UCF stuns No. 2 BYU 39-31 in double OT as top-10 teams fall in Week 8

UCF pulled off the biggest win in the programme's history on Saturday, October 24, beating No. 2 BYU 39-31 in double overtime in Orlando and ending the Cougars' unbeaten season. It was UCF's first win over a team ranked in the AP top five, on a dramatic Week 8 in which three more top-15 teams lost and No. 6 Indiana needed overtime to get past Michigan.

How UCF did it

The game was level at the end of regulation after a frantic finish. UCF lined up a 46-yard field goal to win it, but BYU blocked the kick; a 10-second run-off, triggered by a lost helmet on the play, then ran out the clock and sent the game to overtime.

BYU struck first in the first overtime when quarterback Bear Bachmeier threw a 28-yard touchdown to Legend Glasker. UCF answered on the very next play: Keyone Jenkins escaped the pass rush and found Josh Derry for a 25-yard touchdown, and the teams went to a second overtime.

In the second extra period, under college rules, each team had to go for two points. Jenkins threw a well-placed pass to freshman receiver Tyren Hornes to put UCF ahead 39-31. BYU drove to the UCF 4-yard line, but on fourth down Bachmeier's pass to Walker Lyons fell incomplete, and the home crowd poured on to the field.

Final score	UCF 39–31 No. 2 BYU (2OT)
Venue	Orlando, Florida
Records	BYU 6-1 (3-1 Big 12); UCF 4-3 (2-2 Big 12)
Key plays	Jenkins 25-yard TD to Derry (1st OT); 2-point pass to Hornes (2nd OT)
History	UCF's first win over an AP top-five team

Upsets across the country

UCF's win topped a day of shocks for ranked teams.

Result	Notes
Cincinnati 37–24 No. 8 Texas Tech	Unranked Cincinnati handed Texas Tech its first loss of the season
South Carolina 27–24 No. 11 Tennessee	Malik Orsan kicked a 58-yard field goal as time expired
Minnesota 13–10 No. 15 Iowa	Luke Drzewiecki's 47-yard walk-off field goal
No. 6 Indiana 13–6 Michigan (OT)	Indiana survived in Ann Arbor in a defensive battle

In Columbia, LaNorris Sellers scored on a 4-yard run to tie the game 24-24 for South Carolina, and a fumble by Tennessee quarterback George MacIntyre on a sack set up Orsan's winning kick from 58 yards. At Minnesota, a 39-yard completion from Drake Lindsey to Jalen Smith set up Drzewiecki's kick.

Background

BYU had been one of the stories of the season, rising to No. 2 in the AP poll with a 6-0 start and climbing towards the 12-team College Football Playoff picture. UCF, which joined the Big 12 in 2023, came into the game 3-3 and as a clear underdog.

The defeat is a major setback for BYU's hopes of an automatic playoff place as Big 12 champion, because the Cougars no longer control the conference race on their own. Texas Tech's loss to Cincinnati adds even more confusion at the top of the league.

Reactions

BYU fans were furious about a questionable roughing-the-kicker penalty called against BYU after the Cougars appeared to have held UCF to a kick, and debate about the call filled social media after the game. UCF players and staff celebrated with fans on the field after the final pass fell incomplete.

What happens next

The new AP Top 25 poll will be released on Sunday, October 25 (US time), and BYU is expected to fall several places, with Indiana likely to move up. The first College Football Playoff rankings of the season follow in early November. UCF's next game is against Baylor on Friday, October 30, while BYU will try to rebuild its title hopes in the second half of the Big 12 schedule.

Several late games, including No. 7 Ole Miss against No. 19 Texas and No. 10 Utah against No. 14 Houston, were still being played when this report was published; GlobeHourly will follow the results.