On November 23rd, 2024, the West Virginia Mountaineers closed out the home portion of their football season with a 31-21 victory over the UCF Knights. On October 18th, 2025, the two programs will face off once again, as WVU will try to keep a clean slate in the all-time series.
About the UCF Knights
The self-proclaimed 2017 National Champions, UCF, have been an up-and-down football program since 2000. Hailing from a beautiful campus in Orlando, Florida, the Knights are former members of Conference USA and the American Athletic Conference. Now entering its third season as a member of the Big 12, UCF is aiming to earn its first winning season since joining the power conference.
In 18 conference games played, the Knights are 5-13, which has heavily contributed to UCF’s overall record of 10-15 since the start of the 2023 season. Despite recent struggles, UCF has collected six bowl wins in 15 appearances, including two BCS bowl victories over big-time programs such as Auburn and Baylor.
The 2017-18 season was the program’s best, touting a perfect 13-0 record that included the Peach Bowl victory over the Auburn Tigers. Technically, the “National Championship” is legitimate, as the Colley Matrix named the Knights as champions.
The NCAA recognizes the Colley Matrix, although it is not universally recognized among fans and colleagues. In this millennium, however, UCF also has two completely winless seasons (2004, 2015). The Knights’ football program can be somewhat inconsistent, but it depends on the year.
A Brief, Lopsided Matchup History
The upcoming contest between WVU and UCF will be the fifth all-time meeting between the two institutions in a series that the Mountaineers have wholistically dominated. WVU is 4-0 all-time against the Knights, with wins in 2003, 2004, 2023, and 2024. The Mountaineers will be making their second visit to the venue known simply as “The Bounce House.” With a capacity ranging in the mid-40,000s, it is one of the smallest stadiums in the conference.
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However, it has the nickname for a reason. The Bounce House holds a rabid fan base on gamedays, and the noise they can create can make for an intimidating atmosphere. The last time WVU rolled into town, however, the crowd was split, as many pictures indicate a heavy presence of Mountaineer Nation. Any and all crowd factors proved to be ineffective against the visiting Mountaineers, as WVU won 41-28 in 2023.
To get to the point, UCF has yet to get the best of WVU on the gridiron. Across the four all-time matchups between the two programs, the Mountaineers have combined to outscore the Knights, 153-87. The WVU offense has averaged 38.25 points per game against UCF and allowed under 22 points per game in the series.
Return to Familiarity
One more thing worth noting is that both programs are returning to familiar faces at the helm. Not only is Rich Rodriguez returning to the Mountaineers for the 2025 season, but Scott Frost is coming back for his second stint at UCF. Frost coached the Knights in 2016 and 2017 before heading to Nebraska, where he coached for four seasons. Both Rodriguez and Frost learned that sometimes, the grass is not always greener. Regardless of fan opinion, these are (as of now) objectively good returns for two programs that desperately need a familiar face with a winning mentality.
Tune In
A kickoff time, as well as TV streaming information, is unavailable at the time of publication. However, all WVU football games will be broadcast on 100.9 FM The Torch and its nine affiliate stations.
For all things West Virginia sports, including the weekly Tale of the Tape series leading up to the football season, stay up to date with WV Sports Nation.
