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A rival coach in the Big 12 praised Scott Frost and UCF, predicting big things for the Knights.

The 2026 season will be head coach Scott Frost’s second time being a in his second season as the UCF Knights head coach. The last time that happened was in 2017, and he went undefeated. Now, the Knights are hoping for similar success.

Now, there are questions about the direction of the program, particularly given how Frost struggled with the Nebraska Cornhuskers. However, at least one rival coach in the Big 12 who spoke to Athlon Sports anonymously praised frost and the job he’s doing at UCF, predicting the Knights get back on track soon.

“Frost has a really good offensive scheme, and there are certain players down there [in Florida] that fit his scheme,” the coach said. “Once he gets a quarterback at the level that he wants, watch out for them. I’m high on Frost, and I’m high on that program.”

Quarterback did prove to be a major issue for UCF in 2025. Frost would play four different quarterbacks a season ago, with none getting more playing time than Tayven Jackson. For his part, Jackson threw 10 touchdowns to 8 interceptions. None of the other UCF quarterbacks had better than a 1:1 TD-INT ratio.

Of course, that’s not a problem because all four are no longer with the program. James Madison transfer Alonza Barnett is expected to start now. However, he missed time this Spring battling injuries.

“I think that once they get the quarterback situation figured out there, they’re going to skyrocket.”

It wouldn’t be fair to say quarterback was the only issue for UCF. The offensive line, for instance, also struggled, and UCF missed a bowl game, going 5-7. However, it clearly is the biggest issue for Frost to address.

It’s Been a Difficult Transition to the Big 12 for the UCF Knights

The UCF Knights have long since been considered a rising program in college football. That has seen them move from the ranks of a FBS Independent, to the MAC, to C-USA, to the AAC, and now to the Big 12, all over the course of around 25 years. In the process, they’ve won multiple New Year’s Six bowls, six conference championships, and claimed a national championship in 2017.

Given all of that, it wasn’t a shock that UCF was on the shortlist of teams to join the Big 12 after Texas and Oklahoma left in a recent round of conference realignment. However, it’s been a difficult transition to the Power Four level.

The move came in 2023. At the time, UCF was led by Gus Malzahn at head coach, someone who has extensive experience at the Power Four level. He did a lot of work behind the scenes to get the Knights ready for that transition, but on the field, it was a little rougher.

UCF would win six games in 2023, good enough to be the only new Big 12 team to make a bowl. However, it was the program’s worst win total in a full-length season since 2016, Frost’s first season.

A year later, UCF went 4-8, missed a bowl, and Malzahn left to become a coordinator at Florida State. That saw the return of Frost, who managed to go 5-7, but still missed a bowl. Meanwhile, those other teams that joined the Big 12 alongside UCF have been rapidly improving.

Scott Frost Succeeded at UCF Before, But Times Have Changed

The truth is that Scott Frost proved he can win at UCF. Inheriting a team that was winless in 2015, he got them to a bowl, and then went unbeaten in a remarkable two-season turnaround before leaving for Nebraska.

So, there is some reason to hope Frost can do that again. Certainly, the coach who spoke to Athlon Sports thinks so.

“Scott Frost knows how to win there,” he said. “Every head coach has won there except for Gus [Malzahn]. But before that, every coach has won big from George O’Leary to Frost, to [current Tennessee head coach] Josh Heupel. They’ve all won and had a lot of success.”

There are some major differences at UCF from when those coaches, including Frost, managed to succeed there. For one, they’re in the Big 12 and, financially, that makes them a small fish in a big pond instead of the big fish in a small pond. That’s before considering the changes in college football, like NIL, revenue sharing, and the Transfer Portal.

In other words, UCF has been consistently good at football, up until this series of changes. Frost needs to figure those out quickly and modernize now.