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FACTS & STATS: LaVell Edwards Stadium (65,000) -- Provo, Utah: Television: ESPN. Home Record: UCF 2-0, BYU 0-1. Away Record: UCF 0-1, BYU 1-1. Neutral Record: UCF 0-0, BYU 0-0. Conference Record: UCF 0-0, BYU 0-0. Series Record: First-ever meeting.

GAME NOTES: The UCF Knights will head west to Provo, Utah this weekend to face the BYU Cougars in a non-conference meeting, as both teams try to shake off tough losses from a week ago.

Following a dominating win over Boston College, UCF was one of the hottest teams in the country this time last week, when it was preparing for a non- league showdown with FIU. The Panthers edged the Knights 17-10 last Saturday, and now UCF is out of Top-25 conversation for now. Head coach George O'Leary will be looking to earn his 100th career win against BYU, and UCF will have the luxury of resting during a bye next week before beginning conference play on October 8th against Marshall.

BYU upset Ole Miss in the opener and almost took care of Texas, so it came as a surprise that Cougars were beaten so handily last weekend against Utah in a rivalry game that ended in a 54-10 loss after seven BYU turnovers. The good news for the Cougars is that the worst stretch of its schedule is behind the team, and even with a talented UCF team visiting Provo this weekend, the Cougars have five winnable games on the schedule before an October 28 trip to TCU.

This will be the first meeting between the two teams.

UCF is averaging 427.3 yards per game, with an average of 208 yards coming from quarterback Jeff Godfrey. The sophomore signal caller has been a tough matchup for teams in the red zone especially, where he has scored six rushing touchdowns. Godfrey is 43-of-62 with 468 yards passing, and Quincy McDuffie has re-established himself as the best receiver in a talented corps. McDuffie has caught nine passes for 125 yards, but UCF has yet to throw for a touchdown this season. Brynn Harvey has rushed for 140 yards this season, and Ronnie Weaver and Latavius Murray have combined for nearly 94 yards per game and four touchdowns, for a rushing attack that is amassing 223.3 yards per game at a clip of five yards per carry. There is no doubt about the talent in the UCF backfield, but it struggled to get going against FIU. The Panthers held UCF to just 119 yards rushing, including 41 from Godfrey.

UCF caught a break last weekend when FIU's T.Y. Hilton was injured in the second quarter, but the unit still gave up its first touchdown of the season in the 17-10 loss, which had much more to do with the UCF struggles on offense. The Knights' defense has been stellar through three games. It is the leader in all five major defensive categories in the C-USA, and ranks first nationally in pass defense (93.67 yards per game). It hasn't allowed a passing touchdown in 2010, and is allowing just 166 yards of total offense through three games. That is impressive considering the capabilities of Boston College's and FIU's respective offensive units. Jonathan Davis leads the UCF defense with 18 tackles, including six for loss.

BYU has been outscored 84-40 by opponents through three games, and although the three opponents have come from the SEC, Big 12 and Pac-12 respectively, the offensive numbers are uncharacteristically low for the Cougars. BYU quarterback Jake Heaps is 73-of-126 for 722 yards and three touchdowns, but has thrown four interceptions for an offense that depends on the passing attack. The Cougars are rushing for just 48.3 yards per game, (JJ Di Luigi leads the team with 42 yards per game) and hasn't scored on the ground to date. BYU turned the ball over seven times against Utah, which took advantage with 47 unanswered points en route to the 54-10 win, which is a strange outcome in a closely contested rivalry.

The BYU defense was simply hung out to dry against the Utes, thanks to the turnovers and lost field position battles that kept the unit on the field for long stretches. The Cougars had shown promise on the defensive side of the ball against Ole Miss and Texas, which scored just 30 points combined. The defense is allowing just 326 yards of total offense per game, with 157 yards coming on the ground and 169 through the air. Daniel Sorensen leads the team in tackles with 18, including two tackles for loss.

After its commanding 30-3 win over Boston College, UCF looked like a legitimate Top-25 team, but after being brought down to Earth last weekend against an up and coming program, that is not so much the case anymore. BYU will likely clean up its act in the turnover department this weekend, which will help its defense perform under more realistic conditions. This is a matchup between two great defenses, and the slight edge goes to UCF because of the athleticism of Godfrey. Not to mention that the struggling passing game of BYU is facing one of the nation's most productive pass defenses this week.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: UCF 30, BYU 27