UCF Edges Jacksonville State in Low-Scoring Week 1 Matchup
UCF defeated Jacksonville State 17-10 in a defensive struggle that saw both teams combine for just 20 points through three quarters. The Knights dominated the second half, scoring 14 points in the fourth quarter to pull away from the Gamecocks.
Neither team managed offensive production early, with both squads scoreless through the first two quarters. Jacksonville State struck first with a field goal in the third quarter, and UCF answered with a matching field goal to keep the game tight at 3-3 entering the final frame.
The fourth quarter became UCF's showcase. Tayven Jackson led a decisive scoring drive, connecting with DJ Black on a 33-yard touchdown pass to give UCF control. Jackson also orchestrated another key drive highlighted by a 64-yard completion to Myles Montgomery that set up additional scoring.
Myles Montgomery led UCF's offensive effort with 79 rushing yards and 71 receiving yards. Cam Fancher completed 32 passes for the Knights. Despite the final margin, Jacksonville State's defense generated significant plays, holding UCF scoreless through two quarters. The game finished well under the 52.5-point over-under, with UCF covering the 20.5-point spread.
AI-generated recap · Aug 25, 2026
| Team | 1Q | 2Q | 3Q | 4Q | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Jacksonville State | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 10 |
 UCF | 0 | 0 | 3 | 14 | 17 |
Scoring Timeline
Drive Chart
Box Score
| Statistic | Jacksonville State | UCF |
|---|---|---|
| Passing | 16-30 | 22-33 |
| Pass Yards | 157 | 314 |
| Rush Yards | 165 | 110 |
| Total Yards | 322 | 424 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 1 |
| 3rd Down | 3-15 | 7-15 |
| Penalties | 7-60 | 9-80 |
| Possession | 28:04 | 31:56 |
Player Leaders
Player Leaders
Play-by-Play
Cam Fancher pass incomplete to Marcus Burke
Myles Montgomery run for 6 yds to the UCF 25
Cam Fancher pass complete to Duane Thomas Jr. for 9 yds to the UCF 34 for a 1ST down
Cam Fancher pass incomplete to Myles Montgomery
Myles Montgomery run for 6 yds to the UCF 40
Cam Fancher pass complete to Marcus Burke for 6 yds to the UCF 46 for a 1ST down
Myles Montgomery run for 3 yds to the UCF 49
Cam Fancher pass incomplete to Marcus Burke
Myles Montgomery run for 6 yds to the JXST 45
Myles Montgomery run for 1 yd to the JXST 44 for a 1ST down
Myles Montgomery run for 2 yds to the JXST 42
Cam Fancher pass incomplete to Dylan Wade
Jaden Nixon run for a loss of 7 yards to the JXST 49
Anthony Venneri punt for 30 yds, punt out-of-bounds at the JXST 19
Anthony Venneri punt for 30 yds, punt out-of-bounds at the JXST 19
Conor Donaghy kickoff for 63 yds , Jaden Nixon return for 17 yds to the UCF 19
Cam Cook run for 8 yds to the JXST 27
Cam Cook run for 4 yds to the JXST 31 for a 1ST down
Gavin Wimsatt run for 1 yd to the JXST 32
Cam Cook run for 9 yds to the JXST 41 for a 1ST down
Gavin Wimsatt pass complete to Caleb Coombs for 4 yds to the JXST 45
Gavin Wimsatt run for no gain to the JXST 45
PENALTY UCF Offside (Dunnam,Phillip) 5 yards from JSU45 to JSU50. NO PLAY.
Cam Cook run for no gain to the 50 yard line
Gavin Wimsatt run for 3 yds to the UCF 47 for a 1ST down
Cam Cook run for no gain to the UCF 47
Gavin Wimsatt pass complete to Franklin Baret Jr. for 8 yds to the UCF 39
PENALTY JSU False Start (Griffin,Cameron) 5 yards from UCF39 to UCF44. NO PLAY.
