Kansas vs. UCF 2025 Preview: Must-Know Keys and Predictions

The Kansas Jayhawks are coming off one of the most heartbreaking losses we might see all season in college football. After taking the lead with 1:45 left in their Week 5 contest against Cincinnati, the KU defense allowed Bearcats to march down the field and regain the lead with just 29 seconds left. As you can imagine, Kansas was unable to do the same and fell in brutal fashion, dropping to 1-1 in Big 12 play. They will look to bounce back against UCF, who is also coming off a loss last week. With that in mind, let’s dive into this Kansas vs. UCF 2025 preview for Week 6.

Kansas Jayhawks vs. UCF Knights: Matchup History

Kansas and UCF have met just once on the football field, during the Knights’ inaugural season in the Big 12. In just their third game in the new conference, UCF yielded little resistance for the Jayhawks. Devin Neal and Daniel Hishaw combined for 288 rushing yards and three touchdowns, as Kansas got out to a 31-0 lead and cruised to a 51-22 win.

That season, UCF would rattle off three wins in their final four games to sneak into a bowl game. The Jayhawks, on the other hand, would go on to win eight regular season games and have the best single-season since the magical Orange Bowl team in 2007.

Kansas vs. UCF 2025 Preview: Keys to the Game and Predictions

Key Players for Kansas

We’re going to continue talking about Jalon Daniels until he proves to not be the most important player on the team and one of the most important players in the country. Daniels put up 600 total yards and four touchdowns last week, yet Kansas still found a way to lose. Without him, who knows how bad that game gets. Without him, they don’t stand a chance against Missouri a few weeks ago. And, without him, the team’s ceiling is .500 and hoping for a bowl game.

Daniels is 10th in the country in passing yards, second in touchdown passes, and has just three turnovers through five games. He has at least 200 total yards in every game this season and the only two games where he had less than 200 passing yards were games that the Jayhawks won by a combined score of 72-17. Daniels also had three touchdowns in both of those games, so he still provided plenty of production.

Key Players for UCF

The Knights are led by a dynamic rushing attack. Myles Montgomery and Jaden Nixon are both over the 200 yard threshold through the team’s first four games, while their two quarterbacks have combined for another 200 yards and five touchdowns. As a team, they average six yards per carry and have found the endzone 11 times on the ground.

Quarterback Tayven Jackson can also be a threat in the passing game. Even though he only has three passing touchdowns, he is averaging just over 200 passing yards per game, which is just enough to be considered a threat in my book. When you add in his three rushing touchdowns, he is certainly someone to keep an eye on.

Keys for a Jayhawk Win in Week 6

The Kansas defense has to step up, plain and simple. They were dominant in their three wins, allowing just 24 total points. However, in their two losses, they’ve allowed 79 points and nearly 1200 yards of offense. If this team wants to be a legitimate Big 12 contender, they are going to have to make big strides on that side of the ball. While UCF isn’t an offensive juggernaut, they can certainly put points on the board if given the chance.

On the offensive side of the ball, they just need to keep doing what they’ve been doing all season. They are averaging more than 36 points per game, which is a number that would be even higher if the starters played four quarters every game. If the defense can just make one or two more big plays, the Jayhawks should be able to flip the script on their recent success in close affairs.