No. 2 BYU vs. UCF Game Preview and Final Score Prediction

On Saturday, no. 2 BYU will take on UCF for the third time in as many seasons. BYU will be the highest-ranked team to ever play in the Bounce House, and it will be the homecoming game for a UCF team that is desperate for a signature win. The Cougars are undefeated against UCF since the two teams joined the Big 12 at the same time, and they are looking to avoid a letdown and improve to 7-0 before they return home to host ASU.

The weather could influence BYU's offensive gameplan for this game. Earlier this week, rain was in the forecast for most of the game. The forecast has pushed back the timing of the rain in recent days. If the current forecast holds, it won't starting raining in Orlando until the game is nearly over. If the rain reaches the Bounce House earlier than forecasted, we could be in for another sloppy game.

If the conditions are dry, that favors BYU. We expect BYU to move the football through the air in this game. UCF has been good against the run, but the same can't be said against the pass. The Knights come into this game ranked 104th in pass success rate allowed. Bear Bachmeier has been efficienct in every game where the ball has been dry.

If it starts to rain, expect BYU to play a conservative, ugly style of football with the goal of avoiding turnovers and leaving Orlando with a win.

On the defensive side, BYU will have the advantage over the UCF offense. UCF has struggled on that side of the ball, especially without starting quarterback Alonza Barnett III. Earlier this week, Pete Thamel reported that Barnett III would not start against BYU. However, he didn't report that he would not play. Barnett was "questionable" to play on Thursday evening's availability report. UCF offensive coordinator Steve Cooper did not shut the door on Barnett's potential return against BYU.

“Yeah, I think there’s a fair chance that he’ll be ready to go if everything goes well this week in practice,” Cooper said. “There’s still a lot to be decided there. Big picture, he could be available. I just don’t know yet.”

Whether Barnett is in the lineup or not, we expect the defense to take care of business. BYU has played five FBS offenses this season. In every game, the Cougars have held the opposing offense to their lowest (or tied for lowest) scoring output of the season. They say defense travels, and that's the primary reason why we like BYU's chances to take care of business on Saturday afternoon.

Excluding a rainy game against Pitt, UCF's lowest scoring output was 17 points against Houston. We like BYU's chances to win this game by multiple scores and cover, avoiding a trap game in Orlando.

BYU 31 | UCF 17

Previous 2026 Score Predictions

Before every game, we submit our official score prediction. We got off to strong start until the TCU game when BYU's offense didn't live up to our pregame prediction. Still, our total margin variance is 16 points after six games and we are a perfect 6-0 against the spread. Below were our score predictions for the game compared to the actual final score.

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