bad, some ugly, some things that I obviously wish I had back,” said Barnett. “At the end of the day, you have to wipe it. Recognize you won’t be perfect, but chase that perfection each and every day, which is what I’ll continue to do.”

He finished the game by completing four of his next nine passes, but sailed a ball over a receiver’s head into the hands of a B-CU defender. It was the only real mistake on the evening for the 23-year-old Barnett.

“Nobody hated that pick more than me, especially when the offense is rolling. You just can’t have things like that,” he said.

Barnett also showcased his versatility, taking off and scrambling for a five-yard touchdown run near the end of the first quarter.

Knights seem to have an early handle on penalties

After being one of the most penalized teams in the Big 12 last season, the Knights spent much of spring and preseason camps focusing on limiting those mental mistakes.

All the work appears to have paid off as UCF was penalized just six times against B-CU on Thursday. All six penalties came on the offensive side of the ball, with two delay-of-game penalties, but no false starts — an Achilles’ heel for the team last season.

“A year ago, we had a ton of false start penalties and couldn’t get lined up, and there wasn’t much of that,” said coach Scott Frost, who credits narrowing down the playbook for the opener. “It helped to narrow the play sheet down a little bit.

“We had alignment problems last year and everybody was on or off and lined up right and it just wasn’t as sloppy out there.”

Running backs showcase tremendous depth

Six different running backs got at least one carry in Thursday night’s win, led by Duke Watson, who finished with a team-high 110 yards on 7 carries, highlighted by a 64-yard touchdown on the second offensive play of the game for the Knights.

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UCF finished with 360 rushing yards, the most by a team since the Knights rushed for 384 yards against Sam Houston State on Sept. 7, 2024.

Agyeman Addae had 74 yards with a 39-yard touchdown, while Landen Chambers had 56 yards with a pair of touchdowns (2, 27). Taevion Swint rushed for 48 yards with a 27-yard touchdown and freshman Kaj Baker had 30 yards.

“I already knew what the running back room was capable of,” said Watson, a transfer from Louisville. “I watch the guys practice every day. They work hard and keep their heads down. They’re great backs. I feel like we’ve got one of the best running back rooms in the nation.”

Defense wins the turnover battle

Defensive coordinator Alex Grinch has been adamant that in order for the Knights to have any success this season, the team must get more takeaways on defense.

So far, so good, as UCF won the turnover battle against the Wildcats, recording two takeaways: an interception for a touchdown and a forced fumble.

Safety Jayden Williams got things going when he intercepted a Tyler Jefferson pass and returned it 47 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter. It was the first interception for a touchdown since Phil Dunnam’s pick-6 against Houston on Nov. 11, 2025.

Aymeric Koumba sacked Jefferson in the second quarter, forcing a fumble that was recovered by defensive tackle Horace Lockett. It was the first fumble recovery since the Houston game on Nov. 7, 2025.

Backup quarterbacks get some valuable work

Keyone Jenkins, Kaleb Annett and Rocco Marriott also took snaps at quarterback in relief of Barnett.

Jenkins was 4 for 4 with 42 yards, highlighted by a 9-yard touchdown pass to Caleb Rollerson in the third quarter. Annett didn’t attempt a pass but rushed for nine yards on two carries and Marriott scored on a 1-yard touchdown play in the fourth quarter.

“We were trying to be really conservative with play calling in the second half and I wish I could have let them throw a little bit,” said Frost. “I thought all three other quarterbacks that came in operated really well and did what they were supposed to do.”

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

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