UCF's pitch is the opposite: less shuffling, more reps. Scott Frost is retaining 10 of his 12 assistants and welcoming back 10 returning starters, more than double what he had in his chaotic debut season. Quarterback Alonza Barnett III is back too, and the Knights added portal running backs Landen Chambers and Duke Watson to deepen a backfield that was thin last fall.
The backfield battle is worth watching on both sidelines. Kansas is banking on Dylan Edwards, the K-State transfer who's been open about still working back his confidence after a foot injury limited him for most of last season. Leipold has said Edwards looked genuinely dangerous once he got the full green light this spring, but 'healthy' and 'game-ready' aren't always the same thing in November. UCF, meanwhile, gets to throw fresh legs at Chambers and Watson behind an offensive line that's kept its top pieces intact, including tackle Preston Cushman.
Defensively, Kansas made the louder additions, bringing in D-linemen McAlpine and Santiago to pair with edge rusher Leroy Harris III and tackle Blake Herold. That front was the offseason priority after a defense that couldn't hold up during a 3-6 Big 12 finish. UCF's issues last year were more about finishing games than any single position group — a 2-7 conference mark that kept them out of bowl contention for a second straight year.
Strip away the records and this is a program-trajectory game as much as anything. Leipold is in what's being called a make-or-break year in Lawrence, and a home loss to a team predicted to finish at the bottom of the league doesn't help his case. Frost, on the other hand, just needs to show the Year 2 stability translates to actual wins — and a road trip to Lawrence on Friday, November 6 is as fair a measuring stick as UCF will get.