Baylor beat UCF 41-9 on Friday night at the Acrisure Bounce House, and the difference was explosive passing. DJ Lagway threw 4 touchdown passes, while UCF never reached the end zone and scored only on field goals.

The Bears piled up 503 total yards and committed 0 turnovers. UCF gave the ball away twice, converted just 2 of 15 third downs and came up empty on all 3 fourth-down tries.

How It Happened

Baylor struck first when Lagway found Tony Livingston for a 4-yard touchdown with 4:06 left in the first quarter. Caden Knighten added a 2-yard run at 8:58 of the second quarter to make it a two-touchdown lead.

UCF got on the board with a 39-yard Will Stone field goal. Rhett Armstrong answered with kicks of 45 and 29 yards in the final two minutes of the half, and Stone closed the half with a 57-yarder at the horn.

The third quarter ended it. Lagway hit Livingston again from 21 yards out at 10:07, then connected with Gavin Freeman on a 77-yard touchdown less than two minutes later to put the game out of reach.

Stone kicked a 35-yard field goal for UCF's final points. Lagway's fourth touchdown pass, a 5-yarder to Matthew Klopfenstein at 12:33 of the fourth quarter, set the final.

Key Performers

DJ Lagway, Baylor: 4 TD passes – 4, 21, 77 and 5 YDS
Baylor passing: 16-25, 319 YDS, 12.8 YDS per pass
Tony Livingston, Baylor: 2 TD REC – 4 and 21 YDS
Gavin Freeman, Baylor: 77-YD TD REC
Rhett Armstrong, Baylor: 2 FG (45, 29 YDS), 5 extra points
Will Stone, UCF: 3 FG (39, 57, 35 YDS)

Baylor completed only 16 passes, but nearly 13 yards per attempt meant it didn't need many. The Freeman strike alone accounted for a big share of the passing yardage, and it came right after the Bears had already widened the lead.

Balance made the big plays possible. Baylor ran 42 times for 184 yards, which kept UCF honest and opened the shots downfield. UCF's ground game went the other way, managing 66 yards at about 2 yards a carry.

Stone was UCF's entire offense on the scoreboard. His 57-yarder was the longest kick of the night, but three field goals against five Baylor touchdowns is how a game gets out of hand.

What It Means

Baylor moves to 5-3 and 2-1 on the road. The Bears were flagged 12 times for 85 yards and still won comfortably, which says how lopsided the rest of the night was.

UCF falls to 4-4. All 4 of its wins have come at home, where it is now 4-1, and it is 0-3 on the road. The Bounce House has been the foundation of the Knights' season, which makes this result the more damaging one.

The home split held up as UCF's identity right until Friday. An offense that totaled 281 yards and went 0-for-3 on fourth down didn't get any lift from the building. If the Knights can't hold serve at home, there is no road form to fall back on.