Is it a trap? BYU football makes longest road trip of the season to face UCF
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- The BYU defense takes down UCF’s Jaden Nixon in a Big 12 football game at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025.
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- BYU’s Bear Bachmeier throws a pass against UCF in a Big 12 football game at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025.
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- BYU’s Kyle Sfracioc, right, blocks for quarterback Bear Bachmeier in a Big 12 football game against UCF at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025.
BYU fans are worried that Saturday’s cross-country road trip to Orlando to play UCF is a “trap game.”
Hey, when you’re 6-0, ranked No. 2 in the latest Associated Press poll and coming off one of the best wins in school history, ANY game is a trap game.
Remember, you wanted this.
While Cougar fans are still basking in the warm afterglow of beating Notre Dame 28-24 last Saturday, the players and coaches are well aware of the challenge upcoming at Acrisure Bounce House.
BYU defensive coordinator Kelly Poppinga — who went shirtless in the team’s enthusiastic locker room celebration after beating the Irish — said the team watched the game film on Monday and moved on.
“After Monday’s meeting, it’s all behind us,” Poppinga said. “We have to move on quickly and it’s like that every week in the Big 12. If you dwell on the previous week, I think you’re setting yourself up for failure.”
The message being repeated by players and coaches alike is to stay “humble and hungry.”
“I think this team is mature and we have good leaders,” offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick said. “A lot of our players have been through ups and downs in this program. Everybody knows it’s a one-game season every week. UCF hasn’t lost at home this year and we have to play at their place. It’s their homecoming, if I’m not mistaken, and we’re expecting a good crowd. They are playing good football. They are a much-improved team from last year, and last year they had us down 14-0 at the start.”
Last year’s game was in Provo and the regular-season finale, with the Cougars having clinched a spot in the Big 12 Championship Game with a 26-14 win at Cincinnati the previous week.
UCF led 14-0 after one quarter but BYU scored 31 straight points after that, including three short LJ Martin touchdown runs and a 55-yard punt return to the house by Parker Kingston. The Cougars eventually won the game 41-21.
The Golden Knights are 3-3 overall and 1-2 Big 12 play, beating Bethune-Cookman 73-6, Georgia State 44-30 and TCU 21-13 while losing to Pitt 12-7, then-No. 20 Houston 27-17 and then-No. 18 Oklahoma State 42-28. UCF had a bye week to rest up but still has a long injury list that includes Game 1 starting quarterback Alonza Barnett, who hasn’t played since the Pitt game. Senior Keyone Jenkins, a transfer from Florida International, has completed 70% of his passes for 806 yards, eight touchdowns and three interceptions this season.
BYU is still missing Martin, who continues to recover from an ankle injury suffered against TCU. But the Cougars got linebacker Isaiah Glasker and safety Raider Damuni back last week, and running back Sione Moa has been cleared to play after missing the past five games.
The Cougars are the highest ranked opponent the Golden Knights have ever played at home.
“Scott Frost is a great coach,” BYU’s Kalani Sitake said. “I’ve known him a long time. I knew him when we were both coordinators back in the day and I’ve been really impressed with him as a head coach and as a leader. You can tell he’s getting things going with their offensive talent, and they have a lot of team speed. It’s a dangerous opponent. Their record could be different now. They’re maybe a couple of plays away from being undefeated, even.”
Frost is suitably impressed with the Cougars, calling them “the best of the bunch” in the Big 12.
“”They’re big and long and physical,” Frost said. “They’ve got a really good quarterback. There’s no holes. They’re solid players everywhere. They know what they’re doing. They’re well-coached. It’s an awesome opportunity for us on homecoming to go shoot our shot and I think our kids will be excited.”
The BYU players say they will be ready, as well.
“I would say the win was great (against Notre Dame) but I feel like our team knows that coming into Monday, it’s like a new business week,” Cougar freshman receiver Legend Glasker said. “It’s still going to be talked about, obviously. But I know our team is going into the weight room and practice throughout this week is going to be a about just beating UCF, and then next week is going to the next game, and then next week is going to the next game.
“Our team knows that we’re chasing something way different than just to beat Notre Dame. So I would say we’re just focused on the weeks to come.”
