Not even a weather delay could slow down UCF, which raced out to a 68-7 win over North Carolina A&T at Acrisure Bounce House Stadium on Saturday. Here are five things learned from the victory:
Tayven Jackson should be the starting QB
Take it for what it's worth regarding the opponent, but Jackson came out strong, guiding the Knights to touchdowns on three of their first four drives. He personally contributed with two rushing touchdowns (1 yard and 4 yards) and finished 12-of-21 with 189 yards passing.
Game 1 starter Cam Fancher missed Saturday's game while recovering from an injury but has been expected to return following the team's bye week.
Jacurri Brown, who entered the game in the second half, rushed for 106 yards and two touchdowns.
With UCF having a week off before hosting North Carolina, the Knights have a decision to make as to who will play quarterback.
Still, coach Scott Frost doesn't believe his team suffers from a quarterback controversy. Far from it.
"I don't know if it's controversy, at least not in our house," Frost said. "It isn't in our locker room or in our building. It isn't that because those three kids are all class acts and they root for each other and have been pulling for each other even when they've been competing.
"I'm really happy with the direction that we're going. Is it another tough decision in the next few weeks? No, I'm not going to create that. We have a bye week to consider, assess who's healthy and who's available, and we'll discuss it as a staff. However, I don't think it's going to be tough."
Jaden Nixon's career night powers UCF past North Carolina A&T
A week after totaling just 108 rushing yards in their win over Jacksonville State, the Knights turned it on against North Carolina A&T, totaling 356 yards and seven touchdowns.
Jaden Nixon followed up his UCF debut of minus-10 yards by rushing for a game-high 156 yards on 4 carries. Two of his carries went for touchdowns: an 87-yarder and a 66-yard score that gave him an incredible 39 yards per carry average.
Brown's 106 yards gave the Knights their first pair of 100-yard rushers since Isaiah Bowser and Ryan O'Keefe against Florida in the 2021 Gasparilla Bowl. It was the redshirt junior's second career 100-yard rushing performance.
Backup running back Stacy Gage scored his first rushing touchdown with the Knights in the fourth quarter.
Defense steps up in a big way
UCF's offense wasn't the only part of the team that got off to a fast start.
The Knights attacked on defense from the get-go, recording a pair of sacks, an interception and two fumble recoveries in the first quarter.
Linebacker Jayden McDonald got the start following the suspension of Lewis Carter for the first half of the game due to a targeting penalty against Jacksonville State. McDonald registered his first career interception midway through the first quarter.
In the following series, NCAT quarterback Champ Long fumbled the football and it was recovered by cornerback Antione Jackson. The next possession, edge rusher Nyjalik Kelly sacked Long in the end zone, forcing a fumble that was recovered by Rodney Lora for a touchdown.
"The last game, we had a really good amount of yards and didn't score many points," Frost said. "Then you look up tonight and we have a bunch of points and not very many offensive yards because we scored on defense and special teams.
"Those are the biggest scores in football, as far as dictating the outcome of the game. When you score on either one of those, you have a really high-percentage chance of winning."
It wasn't perfect by any stretch of the imagination
Even though UCF scored 68 points, the most since the Knights scored 70 against Temple on Oct. 13, 2022, some things needed fixing.
Frost wasn't pleased with the fact that his team had six penalties for 55 yards, and particularly the timing of some of these miscues. A holding penalty at the start of the second quarter wiped away a 38-yard touchdown by running back Myles Montgomery. It was the second game in which Montgomery had a score erased by a penalty.
The defense was flagged for a pair of personal fouls in the second half.
"We were better discipline-wise tonight, but we're not close to there yet," Frost said. "Guys are making some of their own decisions, just some mistakes. The one drive, we gave them 30 yards in penalties."
Mother Nature remains undefeated
For the second consecutive week, UCF found itself facing off against a familiar opponent: Mother Nature. Inclement weather delayed the kickoff against North Carolina A&T by an hour, canceling the team's Knight Walk and reducing pregame warmups to 62 minutes. The Knights suffered through more than a two-hour delay in the opener against Jacksonville State.
"It was the second straight week with us having a delay because of weather and the guys handled it well and they came out of the gates firing," Frost said.