[1] Following UCF's 59–10 defeat by Houston on homecoming, dropping the Knights to an 0–8 record, O'Leary resigned as head football coach.

In the aftermath, UCF finally moved on from the O'Leary era and hired renowned offensive coordinator Scott Frost from the Oregon Ducks to be their head coach.

UCF will face eight conference opponents: Cincinnati, UConn, East Carolina, Houston, South Florida, Temple, Tulane, and Tulsa.

The Knights will also play four non-conference games: Florida International (C-USA), Furman (FCS), South Carolina (SEC), and Stanford (Pac-12).

In the second half, the Knights were plagued with defensive struggles which allowed FIU to take the lead 15–14.

With forty-nine seconds remaining, QB Tyler Harris threw an interception which sealed the victory for the Paladins.

The game marked the Knights first loss to an FCS team since ascending to Division I-A (FBS) in 1996 (20–1), as well as their first 0–3 start since 2004. at Williams-Brice Stadium, Columbia, South Carolina

USC QB Lorenzo Nunez threw for two scores, Pharoh Cooper had two touchdowns, one rushing and one receiving, and K Elliott Fry had a field goal to give the Gamecocks a 31–14 win.

The loss dropped the Knights to 0–4, the first time the team has started the season winless through four games since 2004, when UCF went 0–11.

The loss marks the first time UCF lost their first conference game of the season since 2009 when they fell to Southern Miss.

After going ahead 7–0 with a pass from Bo Schneider to Jordan Franks, Tulane scored 24 unanswered points taking a 24–10 halftime lead.

On the first drive, Holman led the Knights seventy-three yards but UCF had to settle for a 19-yard field goal from Matthew Wright.

This loss broke UCF's thirteen game home conference win streak dating back to November 25, 2011 against UTEP.

Two days after the game, George O'Leary announced that he was stepping down as the interim director of athletics.

Later on in the second quarter, UCF recorded their first interception of the season as Shaquill Griffin caught a pass by P.J.

In a disastrous first game as interim head coach, Danny Barrett's team struggled offensively and defensively against his alma mater, the Cincinnati Bearcats.

Cincinnati QB Gunner Kiel managed to complete all 15 of his passes for 319 yards and 5 TDs, as defense struggled tremendously despite the second interception of the season by Shaquill Griffin.

During the first quarter, Holman threw an underthrown deep pass to Tre'Quan Smith, who turned around and leaped over a Tulsa defensive back to catch the ball in midair.

Additionally, defense recorded two interceptions by Brendin Straubel and Chequan Burkett, as well as a fumble forced by Tre Neal on a Tulsa kickoff return.

at Bright House Networks Stadium, Orlando, Florida This was the fourteenth meeting between UCF and the East Carolina Pirates.

East Carolina has a 10–4 advantage, UCF had won the last two games, the most recent being in 2014 with a Hail Mary pass in the final seconds from Justin Holman to Breshad Perriman, 32–30.

Plagued by turnovers and injuries, including one to starting QB Justin Holman, UCF lost 44–7 to East Carolina.