FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Congratulations, Central Florida. Gus Malzahn needs wins in the Big 12 following a 6-7 season, including going 3-6 in the Knights' inaugural season in the conference, and he couldn't have landed a quarterback with a better record of doing exactly that than former Arkansas quarterback KJ Jefferson.
While the Razorbacks went 8-16 against SEC opponents during Jefferson's three years as an established starter, he was 4-1 against teams that either were in the Big 12 at the time or are currently in the Big 12. That lone loss was a 38-31 decision to BYU in Fayetteville this past season.
In five games, the powerful linebacker-esque quarterback put up 1,629 yards of offense and accounted for 15 touchdowns. There are no five games where a UCF quarterback averaged even close to that.
The closest anyone came was a three-game stretch where quarterback John Rhys Plumlee, one of two quarterbacks to start last season, put up 375 in a 45-3 upset of Oklahoma State, 332 in a 24-23 loss to Texas Tech and 327 in a 27-13 win over Houston. It was the Knights' most successful stretch of the season, yet still, Plumlee only managed six touchdowns, three less than Jefferson averages agains the Big 12 in the same span.
Plumlee only accounted for a single touchdown in the loss to Texas Tech. If Jefferson were to just be average, UCF gets another solid win. The stats for the rest of the year weren't even close to the damage the former Razorback puts up on a normal Big 12 day.
So, even though Jefferson had a tough time taking down the SEC, he might be just what the doctor ordered to get the Knights into contention for what should be a much easier Big 12 championship to win without Texas and Oklahoma along the way.
Although, it should be noted that the last time Jefferson stepped on the field with Texas, it didn't go well for the Longhorns.
It will definitely be worth watching. If Malzahn can rebuild Jefferson's confidence, restore his speed and work around his shortcomings in reading defenses, the pair can do a lot of damage against what will be the weakest schedule he has ever faced.
The Knights will kick things off against New Hampshire in Orlando on Aug. 31. The Big 12 television schedule for season openers is yet to be determined, so whether Arkansas fans will be able to see Jefferson's debut is up in the air.
BYU, 2023, L
Passing: 24-35-247-1-1 Rushing: 13-40-0
Cincinnatti, 2022, W
Passing: 18-23-226-3-0 Rushing: 18-87-1
BYU, 2022, W
Passing: 29-40-367-5-0 Rushing: 10-32-0
Kansas, 2022, W
Passing: 19-29-287-2-1Rushing: 14-130-2
Texas, 2021, W
Passing: 14-19-138-0-1 Rushing: 10-75-0
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