The final week of non-conference action is here, and teams have one last chance to rack up some wins and correct their mistakes. However, Christmas came a week early for those of us in Big 12 country as the first in-conference game of the season kicked off Saturday night in Fort Worth.
The 2-0 UCF Knights went on the road to take on the 2-0 TCU Horned Frogs. Both teams are coming off a disappointing 2023 season where they finished with a 3-6 record in Big 12 play. But it’s a new season and a fresh start and in this conference, anything can happen as we saw tonight.
Here are my three takeaways on UCF’s 35-34 win over TCU.
KJ Came Up in A Big Way
Through the first two weeks of the season, the two things that impressed me with UCF were their running game and their defense. That old school approach helped them outscore their first two opponents 102 to 17. While the Knights went off on the ground once again racking up over 280 yards, the key for me in this one was none other than quarterback KJ Jefferson. Usually, I praise running back RJ Harvey and while he was phenomenal once again (180 yards and 2 touchdowns), KJ was the guy who made the comeback possible.
After a shaky first half (4/11 for 64 yards and a touchdown), KJ Jefferson finished the game strong going 9/11 for 166 yards and two touchdowns. He led two key drives in the fourth quarter that went ten plays or more. It seemed like when UCF needed to make a play, KJ was there to keep the drive going. If he can keep playing like he did in the second half than UCF will be a Big 12 title contender.
What Happened to TCU?
It was a tale of two halves for the Horned Frogs. They started the game with three straight touchdown drives led by quarterback Josh Hoover. As great as that was for TCU, that was truly the high point of the game for them. In the second half those touchdown drives started turning into field goals.
As for the defense, they started to struggle to stop UCF’s offense. You could see the momentum shift as the game went on and TCU just couldn’t ever take control of the game again. They played sloppy on both sides of the ball, and it didn’t help giving up nearly 300 yards on the ground. The bottom line for TCU is that they didn’t play four quarters and when you play in the Big 12, you have to finish strong.
What a Game and What a Comeback
Early In the third quarter TCU took a 28-7 lead and at that time, I thought the game was all but over. It turned out that I was more than just wrong because UCF had something to say.
After that field foal, the Knights went on to outscore the Horned Frogs 22-6 in the final 24 minutes of the game. Even when UCF had their backs against the wall late in the game, they put together a beautiful 10 play, 72-yard drive that resulted in a 20-yard touchdown pass from KJ Jefferson to Kobe Hudson. That score put UCF on top 35-34 with just 42 seconds left. TCU would get to attempt a 58-yard field goal with three seconds left, but it ended up going wide right as UCF completed the epic comeback to win the game. You couldn’t ask for a more entertaining Big 12 opener than the one we got in Fort Worth on Saturday night.
