ORLANDO Few expected much from Scott Frost's second UCF season last time around. Then, the Knights caught lightning in a bottle, beat every team in their path and claimed a national title when the NCAA's Colley Matrix rating system crowned them as champions.As it opens training camp Aug. 3, UCF faces incredibly long odds to repeat that feat in 2026, projected to finish in the bottom half of the Big 12 for a fourth consecutive year. The Knights are 7-20 against league opponents, including a 2-12 mark away from the Acrisure Bounce House.Frost and four players addressed local and national reporters July 7 at the Big 12's media days in Frisco, Texas. However, many of the questions asked then will not have an answer until the Knights take the field for practice and beyond.Here are three important queries that could define whether UCF can push toward the conference's upper echelon, or whether it will be another battle to scrape a bowl game come November.How much of an improvement did UCF football really make at QB?On paper, the Knights should have gotten significantly better behind center with the addition of Alonza Barnett III from James Madison. He earned Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year honors with 2,806 passing yards, 589 rushing yards and 38 touchdowns, leading the Dukes to an unlikely appearance in the College Football Playoff.UCF rotated through four quarterbacks in 2025 as both Cam Fancher (back/ribs) and Tayven Jackson (shoulder) endured injuries. They, along with Jacurri Brown and Davi Belfort, combined to average 220.8 passing yards per game with 12 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.Fancher, Jackson and Brown transferred to Michigan State, North Texas and Rice, respectively. Belfort not only departed for James Madison but changed positions to become a slot receiver.But, is it enough assuming Barnett is healthy enough to start the opener versus Bethune-Cookman, and then survive a 12-game, power-conference grind to truly propel the Knights toward the top of the Big 12?In a story released July 21, The Athletic surveyed dozens of college football coaches, general managers and staffers to rank all 138 starting quarterbacks across the Football Bowl Subdivision. Barnett was grouped in the fourth of seven tiers, ranked 43rd in the nation and 11th among Big 12 signal-callers largely down to concerns about his passing accuracy."He was really good at what (JMU) did with him, but I would take (Wisconsin QB Colton Joseph) over him and probably (Texas State QB Brad Jackson) over him, too," a Sun Belt head coach told The Athletic's Antonio Morales and Sam Khan Jr.Ole Miss' Trinidad Chambliss, Oregon's Dante Moore, Notre Dame's CJ Carr, Miami's Darian Mensah, Ohio State's Julian Sayin, Oklahoma State's Drew Mestemaker, Texas' Arch Manning and LSU's Sam Leavitt comprised the top tier. As for the outgoing Knights, Jackson ranks 83rd (Tier 6), Brown is 101st (Tier 7) and Fancher did not make the list with Alessio Milivojevic (No. 69, Tier 6) projected to win the job at Michigan State.Can UCF football consistently move people in the run game, pick up tough yards?Consider this a two-part question because UCF was maddeningly inconsistent running the football last year. Myles Montgomery and Jaden Nixon popped enough seams to combine for 1,259 yards and 11 touchdowns; both players signed NFL contracts as undrafted free agents, joining the New England Patriots and the Green Bay Packers.However, neither proved able to gain the tough yards, and UCF's quarterbacks fared little better on designed sneaks. The goal-to-go situation versus Kansas, a winnable home game that could have secured bowl eligibility, served as a microcosm of the season when the Knights failed on three straight runs from the 1-yard line.A month later, Montgomery was stuffed on third-and-one in the red zone by Baylor's 117th-ranked run defense. Frost called a pass on fourth down, and Jackson's pass sailed over the head of interior lineman Connor Meadows, who lined up as a tight end.Landen Chambers, an all-conference performer at Central Arkansas, brings an element of size that the Knights lacked in last year's backfield. Louisville transfer Duke Watson and redshirt freshman Taevion Swint are fully healthy after injury-plagued 2025 campaigns, and they will likely share the early-down workload.Barnett is, indisputably, a greater dual-threat weapon than his predecessors; Fancher scrambled effectively and demonstrated some accuracy in the intermediate passing game, while Jackson had plenty of arm talent but often lacked awareness in the open field as a runner.Frost made two important hires to address blocking issues, bringing in former Wisconsin offensive line coach AJ Blazek in December to replace the late Shawn Clark on a full-time basis and former Oklahoma State offensive line coach Cooper Bassett to coach tight ends. From a personnel standpoint, UCF retained durable right tackle Preston Cushman and signed three new starters from the transfer portal left tackle Henry Tabansi (Buffalo), left guard Brady Weyburn (UConn) and center Cooper Terpstra (Michigan State).UCF ranked 14th in the league on third down, converting just 33.9% of the time, and 13th in scoring at 24.3 points per game. Consistently picking up chunks on early downs and extending drives in clutch scenarios would go a long way in producing more points.Where will UCF football generate its pass rush from?Few programs in the country can withstand the loss of both its starting edge rushers, especially when one of those players heard his name called in the first round of the NFL draft. Malachi Lawrence, chosen 23rd overall by the Dallas Cowboys, and Nyjalik Kelly combined for 10 of UCF's 27 sacks (37%).Isaiah Nixon, entering his fourth year with the Knights, should finally get his moment to shine. The 6-foot-4, 245-pound redshirt junior set career highs in tackles (24) and TFLs (3) in 2025, though he registered only one sack. Junior Sincere Edwards spent the spring rehabbing a foot fracture, but he has collected 4 sacks in 19 college games.Arkansas transfer Ken Talley and Akron transfer Bruno Dall should round out the two-deep, though the latter missed time in the spring due to injury. Aymeric Koumba and LA Jessie Harrold, portal additions from Michigan and Florida State over the last 18 months, are raw prospects that could still blossom.Ideally, UCF will get more of a pass-rushing presence from its interior linemen. Horace Lockett Jr. created havoc in his four appearances before tearing a pectoral muscle, and RJ Jackson Jr. picked up an All-Big 12 honorable mention with 33 tackles and 1 sacks. Oregon State transfer Thomas Collins impressed during spring camp, and both Jeffson Lafontant and Brad Gurley Jr. could factor heavily into the rotation.Producing consistent pressure with the front four would allow UCF's experienced secondary ample opportunities to create more turnovers, a top priority for second-year defensive coordinator Alex Grinch. The Knights can also mix in blitzes to send the likes of Lewis Carter (two sacks in '25) and Old Dominion transfer Jahleel Culbreath (three) after opposing quarterbacks.This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: These 3 unanswered questions will define UCF's 2026 football season