UCF Survives a Blocked Kick and Two Overtimes to Knock Off No. 2 BYU

By The Arena Staff

ORLANDO, Fla., Oct. 24, 2026 — UCF thought it had won this game at the end of regulation. Then BYU blocked the kick. The Knights had to go two more rounds to finish the job, and they did.

Keyone Jenkins threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Grayson Brousseau in the second overtime, found Tyren Hornes for the required two-point try, and UCF held on to beat No. 2 BYU 39-31 on Saturday, handing the previously unbeaten Cougars their first loss, WESH 2 News reported. BYU was the highest-ranked opponent UCF has ever hosted, the station said, and fans stormed the field at the Bounce House when it was over, according to Yahoo Sports.

BYU (6-1, 3-1 Big 12) came to Orlando fresh off a 28-24 win over Notre Dame that lifted the Cougars to No. 2 in the AP poll, their highest ranking since 1984, the AP noted in its preview. UCF (4-3, 2-2) came in at 3-3 and 1-2 in the league.

The Knights did not play like an underdog. Tackett Curtis intercepted Bear Bachmeier late in the second quarter, and Jenkins hit Landen Chambers for a 6-yard touchdown with 4 seconds left in the half for a 17-14 lead, WESH reported. Jenkins' 1-yard run in the third quarter put UCF back in front 24-21, and Matthias Dunn's 47-yard field goal early in the fourth tied it, according to ESPN's play-by-play.

That is where it got strange. With under two minutes left, UCF went for it on fourth down from inside the BYU 1 and was stopped, Yahoo Sports reported. The defense got the ball back, and Jenkins moved the Knights into range with help from an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on BYU that moved the ball from the BYU 43 to the 28, ESPN's play-by-play shows.

Will Stone lined up for a 46-yard field goal on third down with 10 seconds left, and BYU blocked it. UCF might have had one more try, but Stone's helmet came off during the play, which brought a 10-second runoff with no penalty called, and time expired, according to Yahoo Sports.

Overtime was a shootout in miniature. Bachmeier converted a third-and-13 with a 28-yard touchdown pass to Legend Glasker, and Jenkins answered on UCF's first snap with a 25-yard scoring throw to Josh Derry, ESPN's play-by-play shows.

In the second overtime, UCF stalled at the BYU 8 and Stone's 26-yard field goal went through, but BYU was flagged for roughing the kicker and the Knights took the penalty and a new set of downs, according to ESPN. Yahoo Sports called the flag questionable. Two plays later, Jenkins found Brousseau.

BYU still had its turn. Bachmeier got the Cougars to the UCF 4 with a 17-yard throw to Kyler Kasper and a short run, but his last three passes fell incomplete, the last one intended for Walker Lyons on fourth down, according to ESPN.

Jenkins finished 25 of 41 for 293 yards and three touchdowns without a turnover, and UCF outgained BYU 463 yards to 373, ESPN's stats show. Bachmeier was 16 of 32 for 257 yards with two touchdown passes and an interception.

For Scott Frost's Knights, it is the kind of night a season gets remembered for. For BYU, the perfect season is over after six games.

Share-card photo: UCF's stadium in Orlando, by DTQ29 via Wikimedia Commons.jpg), CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped.