Kenny Dillingham stuck around after a mass exodus gutted his roster, and now he's got to prove Arizona State's Big 12 title run wasn't a one-year fluke. UCF just wants to finally stop the bleeding.
Bush’s Picks
ASUUCF
ASUUCF
OverUnder
Best BetArizona State
Arizona State lost a ton of star power, but Dillingham's program still has more depth and recent winning pedigree than a UCF team stuck in three straight sub-.500 years. Barnett is a real addition for the Knights, but banking on instant chemistry against a Big 12 title-winning staff is a lot to ask. Back the Sun Devils to get it done on the road.
Arizona State
+Won Big 12 title in 2024, still a real program
+Offense averaged 417 yards, 26 points in 2025
+Dillingham stayed instead of leaving for bigger job
−Lost Leavitt, Tyson, Skattebo and Metayer this offseason
−No declared starting quarterback yet
UCF
+Added Sun Belt POY Barnett at quarterback
+Calmer, more stable offseason under Frost
+New backfield adds veteran depth in Chambers, Watson
−Three straight sub-.500 seasons, went 5-7 in 2025
−Brand-new skill pieces need time to gel
This one's still months out, but the stakes are already taking shape. Arizona State went 8-5 in 2025, a real step down from the 11-3 Big 12 championship season the year before, and then watched Sam Leavitt, Jordyn Tyson, Cam Skattebo and Chamon Metayer all walk out the door for the NFL or the portal. Whoever wins the Sun Devils' quarterback battle - Cutter Boley looks like the favorite over Mikey Keene - will be doing it in Orlando against a UCF team still trying to find its footing under Scott Frost.
Frost's second act at UCF hasn't looked much like his first. The Knights are cycling through a third straight sub-.500 finish and went 5-7 in 2025, but this offseason was calmer than last year's scramble, and it shows in the moves they made. Alonza Barnett III, who was Sun Belt Player of the Year and led James Madison to the College Football Playoff, is now UCF's guy under center, and he arrives with actual winning experience most of this roster doesn't have.
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ASU Arizona State
UCF UCF
There's a funny wrinkle here too: Keene, one of the names in ASU's QB competition, used to run this same UCF offense before he transferred out. If he's the one running out of the tunnel in November, it'll be as the guy trying to beat the program that once had him.
Arizona State still averaged 417 yards and 26 points a game in 2025 even with all that roster overturn set to hit before this season, which says plenty about the infrastructure Dillingham has built. UCF's offense, by contrast, is betting almost everything on a first-year transfer QB clicking fast with new backs Landen Chambers and Duke Watson. That's the swing factor in this one - continuity versus a rebuild.
Arizona State Sun Devils
Nov 6?vs Colorado—
Oct 30?@ BYU—
Oct 16?@ Texas Tech—
Oct 9?vs Hawai'i—
Oct 2?vs Baylor—
Sep 19?@ Kansas—
Sep 12?@ Texas A&M—
Sep 5?vs Morgan State—
UCF Knights
Nov 6?@ Kansas—
Oct 30?vs Baylor—
Oct 9?@ Oklahoma State—
Oct 2?@ Houston—
Sep 25?vs TCU—
Sep 19?vs Georgia State—
Sep 12?@ Pittsburgh—
Sep 3?vs Bethune-Cookman—
Recent form.
Neither program is walking in unscathed. ASU's losses at the skill positions were about as significant as a program can absorb in one cycle, and if the QB battle drags into the season, this offense could look nothing like the one that torched Texas Tech last year. UCF, meanwhile, still has to prove Frost's rebuild is trending up and not just treading water for a fourth straight non-winning campaign.
Arizona State Sun Devils
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
UCF Knights
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Injury report — info via ESPN.
Circle this as a measuring-stick game for both coaches. Dillingham needs to show the 2024 title wasn't built entirely around players who are gone. Frost needs a signature win to change the conversation in Orlando before it turns on him for good.
