Scott Frost: UCF Has To 'Wear' Penalties

The UCF Knights are one of the most penalized teams in the FBS, and as they prepare for their final regular-season game against No. 11 BYU, coach Scott Frost has accepted that.

According to NCAA.com, the Knights have committed 85 penalties, which is fewer than only eight other teams in the FBS.

"As much as we talk about work on those things not happening, that's kind of who we are right now; and we have to wear that," Frost said after Saturday's game against Oklahoma State. "I have to wear that as a head coach, our assistants have to wear it, the players have to wear it."

The Knights' biggest issues have been with pre-snap penalties, such as illegal shifts, motions and substitutions, delays of game and, especially, false starts. Combined, these penalties account for 47.67 percent of all of UCF's penalties this season. False starts alone account for just over 29 percent.

"It's the between-the-snap fouls that you can't always control, and those are experience and discipline thing, and I would have hoped we were better at that at this point," Frost said. "So, we have to wear that."

Following false starts, holding is the Knights' next most common penalty, accounting for 39 percent of the UCF offense's penalties. Frost called UCF's three holding penalties against Oklahoma State "unfortunate."

In total, the Knights' offense has committed 61, or 67.21 percent, of the Knights' penalties, compared to the defense's 23. The remaining two penalties were committed on special teams.

The defense has not been spotless, even getting more penalties than the offense during West Virginia, 4-3. However, while the defense had two games with four penalties or more, the offense only had one game where it tallied under four penalties. This was particularly egregious against Oklahoma State, where the offense drew nine flags compared to the defense's one, and it was an unsportsmanlike conduct foul called with only a few seconds to go in the first half.

"It's a bunch of things," Frost said. "Sometimes, we're not sprinting out to get lined up at receiver, and so he has to wait before he puts somebody in motion, and the offensive line doesn't stay set long enough."

If the offense were its own team, it would have the same number of penalties as the least-penalized teams in the FBS, Iowa and Army, combined. It also only has two fewer penalties than BYU's entire team.

Despite its tendency to get the officials' attention, the Knights have still been able to make big plays to make up for lost penalty yardage and still tally five wins. more than last season. Tight end Dylan Wade said they overcame those setbacks by "staying together, guys encouraging guys."

UCF is set to take on No. 11 BYU on Saturday at 1 p.m., in search of its sixth win and bowl eligibility.