# 2026 UCF Knights football team
The 2026 [UCF Knights football](https://www.edgepedia.org/ucf-knights-football) team represents the [University of Central Florida](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-central-florida) in the 2026 NCAA Division I FBS football season as a member of the [Big 12 Conference](https://www.edgepedia.org/big-12-conference). The Knights play their home games at Acrisure Bounce House in Orlando, Florida, and entered the season's second half with a 3-3 overall record and a 1-2 mark in Big 12 play.[1](https://ucfknights.com/sports/football/schedule) • [2](https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/teams/UCF/ucf-knights/schedule/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Conference | Big 12 Conference[1](https://ucfknights.com/sports/football/schedule) |
| Home stadium | Acrisure Bounce House, Orlando, Florida[1](https://ucfknights.com/sports/football/schedule) |
| Record through Oct 10 | 3-3 overall, 1-2 in Big 12 play[1](https://ucfknights.com/sports/football/schedule) |
| Home / away split | 3-0 at home, 0-3 on the road[1](https://ucfknights.com/sports/football/schedule) |
| Best result | 73-6 season-opening win over Bethune-Cookman on September 3[1](https://ucfknights.com/sports/football/schedule) |
| Ranked opponents faced | Losses at No. 20 Houston (17-27) and at No. 18 Oklahoma State (28-42)[1](https://ucfknights.com/sports/football/schedule) |
| Notable home games remaining | Homecoming vs. No. 8 BYU (Oct 24) and the Space Game vs. Baylor (Oct 30, 7:30 PM EDT on ESPN)[1](https://ucfknights.com/sports/football/schedule) • [2](https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/teams/UCF/ucf-knights/schedule/) |
## Season results to date
**A perfect September at home.** UCF opened the season on Thursday, September 3 with a 73-6 win over Bethune-Cookman at Acrisure Bounce House, the team's largest margin of the year to date.[1](https://ucfknights.com/sports/football/schedule) After a 7-12 loss at Pittsburgh's Acrisure Stadium on September 12, the Knights returned home and won twice in succession: 44-30 over Georgia State on September 19 (the Family Weekend game) and 21-13 over TCU on September 26.[1](https://ucfknights.com/sports/football/schedule) • [3](https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/central-florida/2026-schedule.html)
**Two ranked road losses.** Conference play then took the Knights on the road twice, and both games ended in defeat. UCF fell 17-27 at then-No. 20 Houston at TDECU Stadium on October 3, and lost 28-42 at then-No. 18 Oklahoma State at Boone Pickens Stadium on October 10, dropping the team to 3-3 overall and onto a two-game losing streak.[1](https://ucfknights.com/sports/football/schedule) • [3](https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/central-florida/2026-schedule.html) The pattern through six games is a clean home-road split: the Knights are 3-0 in Orlando and 0-3 away.[1](https://ucfknights.com/sports/football/schedule)
## Remaining schedule
Six games remain on the 2026 schedule, four of them at home.[1](https://ucfknights.com/sports/football/schedule)
| Date | Opponent | Location | Time / TV |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat, Oct 24 | No. 8 BYU (Homecoming) | Acrisure Bounce House, Orlando | TBA[1](https://ucfknights.com/sports/football/schedule) |
| Fri, Oct 30 | Baylor (Space Game) | Acrisure Bounce House, Orlando | 7:30 PM EDT, ESPN[1](https://ucfknights.com/sports/football/schedule) • [2](https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/teams/UCF/ucf-knights/schedule/) |
| Sat, Nov 7 | at Kansas | David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium, Lawrence | TBA[1](https://ucfknights.com/sports/football/schedule) |
| Sat, Nov 14 | Arizona State | Acrisure Bounce House, Orlando | TBA[1](https://ucfknights.com/sports/football/schedule) |
| Fri, Nov 20 | Iowa State (Senior Knight) | Acrisure Bounce House, Orlando | 6:00 PM EST, FS1[1](https://ucfknights.com/sports/football/schedule) • [2](https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/teams/UCF/ucf-knights/schedule/) |
| Sat, Nov 28 | at Colorado | Folsom Field, Boulder | TBA[1](https://ucfknights.com/sports/football/schedule) |
The October 24 homecoming game against No. 8 BYU is the only remaining matchup against a team ranked in the top 10 at the time of scheduling.[1](https://ucfknights.com/sports/football/schedule)
## Space Game and Mission X
The October 30 game against Baylor is UCF's annual Space Game, a tradition tied to the program's "Space U" identity and the nearby [Kennedy Space Center](https://www.edgepedia.org/kennedy-space-center).[1](https://ucfknights.com/sports/football/schedule) On September 29, 2026, the program revealed the Mission X Space Game uniforms for the matchup.[4](https://ucfknights.com/sports/football/news)
## Program notes
In early October 2026, UCF Athletics and [Walt Disney World](https://www.edgepedia.org/walt-disney-world) debuted a new football helmet sponsorship.[4](https://ucfknights.com/sports/football/news) The 2026 season is also the first since the inaugural meeting between the sides in which UCF and [Cincinnati](https://www.edgepedia.org/cincinnati) do not play each other, a scheduling change noted in the program's 2025 game notes.[5](https://storage.googleapis.com/ucfknights-com-prod/2025/10/10/x5IeDxlVhpQXGqDiVzlWfiYDeONsRFGGJBl1oeh9.pdf) Coming into 2026, the Knights' defense had improved its scoring defense in consecutive seasons, allowing 23.6 points per game in 2025 after giving up 26.9 per game in 2024.[6](https://vsin.com/college-football/big-12-team-previews-and-predictions-for-the-2026-college-football-season/)
## References
1. [2026 Football Schedule, UCF Athletics](https://ucfknights.com/sports/football/schedule)
2. [UCF Knights Schedule 2026-27, CBS Sports](https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/teams/UCF/ucf-knights/schedule/)
3. [2026 UCF Knights Schedule and Results, Sports-Reference](https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/central-florida/2026-schedule.html)
4. [Football News Archive, UCF Athletics](https://ucfknights.com/sports/football/news)
5. [Knights Football game notes (October 2025), UCF Athletics](https://storage.googleapis.com/ucfknights-com-prod/2025/10/10/x5IeDxlVhpQXGqDiVzlWfiYDeONsRFGGJBl1oeh9.pdf)
6. [Big 12 Team Previews and Predictions for the 2026 College Football Season, VSiN](https://vsin.com/college-football/big-12-team-previews-and-predictions-for-the-2026-college-football-season/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Other team and ball sports › Rugby and other football codes › College, minor, and international American football › College football programs › 2026 season articles › FBS team season articles › Power Four conference teams*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 11, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license