Country music troubadour Willie Nelson sang about it.
Beat poet Jack Kerouac famously wrote about it.
MTV entertained Gen X with its rules about it.
Life on the road has captured people’s attention for generations; from horse-drawn wagons to monster motor homes, nothing beats a trip away from home.
For UCF football, the road has been a nightmare as of late.
The Knights are mired in a nine-game road losing streak, the seventh-longest in the Football Bowl Subdivision, second only to Oklahoma State (11 losses) in the Big 12. UCF’s last road win was a 35-34 come-from-behind victory at TCU on Sept. 14, 2024.
In fact, the Knights were 3-8 on the road under coach Gus Malzahn and 0-5 under Scott Frost since 2023, when the school joined the Big 12.
UCF (1-0) will have a chance to redeem itself when the Knights travel to Pittsburgh (1-0) on Saturday. Frost, however, isn’t as concerned about the road woes.
“I don’t want to make a big deal out of that,” he said on Monday. “… We’ll do the best we can to get them prepared and go try to play our best.
“With the character of players that we have on this team and the level of competitiveness that we have on this team, I expect a higher level of execution away from home.”
Redshirt junior running back Landen Chambers believes when things get tough, it’s about taking a pause.
“We have a motto here, ‘just breathe,’ ” Chambers said. “When things get tough, just breathe and relax and go back to your basic training. It helped me relax and just be calm in high-pressure situations.”
How does UCF plan to slow down Pitt QB Mason Heintschel?
Pittsburgh quarterback Mason Heintschel had a career performance in the Panthers’ 59-14 win over Miami of Ohio on Saturday.
The 6-foot-2, 215-pound sophomore tied a school record with seven touchdown passes, finishing 31 of 41 for 453 yards as the Panthers amassed 646 total yards of offense in the victory.
All in all, it earned Heintschel a 90.4 grade by Pro Football Focus, eighth among all 138 quarterbacks in the FBS, behind the likes of Ohio State’s Julian Sayin (93.1), Indiana’s Josh Hoover (92.9) and Miami’s Darian Mensah (92.6).
“He does a great job extending plays, keeping things alive, running when he has to,” said Frost. “It’s certainly a different style (quarterback) than we’ve probably seen in a while.”
UCF’s defense pressured B-CU 33 times last Thursday, according to PFF, resulting in three combined sacks. Expect the Knights to apply pressure again, while paying close attention to his ability to scramble.
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Can the offensive line build off its strong showing in Game 1?
Duke Watson, Taevion Swint, Landen Chambers and Alonza Barnett III couldn’t heap enough praise on UCF’s rebuilt line following the Knights’ 73-6 win over Bethune-Cookman on Thursday. The team rushed for 360 yards, the most rushing yards since 384 yards against Sam Houston State on Sept. 7, 2024.
Starters Henry Tabansi, Brady Wayburn, Connor Meadows, Owen Spell and Preston Cushman combined for 198 offensive snaps, allowing no sacks and one pressure.
“Everybody looked pretty good in that game, but we were playing a smaller school and we moved people pretty well,” said Frost. “These guys this week are going to be a lot harder to move up front.”
Pittsburgh’s defensive front averages 6-foot-2 1/2 and 273 pounds, while UCF’s offensive front averages 6-foot-5 and 304 pounds.
How important will it be for the Knights to get takeaways?
UCF defensive coordinator Alex Grinch has preached since spring camp began in January that the Knights need to do a better job creating turnovers.
Last season, the team managed just 14 takeaways, ranking 12th in the Big 12.
On Thursday, UCF registered two takeaways.
Safety Jayden Williams set the tone for the Knights when he returned an interception 47 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter against Bethune-Cookman. It was the first pick-six by UCF since Phillip Dunnam against Houston on Nov. 11, 2025.
Edge rusher Aymeric Koumba forced a fumble that was recovered by tackle Horace Lockett for the second takeaway of the game.
“I feel like the more possessions we have on offense, the greater the chances we win,” Lockett said.
Added Grinch: “It’s the expectation to create takeaways, not extra credit to do so. After one game you can’t obviously make that claim, but it’s got to start somewhere.”
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.
Up next
What: UCF (1-0) at Pittsburgh (1-0)
When: 3:30 p.m., Saturday
Where: Acrisure Stadium, Pittsburgh
TV: ESPN2
Favorite: Pitt by 8.5 points
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