Gavin Wimsatt pass incomplete to Gabe Glover
Myles Montgomery run for 5 yds to the UCF 8
Conor Donaghy punt for 41 yds
Myles Montgomery run for 13 yds to the UCF 21 for a 1ST down
Cam Fancher run for 2 yds to the UCF 23
Cam Fancher run for 25 yds to the UCF 48 for a 1ST down
Myles Montgomery run for 10 yds to the JXST 42 for a 1ST down
Duane Thomas Jr. run for a loss of 7 yards to the JXST 49 Duane Thomas Jr. fumbled, recovered by JXST Thaxton Gallagher
Duane Thomas Jr. run for a loss of 7 yards to the JXST 49 Duane Thomas Jr. fumbled, recovered by JXST Thaxton Gallagher
Gavin Wimsatt run for no gain to the JXST 49
Gavin Wimsatt run for 1 yd to the 50 yard line
Gavin Wimsatt run for 3 yds to the UCF 47
Cade Backe punt for 35 yds, fair catch by Duane Thomas Jr. at the UCF 12
Cade Backe punt for 35 yds, fair catch by Duane Thomas Jr. at the UCF 12
Duane Thomas Jr. run for no gain to the UCF 12
Cam Fancher pass complete to Jaden Nixon for 4 yds to the UCF 8
Cam Fancher run for 21 yds to the UCF 29 for a 1ST down
Jaden Nixon run for 1 yd to the UCF 30
Cam Fancher pass complete to Duane Thomas Jr. for 20 yds to the 50 yard line for a 1ST down
Cam Fancher pass complete to Kylan Fox for 1 yd to the JXST 49
Cam Fancher run for 9 yds to the UCF 42 Cam Fancher fumbled, recovered by UCF Duane Thomas Jr. UCF Penalty, Offensive Holding (Yards) declined
No Huddle-Shotgun Fancher,Cam sacked for loss of 14 yards to the UCF28 (Fegans,Tre'Quon), fumble by Fancher,Cam recovered by JSU Oyebadejo,Emmanuel at UCF28 TOUCHDOWN nullified by penalty, clock 10:45 PENALTY JSU Targeting (Fegans,Tre'Quon) 15 yards from UCF42 to JSU43, 1ST DOWN. NO PLAY.
Myles Montgomery run for 1 yd to the JXST 42
Myles Montgomery run for 6 yds to the JXST 36
Myles Montgomery run for 2 yds to the JXST 34
Myles Montgomery run for 2 yds to the JXST 32 for a 1ST down
Tayven Jackson pass complete to Duane Thomas Jr. for 3 yds to the JXST 29
(08:07) No Huddle-Shotgun Montgomery,Myles rush left for 29 yards gain to the JSU00 TOUCHDOWN nullified by penalty, clock 07:47 PENALTY UCF Holding (Brooks,Jabari) 10 yards from JSU29 to JSU39. NO PLAY.
Tayven Jackson pass complete to Kylan Fox for 13 yds to the JXST 26
Tayven Jackson run for 6 yds to the JXST 20 for a 1ST down
(06:40) No Huddle-Shotgun Montgomery,Myles rush middle for 1 yard gain to the JSU19 (O'Steen,Walker; Franklin, Jr.,Travis) PENALTY UCF Chop Block (Kinnie,Cameron) 15 yards from JSU20 to JSU35. NO PLAY.
Tayven Jackson run for 8 yds to the JXST 43 Tayven Jackson fumbled, recovered by UCF Paul Rubelt
Tayven Jackson pass complete to Myles Montgomery for 5 yds to the JXST 38
Tayven Jackson pass incomplete to Myles Montgomery
UCF Penalty, False Start (Yards) declined
Anthony Venneri punt for 38 yds for a touchback
(04:50) PENALTY JSU False Start (Jackson,Reggie) 5 yards from JSU20 to JSU15. NO PLAY.
Andrew Paul run for a loss of 1 yard to the JXST 14
Cam Cook run for 7 yds to the JXST 21
Gavin Wimsatt pass complete to Cam Cook for 4 yds to the JXST 25
Cade Backe punt for 42 yds , Antione Jackson returns for 21 yds to the JXST 46
Tayven Jackson pass complete to Dylan Wade for 6 yds to the JXST 40
Myles Montgomery run for no gain to the JXST 40
Tayven Jackson pass incomplete to Waden Charles
Anthony Venneri punt for 34 yds
Gavin Wimsatt run for 7 yds to the JXST 13
UCF Penalty, UNS: Unsportsmanlike Conduct (Horace Lockett) to the JXST 30 for a 1ST down
Gavin Wimsatt pass complete to Cam Cook for 18 yds to the JXST 48 for a 1ST down
Gavin Wimsatt pass incomplete to Pearson Baldwin
Gavin Wimsatt pass complete to Deondre Johnson for 9 yds to the UCF 43
Gavin Wimsatt pass incomplete to Brock Rechsteiner
Cam Cook run for 6 yds to the UCF 37 for a 1ST down
Cam Cook run for 1 yd to the UCF 36
Gavin Wimsatt pass complete to Brock Rechsteiner for 14 yds to the UCF 22 for a 1ST down
Gavin Wimsatt pass complete to Pearson Baldwin for 5 yds to the UCF 17
End of 2nd Quarter
Garrison Rippa 35 yd FG BLOCKED blocked by Keli Lawson
Noe Ruelas kickoff for 65 yds , Gabe Glover return for 21 yds to the JXST 21
PENALTY JSU Delay Of Game 5 yards from JSU21 to JSU16. NO PLAY.
