However, that wasn’t the end of his story.
By the middle of the third quarter, Jackson unexpectedly removed the sling, put on his uniform and stepped back onto the field, determined to spark a remarkable comeback for the Knights.
It was reminiscent of a legendary moment in basketball history when Willis Reed, a New York Knicks star, famously played in the 1970 NBA Finals Game 7 despite battling a severe thigh injury, inspiring his team to win the championship.
Unfortunately for UCF and Jackson, it wasn’t enough as Kansas State rolled to a 34-20 win over the Knights.
“I thought the boys fought through a lot of circumstances this week and were ready to play, but we didn’t start well enough on offense,” UCF coach Scott Frost said following the loss.
The setback marked the first loss of the season and extended UCF’s losing streak in Big 12 play to four games, a skid that began last season. The Knights are 5-12 (29%) in conference games since joining the league in 2023, including a 2-8 (20%) record in road contests.
It also brought an end to a remarkable 16-game winning streak under Frost that started in the 2017 season during his first tenure with the Knights. The last defeat for UCF under Frost had been the 2016 Cure Bowl held in Orlando.
Kansas State, which was coming off an open week, rushed for a season-high 266 yards, sparked by running back Dylan Edwards and quarterback Avery Johnson. The Wildcats entered the game ranked last in the Big 12 in rushing, averaging 108 yards per game.
Jackson started the game 5 of 9 for 18 yards. But in the second quarter, he landed awkwardly on his left side after being pressured by Kansas State defensive end Cody Stufflebean. He tried to get up but fell to the ground, where trainers attended to him.
Eventually, he made his way to the medical tent and, after a few moments, went into the locker room without his pads and jersey. Jackson later returned to the sidelines in street clothes with his left arm in a sling.
Jacurri Brown stepped onto the field for the next possession, but on a crucial third down, his pass was intercepted by Kansas State’s Gunner Maldonado, who returned it to the UCF 26-yard line. Six plays later, running back Joe Jackson dashed into the end zone for a 1-yard touchdown, extending Kansas State’s lead to 10-0.
Brown didn’t let the interception rattle him.
On the Knights’ subsequent possession, he connected with a sprinting DJ Black on the left side, who took off for an impressive 82-yard touchdown. This marked the longest touchdown reception for the team since 2001.
Kansas State extended its advantage to 17-7 by scoring a touchdown right before halftime.
The Wildcats added another score as Johnson found tight end Garrett Oakley on a 1-yard touchdown pass to expand the lead to 24-7 at the start of the third quarter.
That’s when Jackson made his remarkable return.
“I was told it was a collarbone, so we were planning on moving forward without him,” Frost said of Jackson’s injury. “I give him a lot of credit. It was an AC sprain. It’s the same for Jacurri, who got one at the end of the first half. I honestly left the locker room after halftime thinking Cam [Fancher] was going to come back in.
“But Tayven said he was ready and came back in.”
Jackson received an X-ray at halftime and, after finding out that it was the acromioclavicular joint, which connects the collarbone to the shoulder blade, he decided to play on in the second half.
“I knew it couldn’t get any worse,” he said.
Jackson’s fortitude impressed his teammates.
“He’s a really tough guy. You want that in a quarterback,” said running back Myles Montgomery. “Usually quarterbacks are stereotypically pretty boys and don’t want to be touched, but I’m pretty sure he earned some more respect than he already had on the team, being able to go back in and do his thing.”
Jackson’s return fueled the Knights, who scored 13 second-half points.
However, even his return couldn’t spark UCF (3-1, 0-1 Big 12), which was playing in its first game since the death of offensive line coach Shawn Clark, who passed away suddenly on Sunday evening after being hospitalized for a medical emergency on Sept. 9.
The team wore a special decal on their helmets as a tribute.
Clark wasn’t far from the player’s thoughts on Saturday.
“I can’t speak for everyone else, but for me personally, it was a bit different pregame,” said Montgomery, who finished with a career-high 119 yards. “I started crying and everything because this wasn’t the same.”
Jackson completed 12 of 24 passes, throwing for 115 yards, but he also tossed an interception. This marked his first pick of the season and came after he had thrown over 100 passes without one.
Running back Jaden Nixon added a 54-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, which was his third straight game with a touchdown.
UCF finished with at least 400 yards of offense for the fourth straight game, but also turned the ball over a season-high three times (two interceptions, fumble). The defense, meanwhile, surrendered a season-high 434 yards, including 266 rushing yards.
“It’s the little things that we need to keep improving. We’re doing our best to stay ahead of the curve, but every game in the Big 12, in my opinion, is going to be like this, pretty evenly matched teams,” said Frost. “If you play your best, you’ve got a great chance to win. If you play less than your best, you’re going to get beat and we get beat by a good team today.”
UCF returns home to host Kansas on Saturday (7:30 p.m., ESPN2) at Acrisure Bounce House Stadium.
Please find me on X, Bluesky or Instagram @osmattmurschel. Email: mmurschel@orlandosentinel.com. Sign up for the Sentinel’s Knights Weekly newsletter for a roundup of all our UCF coverage.
Originally Published:
