​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, Ti