The Oviedo Swig was packed that day, and not just with the usual influx of UCF students in desperate need of a bit of sugar. A sea of blue had swarmed the area surrounding campus: the BYU Cougar fans had flooded in.
After all the hype of homecoming week, the stadium was packed with black and blue. The Knights were ready to guard their kingdom, and the Cougars weren’t just any team. They came in as the No. 2 team in the country, fresh from beating Notre Dame the week before.
Somewhere in the locker room, tight end Grayson Brousseau was getting locked in the way he always does: AirPods in, music on, and visualizing the game and its outcome. Little did he know how much of an impact he’d have on the game.
BYU struck first and led 7-0 after the opening quarter, but the Knights weren’t about to back down. They stormed back with 17 points in the second quarter to take a 17-14 lead into halftime. For many of us, the sight was unbelievable. UCF held its own against a powerhouse and looked amazing while doing it.
Then, as everyone watched the clock inch toward halftime, the sky darkened, and a flood of rain poured down. Did the weather stop anyone? Absolutely not. Rather, the Knights charged on, gripping a slippery ball through a messy, soaked game. Brousseau wasn’t bothered either. To him, playing through it was “fun, super exciting.”
As shown above, even from the darkest of times comes a light. Before halftime, a magnificent rainbow arched over the stadium.
The teams traded touchdowns in the third quarter, and the Knights clung to a 24-21 lead. To so many fans, this marked the start of something special. But then, things stagnated. The rain, the wet turf, and the pressure all seemed to freeze the offense, and a BYU field goal tied it 24-24. Fans groaned nervously because the players had come so far.
Then came the sequence that sent us into overtime. UCF was driving for a game-winning field goal when a play was ruled a sack, but replay overturned it to an incomplete pass. As a fan watching those calls, I can safely say the student section was on an emotional roller coaster. Nobody was sure whether to cheer, boo, or just wait and watch what would happen next. BYU was flagged, which moved the Knights into kicker Will Stone’s range, but his 47-yard attempt was blocked, and the 10-second runoff sent us into overtime.
As the lights went out, people pulled out their phones, as always, and the stadium turned into a sea of stars. Students screamed “U-C-F KNIGHTS” until their voices went hoarse, jumping up and down until the Bounce House shook. Slowly, we all started trickling down toward the bottom of the stands, ready to storm the field. Hope, pride, and spirit shone on everyone’s faces. This was a chance to change our placement in the Big 12.
BYU got the ball first in overtime and scored on a 28-yard touchdown pass. With the strength of the kingdom behind them, UCF tied the game right back up as Keyone Jenkins hit Josh Derry for a 25-yard touchdown. The game was tied 31-31.
Then came the moment. In the second overtime, Jenkins found Brousseau in the end zone, and touchdown.
For Brousseau, it was a mix of emotions. Scoring felt “amazing,” and overtime was “so exciting,” but also, as he admitted, nerve-wracking. UCF converted the two-point attempt to go up 39-31, and BYU’s last-ditch fourth-and-goal pass slipped incomplete onto the wet turf.
UCF 39, BYU 31. It was the first win over a top-5 team in UCF history.
And then it happened. People spilled onto the field like a tsunami, packed in each other’s faces. “It was absolutely crazy,” Brousseau said of the rush. “It felt so surreal.” The scoreboard flashed “KNIGHTS WIN,” and everyone clamored around to touch the turf, take down the field goal, and just be together. For half an hour after the game, people were still chanting UCF KNIGHTS, filled with pride and love for our school.
The Knights don’t have time to celebrate for long. With the Space Game next, Brousseau’s focus is already on the road ahead: to “come out and play with that level of detail for the rest of the season.”