Pittsburgh kept UCF off the scoreboard until late in the fourth quarter and won 12-7 on Saturday at Acrisure Stadium.
Antonio Chadha's 28-yard field goal with 0:04 left in the first quarter gave the Panthers a 3-0 lead. Braylan Lovelace recorded a safety at 7:24 of the second to make it 5-0, and Damon Ferguson Jr. ran in from 13 yards with 0:28 left in the half for a 12-0 lead. Neither side scored in the third quarter. UCF's only touchdown came with 2:51 to play, Alonza Barnett III finding Waden Charles from 19 yards.
Mason Heintschel completed 18 of 29 passes for 212 yards for Pittsburgh; Cataurus Hicks caught 3 for 64 yards, and Ferguson carried 20 times for 59 yards. Barnett was 20 of 31 for 186 yards and a touchdown and was also UCF's leading rusher with 13 yards on 13 carries. Ric'Darious Farmer had 4 catches for 52 yards.
Pittsburgh outgained UCF 315 yards to 206 and held the ball for 36:12. UCF's rushing total was 20 yards on 22 attempts. The Panthers converted 5 of 18 third downs, the Knights 4 of 13, and UCF went 0 for 3 on fourth down. Neither team committed a turnover. Attendance was 45,926.
Reporting source: ESPN public site API (game summary) Captured Sep 14, 2026, 3:19 AM UTC