Another undefeated college football team has gone down.
Just one week after notching a program-defining victory over Notre Dame, No. 3 Brigham Young stumbled on its trip to the East Coast, losing to unranked Central Florida in a wild double-overtime thriller, 39-31.
The Golden Knights came to play at the Acrisure Bounce House, carried on the back of second-string quarterback Keyone Jenkins. It was an exhilarating game from the start that featured a crazy end of regulation sequence that saw UCF fail on fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line with 1:42 left in the game, and then with the ball again, miss the game-winning field goal as the fourth quarter ended.
Both
teams scored a touchdown in their opening overtime drives, and UCF kicked a field goal in the second overtime period. But a roughing the kicker penalty brought the offense back , allowing the Knights to score a touchdown and mandatory 2-point conversion to take an eight-point lead.
The Cougars were able to get inside the 10-yard line on their turn, but couldn't get past the goal line as Bear Bachmeier's fourth-down pass was incomplete, starting complete chaos in Orlando with fans storming the field.
WHAT A FINISH IN DOUBLE OT@UCF_Football UPSETS NO. 2 BYU pic.twitter.com/ZjBcPwJP0N
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 24, 2026
It highlighted another exciting day of college football, but bad news for BYU. After rising to No. 3 in its highest ranking in the US LBM Coaches Poll since USA TODAY began administering the poll in 1991, where will the Cougars drop?
Where will BYU fall in college football rankings after loss vs UCF?
So long, No. 3.
BYU will definitely fall down the poll after losing to a Golden Knights team that hadn't been all that impressive this season. UCF was coming off back-to-back losses to Houston and Oklahoma State before it went on its bye week, with the best win prior to Week 8 a victory over struggling TCU.
Not only that, but BYU didn't look like the better team on the field, having to play catch up the majority of the night.
The Cougars could avoid a major fall if they still are in the good graces of voters for getting one of the best wins in the season against Notre Dame. It could be viewed as a canceling of each other where a great victory and a bad loss are on the resume.
How other top 10 team fair will matter as well. Fellow Big 12 top-10 team Texas Tech lost earlier in the week. Given those factors, BYU could fall anywhere from the No. 6-12 range, keeping it in the College Football Playoff picture — but letting it be known it doesn't have much more room for error the rest of the season.
Final projection: No. 8
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: BYU football rankings: How far will Cougars drop after 2OT loss to UCF?
