UCF has biggest comeback victory in program history against TCU

At the end of the first half, most UCF fans were ready to change the channel and take the loss in the first Big 12 game of the season. In the first half, UCF left six points on the field with two blocked field goals that left UCF down 7-21 heading into the half. TCU then came out of the half and put another touchdown on the board making it a 21-point deficit for the Knights.

On UCF's first drive of the second half, the offense just looked different and was able to move the ball. UCF running back RJ Harvey punched in his second touchdown of the game and his ninth of the season. However, the kicking woes continued for the Knights as TCU had its third block of the night on kicker Colton Boomer's extra-point attempt.

From that point on, UCF had one goal in mind...make a comeback.

The biggest change in the second half for the Knights was that the defense was finally able to get stops. TCU's offense was rolling throughout the first half at will without much pressure. TCU quarterback Josh Hoover finished the game 35-for-52 with 401 yards and four touchdowns. The run defense was holding strong, but the Knights's secondary just could not get coverage of TCU's receivers.

The other difference between the first half and the second half for the Knights was the play-calling for the offense. The Knights's offense was too predictable in the first half and TCU's defense was able to sniff out plays from a mile away.

In the second half, Gus Malzahn actually mixed up pass and run plays fairly well forcing the defense to either straight up, or continue trying to guess.

Yet again, the UCF run game was a big reason for the win in this game as the Knights put up 289 rushing yards and UCF quarterback KJ Jefferson threw for only 230 yards on 13 completions. However, some of the passes Jefferson made and the wide receivers, mostly senior Kobe Hudons, made some great catches.

Hudson and Harvey were the biggest parts of UCF's offense against TCU as they combined to score 30 of UCF's 35 points.

the final three minutes of the game were truly the craziest of the night. UCF had already made a big comeback but were still down six points, the same six points the Knights left off the board in the first half with blocked field goals.

The defense did its job and forced TCU to go three-and-out to get the ball back to the offense with just over three minutes left in the game. Over the past seven or eight years, UCF's offense has been known to go fast and score fast, however, in this moment, they needed to take as much time as possible to score.

The final offensive drive for the Knights wasn't without its drama. Jefferson was able to move the ball effectively but on a play to Randy Pittman Jr., Pittman Jr. caught the pass and ran for a few extra yards, but as the play was whistled, the ball popped out and TCU recovered what they thought was a fumble, but the officials were calling Pittman Jr. down. After a long review, the call on the field stood, but after many angles, it was still hard to tell if he was down or not.

Three plays later, UCF scored a touchdown on a pass from Jefferson to Hudson to tie the game, but now the scariest part was the extra point. Boomer came up cool, calm and collected and put the ball through the uprights with 36 seconds left on the clock. the game by no means was over.

The UCF defense had to stand yet again and just not let TCU get in field goal range. TCU was able to get some yards but stalled on the UCF 40-yard line with three seconds left and it was up to TCU's freshman kicker to win the game with a big 57-yard field goal. The kick had the distance but was not on line and at that moment, the game was over and UCF achieved its goal.

The 21-point comeback is the largest in UCF football history and after struggling on the road in the Big 12 in 2023, the Knights started off Big 12 play on a high note with a big win in a sold-out TCU stadium.