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UCF Extends Road Skid to 10 Games in Pittsburgh Loss
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- UCF Extends Road Skid to 10 Games in Pittsburgh Loss
(Charles LeClaire/Imagn Images)
Road woes are still the UCF Knights ' Achilles' heel, as they lost 12-7 to the Pittsburgh Panthers at Acrisure Stadium on Saturday.
Pittsburgh (2-0, 0-0 ACC) extended UCF's (1-1, 0-0 Big 12) road-game losing streak to 10 games and its all-time head-to-head series lead to 3-1.
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Saturday's game faced weather delays, pushing back its 3:30 p.m. start to 4:35 p.m. The weather made it difficult for both teams to string together good plays, as players routinely dropped passes early.
UCF and Pittsburgh each had a six-play and three-play drive that resulted in a turnover or punt.
The Panthers struck at the end of the first quarter as an 18-play drive ended in a 28-yard field goal attempt by Antonio Chadha .
The Knights' defense did a stellar job limiting their opponent to a field goal, despite the offense's lack of production. Quarterback Alonza Barnett III struggled with accuracy, and the running game was nonexistent.
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Pittsburgh displayed why it has a historic run defense , limiting UCF to 20 yards on the evening. Its run defense has finished at the top of the ACC for several seasons: best in the conference last season, third in 2024 and eighth in 2023.
The Panthers' defense put points on the board in the second quarter by forcing a safety on Barnett, UCF's first safety since 2023.
Running back Taevion Swint fell in the end zone, botching the play-action and linebacker Braylan Lovelace bullrushed Barnett, leading to an intentional grounding flag.
UCF's offense could string together positive plays, looking very reminiscent of last season's team. Pittsburgh stopped the run early, and Barnett's passes were a tad ahead of or behind his receivers.
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Running back Damon Ferguson Jr. scored Pittsburgh's 12th unanswered point with a 13-yard touchdown run, dragging multiple Knights defenders into the end zone.
The Panthers led at halftime 12-0 and did not relinquish the lead, continuing their defensive stalwart performance.
UCF scored its first touchdown late in the fourth quarter, as Barnett completed a 19-yard pass to Waden Charles for his first score of the season.
The program's response came too late despite an extra opportunity to win the game in the last two minutes.
UCF failed to respond against another Power Four program, repeating the same mistakes that plagued the team last season and missing its second straight bowl game.
The Knights will return home to face the Georgia State Panthers to wrap up nonconference play at 7 p.m. next Saturday at the Acrisure Bounce House.
