ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — It's a season of firsts for UCF. Last Saturday, they played their first game as a member of the Big 12 against a conference opponent, and they got their first loss (44-31 versus Kansas State) as a member of the league.

This upcoming Saturday, the Knights will play their first home game against a Big 12 foe — the Baylor Bears — as a member of the Big 12. They seek to get their first win — and their first victory at home — against a Big 12 foe as a member of the conference. Kickoff will be at 3:30 p.m.

The Bears, who won the Big 12 in 2021, are only 1-3 so far this season, but two of their losses came against ranked opponents. They lost to then-No. 12 Utah 20-13 in Week 2 and last week were pounded by No. 3 Texas 38-6. 

Baylor has had some significant injuries the past few weeks. Starting quarterback Blake Shapen injured an MCL in the opening loss against Texas State on Sept. 2. He was expected to miss two to three weeks. Coach Dave Aranda, in his fourth season at Baylor, said Monday that Shapen is day to day and was going to be at team sessions later in the day.

UCF coach Gus Malzahn said Baylor will present a variety of challenges and isn't counting on the Bears playing without Shapen.

"We'll see who plays quarterback," Malzahn said. "Last week, the same kind of deal, and the starter shows up. So we just have to be prepared to be ready for whoever plays quarterback. But he's (offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes) a really good offensive coach, and we're going to have to do a good job defensively."

Kansas State had indicated starting quarterback Will Howard was injured last week and might see limited time. He completed 27 of 42 passes and 255 yards with just one interception and rushed seven times for 64 yards, including multiple carries in the fourth quarter.

Quarterback Will Howard (18), who Kansas State said earlier in the week was banged up and might see only limited action, outruns UCF defenders Josh Celiscar (left) and linebacker Walter Yates III (27) in the 4th quarter on Sept. 23. (AP Photo/Travis Heying)

Mississippi State transfer quarterback Sawyer Robertson has been playing quarterback for Baylor while Shapen has been out.

The bad news for UCF is Aranda said Monday that the Bears are getting some of their injured players back and will be the closest to full strength as they have been this season. He said the Bears only had three healthy cornerbacks last week and that they would be getting back Tevin Williams this week as well as starting safety Devin Lemear, who had been out since dislocating an elbow against Texas State.

Aranda said running the ball will be very important for the Bears.

He also has a relatively new player to help with that, at least at his position. Jordan Nabors, brought in to Baylor as a speedy wide receiver, has seen some time in the backfield, and Aranda said the move is permanent. He said the Bears must find as many ways as possible to get the ball in Nabors' hands, including on returns.

UCF's defense gave up 281 rushing yards to Kansas State, including 207 to running back DJ Giddens, last Saturday. The Wildcats kept the ball for 82 offensive plays, compared to 59 for the Knights.

"Our run defense, we had some breakdowns, we had some misalignments," Malzahn said.

Aranda said he hopes his team will be able to bring an us-against-the-world mentality to capitalize on any possible struggles by the Knights. He said he has great respect for UCF and Malzahn and that the players are big and disruptive.

But his game plan sounds a lot like the one that Kansas State used to hand UCF its first loss of the season.

"We have to be able to move the line of scrimmage the other way," Aranda said. 

Malzahn said he believes most of the concerns UCF had last week are correctable.

"We've got to play better than we did last week. Our guys know that," Malzahn said.

"The positive is, we kind of know what we have. What were some areas that we need to improve on? What were some areas that we have some strengths in? When you play an opponent like we did in an environment on the road, everything's clear."

He added that Kansas State pretty much played at full strength, while the Knights played mostly with three of their captains and best players out with injuries. Starting quarterback John Rhys Plumlee and tight end Alec Hollar missed the game, and defensive tackle Ricky Barber tried to come back after sitting out the previous game but only played a few downs.

Malzahn conceded that the Knights' inability to run the ball against Kansas State disappointed him more than any other aspect of the loss. He said the Wildcats won the physicality battle.

He also said that the Knights need to establish a consistent five players on the offensive line.

""We've got to get to a point where we have the same five every week, and we haven't had that one time," Malzahn said. "And I don't know if that's ever happened in my career. They did a pretty solid job of run blocking. ...When we had to pass, we didn't do a great job of protecting. We have to get better in those scenarios. I know (quarterback) Timmy (McClain) was running around like a chicken with his head cut off sometimes, but in his defense, they were rushing three, and they got to us. We've got to do a better job the next time that situation presents itself.

"We've got to be better around him."

Malzahn said McClain made a few mistakes but also showed some strengths, such as his ability to throw the football down the field.

"It was a learning lesson for him, there's no doubt," Malzahn said. "He understands exactly the things that he made the mistakes on. He's committed to not making the same mistakes. That's very important to him. And that's really, really a big thing. And I know he'll improve the next time that presents itself."

Malzahn said turnovers and penalties at key points of the game were the difference.

"That's my job as the head coach to get those things corrected," he said. "I really feel like we have the makings of a good team and am looking forward to playing this game (Saturday against Baylor)."

The good news for the Knights is they will be back home in the friendly confines of the Bounce House, where they have gone 80–24.

"This is one of the better venues to play football in," Malzahn said. "I think the whole conference, when they come through, they will figure that out. It's a great environment. I've been just about everywhere, and I'll put this environment up against any of them."

The Knights and their fans face their first Big 12 test of that environment on Saturday.

NOTE: Malzahn was asked about the status of Plumlee heading into this week's game. The coach said Plumlee is progressing with his recovery more quickly than the team had anticipated initially but that he won't play this week. He said he still expects Plumlee to miss what will be a few weeks since he was injured in Week 2. The team has not disclosed Plumlee's specific injury to his right leg. Malzahn said Plumlee will play again this season and that the quarterback has given no indication that he doesn't want to return. In fact, Malzahn said Plumlee has been active at practices and on the sideline to do all he can to help the quarterbacks since he has been out.