Down Goes BYU! UCF Makes History in OT

On a pre-Halloween outing in Orlando, the UCF Knights (3-3, 1-2 in the Big 12) hosted the BYU Cougars (6-0, 3-0 in the Big 12) who came into Central Florida ranked second in the entire country in NCAA Division I-A (Football Bowl Subdivision, or FBS) college football.

BYU won the toss and deferred to the second half, giving UCF the first opportunity on offense, an opportunity that ended in a punt after a quick three-and-out.

The Cougars had a very different start to the game than the Knights, working their way down the field from their own 16-yard line all the way to crossing the goal-line of the Knights on an 11-play drive that featured four first downs and a 27-yard pass-play where redshirt-junior wide receiver Kyler Kasper got his arms up to reel in the ball from sophomore quarterback Bear Bachmeier, giving the Cougars a 7-0 lead at the 8:19 mark of the first quarter.

UCF's first first down of the day came on their second drive when junior running back Duke Watson gained eight yards on a rush on 2nd-&-3.

Despite this new set of downs, the Knights would punt the ball away once again, this time after five plays that never saw them cross midfield.

However, UCF's defense would get the ball right back for their offense when they prevented BYU from gaining a first down on a three-and-out that included a sack for a five-yard loss by redshirt-senior edge Ken Talley.

The Knights would gain the ball back from this punt and go on to gain two first downs before the end of the opening quarter, starting the second quarter on 3rd-&-1 from the Cougars' eight-yard line.

Redshirt-junior running back Landen Chambers would gain three yards on that 3rd-&-1 opportunity, providing UCF with a first down. Chambers would be trusted once again on the ground, and he would come through, gaining the final five yards on two carries, the latter being a two-yard touchdown run that knotted the game at 7-7 with 13:44 left in the first half.

The Knights' defense would then force the Cougars to punt for the second drive in a row and the Knights' offense would go on to score on their second-consecutive drive on their fourth possession of the game, where they had three first downs and a 20-yard field goal from redshirt-senior kicker Will Stone to give UCF their first lead of the day at 10-7 with 8:10 remaining on the second-quarter clock.

UCF did have an opportunity to gain seven as opposed to three on this drive, but sophomore wide receiver Waden Charles dropped what would have been an eight-yard touchdown reception in the end zone.

BYU would respond by coming down the field on five plays, with the fifth play being a 32-yard pass-play from Bachmeier to Kasper which was originally ruled a 33-yard play and a touchdown. Upon further review, the officiating crew declared that Kasper stepped out at the one-yard line, setting up 1st-&-Goal just outside the Knights' redzone.

After redshirt-sophomore running back Sione Moa was stuffed on back-to-back rush attempts that amounted no gain, Bachmeier kept the ball himself on 3rd-&-1 and charged in for the one-yard score to regain the lead for the Cougars, 14-10, with 3:47 remaining on the second-quarter clock.

Fifth-year linebacker Cole Kozlowski stopped Moa on his first attempt from the one and redshirt-senior defensive tackle Horace Lockett and redshirt-junior defensive tackle Jeffson Lafontant combined to stop Moa on the second attempt.

UCF's fifth possession would feature no first downs despite having 2nd-&-1 and 3rd-&-1 opportunities, with a holding penalty taking them back 10 yards on their third-down try.

BYU, taking over with 2:17 left in the first half, got over midfield, but redshirt-junior defensive tackle Thomas Collins would tip a pass attempt by Bachmeier and senior linebacker Tackett Curtis would intercept the ball, giving possession to the Knights at their own 22.

UCF would accumulate four first downs and run 11 plays, ultimately capitalizing on the turnover when Chambers was left wide open on the left side of the field and walked in for a six-yard pass-play from Jenkins to take a 17-14 lead that would be the score at the break.

BYU responded immediately out of halftime when they took a nine-play drive into the end zone on a one-yard run by Moa to take back the lead, at 21-17, with 9:45 left on the third-quarter clock. This drive included Bachmeier completing a pass to Kasper for a 14-yard gain on 4th-&-4 to keep the drive alive.

On 3rd-&-17 from their own 29-yard line, the Knights remained on the field thanks to a catch by freshman wide receiver Tyren Hornes and then putting on the moves and remaining upright, getting to the outside and down the left sideline for a 56-yard gain that placed the Knights on the Cougars' 11.

UCF would take 6:39 off of the third-quarter clock on this drive and came away with a touchdown thanks to Jenkins getting over the goal-line on 3rd-&-1 for a one-yard quarterback keeper that made it 24-21 Knights at the 3:06 mark.

