TCU arrive in Orlando still chewing on Dublin
Sonny Dykes was in no mood to celebrate a two-game winning streak.
“We’re disappointed that we’re not 3-0,” the TCU coach said. “There’s nothing we can do about that. We just have to continue working and getting better and improve. We’re nowhere where we need to be. And I’m confident we’re nowhere near where we’re gonna be.”
The Horned Frogs opened their season in Dublin and lost to North Carolina. Two wins followed. First a 63-7 demolition of Grambling, then a 31-7 beating of Arkansas State at home last Saturday. Jaden Craig threw for 337 yards and three touchdowns in that second one. Ed Small caught seven passes for 164 yards, a career high, one of them for a score.
Back-to-back blowouts have papered over the Ireland trip without erasing it. Saturday afternoon in Orlando starts the part of the schedule that decides how the season gets remembered.
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UCF are winning on the ground and almost nowhere else
The Knights are 2-1 too, and their route there looks close to identical. A defeat at Pitt on Sept. 12, then a 44-30 win over Georgia State at home.
That win was built by the run game and little else. UCF produced 304 rushing yards out of 390 total. Duke Watson accounted for 177 of them, a career best, and scored twice.
The passing numbers tell the rest. Keyone Jenkins, making his first start with Alonza Barnett III sidelined, threw for 86 yards and a touchdown. He added 25 rushing yards and two more scores. Barnett’s hamstring is still a problem, so Jenkins keeps the job against TCU.
“Keyone came in and did a good job,” UCF coach Scott Frost said Monday. “Obviously, we’re in a situation with injuries you don’t want to have to be in, and all you can do is figure them out. You don’t have another option.”
Frost sees a mirror across the field
The UCF coach was blunt about how closely the two records track each other.
“Our season and TCU’s has been pretty close. We both played a really tough game and lost a close one,” Frost said. “We’ve had similar paths to get to this point. I’m sure both teams want to continue improving and getting better.”
Both sides walk into Saturday with a clean conference record. One of them walks out of Orlando without it.
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