Cam Cook run for 2 yds to the JXST 18
Gavin Wimsatt pass incomplete to Deondre Johnson
(14:22) No Huddle-Shotgun Wimsatt,Gavin pass complete short middle to Coombs,Caleb caught at JSU30, for 12 yards to the JSU30 (Dunnam,Phillip) PENALTY UCF Offside (Lawrence,Malachi) 5 yards from JSU18 to JSU23. NO PLAY.
Gavin Wimsatt pass complete to Cam Cook for 3 yds to the JXST 26
Shane Payton Hodges run for 25 yds to the UCF 49 for a 1ST down
Khristian Lando run for no gain to the UCF 49
Gavin Wimsatt pass incomplete to Gabe Glover
Gavin Wimsatt sacked by Horace Lockett for a loss of 9 yards to the JXST 42
PENALTY JSU False Start (Thompson,Aidan) 5 yards from JSU42 to JSU37. NO PLAY.
Cade Backe punt for 42 yds
Tayven Jackson pass complete to Myles Montgomery for 64 yds to the JXST 15 for a 1ST down
Myles Montgomery run for 7 yds to the JXST 8
Myles Montgomery run for 4 yds to the JXST 4 for a 1ST down
Myles Montgomery run for 1 yd to the JXST 3
Tayven Jackson run for 2 yds to the JXST 1
PENALTY UCF False Start (Smith,Keegan) 5 yards from JSU01 to JSU06. NO PLAY.
Tayven Jackson pass incomplete to Marcus Burke
Anthony Venneri 24 yd FG GOOD
Gavin Wimsatt run for 13 yds to the JXST 38 for a 1ST down
Cam Cook run for 4 yds to the JXST 42
Gavin Wimsatt run for 2 yds to the JXST 44
Gavin Wimsatt run for 7 yds to the UCF 49 for a 1ST down
Caden Creel pass complete to Cam Cook for 18 yds to the UCF 31 for a 1ST down
Cam Cook run for 6 yds to the UCF 25
Gavin Wimsatt pass incomplete to Caden Creel
Gavin Wimsatt pass incomplete to Brock Rechsteiner
Garrison Rippa 42 yd FG GOOD
Tayven Jackson pass complete to DJ Black for 11 yds to the UCF 36 for a 1ST down
Myles Montgomery run for no gain to the UCF 36
Tayven Jackson pass complete to Marcus Burke for 10 yds to the UCF 46 for a 1ST down
Tayven Jackson pass complete to Dylan Wade for 9 yds to the JXST 45
Tayven Jackson pass incomplete to Duane Thomas Jr.
Tayven Jackson pass complete to Dylan Wade for no gain to the JXST 45
(02:35) PENALTY UCF False Start (Black,DJ) 5 yards from JSU45 to JSU50. NO PLAY.
Anthony Venneri punt for 34 yds, fair catch by Gabe Glover at the JXST 16
Gavin Wimsatt run for 5 yds to the JXST 21
Cam Cook run for 24 yds to the JXST 45 for a 1ST down
Gavin Wimsatt pass incomplete to Harrison Hamsley
(01:13) No Huddle-Shotgun Cook,Cam rush right for 5 yards gain to the JSU50 (Bell,DJ) PENALTY JSU Holding (Grayson,Amare) 10 yards from JSU45 to JSU35. NO PLAY.