With one quarter remaining, unranked UCF led nationally second-ranked BYU by three, 24-21, with BYU continuing their possession that began with 3:06 left in the third quarter.

On 3rd-&-7 from the Knights' 29-yard line, Bachmeier tried for junior tight end Roger Saleapaga II, but he dropped the ball, bringing up fourth down.

BYU Head Coach Kalani Sitake would then bring redshirt-senior kicker Matthias Dunn out onto the field for a 47-yard attempt which Dunn would secure, tying the game at 24-apiece with 12:09 remaining.

On the first play of the ensuing drive for UCF, Jenkins pass got tipped and almost intercepted by their 20-yard line, but the ball instead fell to the ground, saving the Knights from losing possession and having to defend a short field.

Despite both teams having 3rd-&-short situations on their following drives, each team would punt the ball away on three-and-outs.

Gaining the ball back just inside nine minutes left in the game (8:59), the Knights would get to the Cougars' one-yard line. However, a false-start penalty would move them back to the six-yard line with a replay of second down.

Despite attaining four first downs on this drive, UCF would not cross the goal-line, turning the ball over on downs with Jenkins gaining nothing on a quarterback keeper on 4th-&-1.

With 1:44 to go, the game remain tied at 24, with BYU at their own one-yard line.

The Cougars would gain seven yards on three-straight runs, bringing them to 4th-&-3.

UCF took a timeout with 56 seconds remaining and received a punt that went out-of-bounds at the UCF 31 with 42 seconds left on the game clock.

On 3rd-&-5, Jenkins found Chambers for a 21-yard pass-play to the BYU 43-yard line and a first down with just over 20 seconds to go.

Two plays later, Cougars' redshirt-senior rover Isaiah Glasker strip-sacked Jenkins for a nine-yard loss to the Knights while the Cougars also recovered the ball to gain possession, thanks to redshirt-senior defensive tackle Keanu Tanuvasa at the Knights' 48.

Hold on though...

After review, the officiating crew determined that Jenkins' arm was going forward, keeping possession with UCF as the ball was now not ruled to have been fumbled.

Adding to the positive side of things for the Knights, an unsportsmanlike penalty that had been called on BYU prior to the official review was upheld, giving 15 yards to the Knights on top of them keeping possession.

With 10 seconds remaining, Stone was brought on by UCF Head Coach Scott Frost to attempt a 46-yard field goal.

Then, the officials ruled that five more seconds should be on the clock, which changed Frost's decision for the field goal as he, instead, brought the offense back out.

Jenkins would spike the ball on first down, throw it away on second, and then Frost would bring Stone back onto the field with 11 seconds on the game clock.

Then one of the most confusing moments in college football occurred as the officials stopped play and were not clear about what was happening until they eventually decided that regulation was over due to a 10-second run-off that came as a result of Stone's helmet coming off with two seconds left on the game clock.

So after a long and strange pause in gameplay, we headed into overtime in the "Bounce House".

Taking possession first, BYU scored following a false-start penalty that brought up 3rd-&-13. On that third-down try, Bachmeier stepped back and sent the ball to freshman wide receiver Legend Glasker for a 13-yard score to make it 31-24 BYU in the extra period.

Jenkins would scramble, elude being sacked, and find senior wide receiver Josh Derry for a 25-yard pass-play on first down, tying the game at 31-31 and sending this contest into double-overtime.

The Knights would get the ball first in the second overtime and would connect on a field goal by Stone from 26 yards away... then, came another flag.

This penalty was deemed roughing-the-kicker, so instead of going ahead by three, UCF was given a new set of downs and moved ahead half the distance to the goal, placing them on the BYU four-yard line.

On second down, Jenkins sent the ball out to the left side of the field to redshirt-sophomore tight end Grayson Brousseau who fought his defender and crossed the goal-line. Jenkins would go back to the left side to find Hornes for a two-point conversion, moving the Knights ahead 39-31.

Bachmeier would find familiar target Kasper for a 17-yard gain and a first down to the UCF eight-yard line on the second play of BYU's double-overtime drive.

His final pass attempt would fall incomplete on fourth down as the Knights secured a 39-31 victory over the once-undefeated Cougars.

This win stands as the highest-ranked team for UCF to defeat at home ever in the history of the Knights; BYU was ranked second in the nation at the time of play.

UCF elevated to above .500 overall at 4-3 and .500 in the Big 12 at 2-2, while BYU moved to 6-1, 3-1 in the Big 12.