Gavin Wimsatt pass complete to Caleb Coombs for a loss of 1 yard to the JXST 34
Gavin Wimsatt pass complete to Brock Rechsteiner for 20 yds to the UCF 46
Andrew Paul run for 1 yd to the UCF 45 for a 1ST down
Caden Creel run for 14 yds to the UCF 31 for a 1ST down
Brock Rechsteiner run for a loss of 2 yards to the UCF 33
Andrew Paul run for 6 yds to the UCF 27
Gavin Wimsatt pass complete to Andrew Paul for 17 yds to the UCF 10 for a 1ST down
Andrew Paul run for 10 yds for a TD (Garrison Rippa KICK)
Conor Donaghy kickoff for 58 yds , Jaden Nixon return for 17 yds to the UCF 24
Tayven Jackson pass incomplete to Duane Thomas Jr.
Tayven Jackson pass complete to Duane Thomas Jr. for 17 yds to the UCF 41 for a 1ST down
Tayven Jackson pass complete to Myles Montgomery for 2 yds to the UCF 43
Tayven Jackson sacked by Chase Alexander for a loss of 7 yards to the UCF 36
Tayven Jackson pass complete to Waden Charles for 18 yds to the JXST 46 for a 1ST down
Tayven Jackson run for 7 yds to the JXST 39
Tayven Jackson pass complete to Dylan Wade for 39 yds for a TD (Noe Ruelas KICK)
Noe Ruelas kickoff for 62 yds , Gabe Glover return for 19 yds to the JXST 22
Gavin Wimsatt pass complete to Franklin Baret Jr. for 6 yds to the JXST 28
Cam Cook run for a loss of 2 yards to the JXST 26
Gavin Wimsatt pass complete to Brock Rechsteiner for no gain to the JXST 26
Cade Backe punt for 44 yds, punt out-of-bounds at the UCF 30
Tayven Jackson pass complete to Marcus Burke for 27 yds to the JXST 43 for a 1ST down
Tayven Jackson pass complete to DJ Black for 15 yds to the JXST 28 for a 1ST down
Myles Montgomery run for 3 yds to the JXST 25
Tayven Jackson sacked by Gharin Stansbury for a loss of 10 yards to the JXST 35
Tayven Jackson pass complete to Kylan Fox for 10 yds to the JXST 25
Anthony Venneri 43 yd FG MISSED
Andrew Paul run for 9 yds to the JXST 34
Gavin Wimsatt sacked by Rodney Lora for a loss of 5 yards to the JXST 29
Gavin Wimsatt pass complete to Deondre Johnson for 26 yds to the UCF 45 for a 1ST down
Cam Cook run for 1 yd to the UCF 44
Gavin Wimsatt pass incomplete to Brock Rechsteiner
(01:56) No Huddle-Shotgun Wimsatt,Gavin pass incomplete short right to Johnson,Deondre thrown to UCF35 broken up by Kelly,Nyjalik PENALTY UCF Offside (Kelly,Nyjalik) 5 yards from UCF44 to UCF39. NO PLAY.
Cam Cook run for 3 yds to the UCF 36
Cam Cook run for no gain to the UCF 36
Tayven Jackson pass incomplete to DJ Black
Tayven Jackson pass incomplete to Dylan Wade
Tayven Jackson run for 15 yds to the JXST 49 for a 1ST down Jacksonville State Penalty, Targeting (Trevor Woods) to the JXST 34 for a 1ST down
Myles Montgomery run for 2 yds to the JXST 32
Myles Montgomery run for a loss of 1 yard to the JXST 33
Tayven Jackson pass complete to DJ Black for 33 yds for a TD (Noe Ruelas KICK)
Gavin Wimsatt pass complete to Pearson Baldwin for 6 yds to the JXST 31
Gavin Wimsatt pass incomplete to Caleb Coombs
(00:39) No Huddle-Shotgun Wimsatt,Gavin pass incomplete short right to Rechsteiner,Brock thrown to JSU36 PENALTY UCF Targeting (Carter,Lewis) 15 yards from JSU31 to JSU46, 1ST DOWN. NO PLAY.
Gavin Wimsatt pass incomplete to Deondre Johnson
Gavin Wimsatt pass incomplete to Deondre Johnson
Gavin Wimsatt pass incomplete to Caleb Coombs
Gavin Wimsatt pass intercepted Jayden Bellamy return for no gain to the UCF 44
(00:16) Kneel down by UCF at UCF42 for loss of 2 yards.