Duke Watson

#26 · RB · Jr. · UCF5′11″ · 185 lb · Forsyth, GA · Mary Persons

Rushing yards59742nd of 278 running backsLast gameL 9–41vs Baylor · Oct 30
Nextat KansasSat Nov 7 · 3:45 pm ET
597 rushing yards in 8 games; their best was 177 vs Georgia State.
Game 1: against Bethune-Cookman, win 73-6, 110 rushing yards, 1 touchdown, FCS opponent110WBCUFCSGame 2: at Pittsburgh, loss 7-12, 10 rushing yards10LPITT@Game 3: against Georgia State, win 44-30, 177 rushing yards, 2 touchdowns177WGASTGame 4: against TCU, win 21-13, 57 rushing yards57WTCUGame 5: at Houston, loss 17-27, 50 rushing yards50LHOU@Game 6: at Oklahoma State, loss 28-42, 79 rushing yards79LOKST@Game 7: against BYU, win 39-31, 94 rushing yards94WBYUGame 8: against Baylor, loss 9-41, 20 rushing yards20LBAYSeason high
Game 1: against Bethune-Cookman, win 73-6, 110 rushing yards, 1 touchdown, FCS opponentWBCUFCSGame 2: at Pittsburgh, loss 7-12, 10 rushing yardsLPITT@Game 3: against Georgia State, win 44-30, 177 rushing yards, 2 touchdowns177WGASTGame 4: against TCU, win 21-13, 57 rushing yardsWTCUGame 5: at Houston, loss 17-27, 50 rushing yardsLHOU@Game 6: at Oklahoma State, loss 28-42, 79 rushing yardsLOKST@Game 7: against BYU, win 39-31, 94 rushing yardsWBYUGame 8: against Baylor, loss 9-41, 20 rushing yards20LBAYSeason high
  • touchdown

Baylor · L 9-41

7 carries, 20 yards

The other 7 games average 82 yards. This one was 62 below.

Open this game

Dashed line: 100 yards.

Compare with

Watson against UCF’s best seasons, game by game

05001,0001,5002,000124681012144 to playGames playedHarvey ’24: 1,017 at game 8, 1,577 for the seasonHarvey ’23: 712 at game 8, 1,416 for the seasonMcCrae ’18: 572 at game 8, 1,182 for the seasonBowser ’22: 445 at game 8, 808 for the seasonHarvey ’24 1,577Harvey ’23 1,416McCrae ’18 1,182Bowser ’22 808Watson 597
Through 8 games: 420 yards behind RJ Harvey in 2024 (1,017 at this point), whose season finished at 1,577. Open dots: where each stood at game 8. Dotted line: the pace through game 12. Tap a line to see that season.

Backs who run like Watson, and how their seasons went

05001,0001,5002,000124681012134 to playGames playedNeal ’16 (Syracuse): 183 at game 8, 357 for the seasonParrish ’23 (Miami): 454 at game 8, 625 for the seasonSmallwood ’15 (West Virginia): 954 at game 8, 1,519 for the seasonSmallwood ’15 1,519Parrish ’23 625Watson 597Neal ’16 357
The closest match is Moe Neal of Syracuse in 2016: 183 yards at game 8, against 597 this season, and 357 for the season. Open dots: where each stood at game 8. Dotted line: the pace through game 12. Tap a line to see that season.

Watson against this year’s top backs, game by game

05001,0001,5001246810124 to playGames playedRiley (Boise State): 1,049 at game 8, 1,049 so farWhite (North Texas): 1,043 at game 8, 1,043 so farRoberts (Missouri): 1,005 at game 8, 1,005 so farRiley 1,049White 1,043Roberts 1,005Watson 597
Through 8 games: 452 yards behind Dylan Riley of Boise State (1,049 at this point). Open dots: where each stood at game 8. Dotted line: the pace through game 12. Tap a line to see that season.

The road ahead: 597 yards, 75 a game, 4 regular-season games left.

  • 808 yards, Isaiah Bowser in 2022, UCF’s 4th-best season in our records: 211 to go, 53 a game.
  • 1,000 yards: 403 to go, 101 a game, more than the 75 a game so far.
  • 1,182 yards, Greg McCrae in 2018, UCF’s 3rd-best season in our records: 585 to go, 146 a game, more than the 75 a game so far.

This week

  • RecordUCF is 4-4.
  • What fans say

    Over the last few games, UCF fans have been high on Watson.

    “Thank god for Duke Watson.”

    “Whole team but Duke Watson\*”

    From r/CFB game threads. Read by AI.

  • Next gameat Kansas · Sat Nov 7

What’s being said

15 stories in the last 60 days, from 11 outlets.

Sep 17 to Sep 23: 6Sep 24 to Sep 30: 4Oct 1 to Oct 7: 1L 7-12 at PittsburghLW 44-30 vs Georgia StateWW 21-13 vs TCUWL 17-27 at HoustonLL 28-42 at Oklahoma StateLW 39-31 vs BYUWL 9-41 vs BaylorLSep 10Nov 4Most in a week: 6
Sep 17 to Sep 23: 6Sep 24 to Sep 30: 4Oct 1 to Oct 7: 1L 7-12 at PittsburghLW 44-30 vs Georgia StateWW 21-13 vs TCUWL 17-27 at HoustonLL 28-42 at Oklahoma StateLW 39-31 vs BYUWL 9-41 vs BaylorLSep 10Nov 4Most in a week: 6
Stories per week. W and L: the team’s results.

UCF’s Duke Watson career night helps Knights close out pesky Georgia State

Centre Daily Times +4 Sep 19

All 23 stories this season

Worth knowing

  • Duke Watson spent two seasons at Louisville before this one.

His most important play this season

  1. Q3, 14:42 · UCF down 4, takes the leadDuke Watson runs 63 yards for a touchdownGeorgia State at UCF, week 3Q3, 14:42 · UCF 27, Georgia State 24Duke Watson reaches 1,000 career rushing yardsDuke Watson reaches 1,000 career rushing yardsD.Watson rush left for 63 yards gain to the GSU00 touchdown, 1ST DOWN, kick goodWatch from this playESPN College Football

All 3 of his plays on video

35% of the carries, 49% of the yards, 19% of the touchdowns

  • Carries35%92 of 265
  • Yards49%597 of 1,217
  • Touchdowns19%3 of 16
  • Yards a carry: 6.5. Everyone else on the team: 3.6.
  • A touchdown every 30.7 carries. Everyone else on the team: one every 13.3.

At least 30% of the team's rushing yards in every game

No bar in a game where the team had under 100 rushing yards: a share of that little says nothing.

Who carried it

Share of the team's total this season.

Most of his carries go up the middle

10203040506364
leftmiddleright
a carry, up for a gain and down for a lossa touchdown

Each line is one carry: taller means more yards, and a line pointing down lost yards. Black lines are touchdowns. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside each lane the carries are lined up shortest to longest, not placed. Of his carries with a spot in the play text: left 24, middle 51, right 17. His longest went for 64 yards.

Duke Watson

RB · UCF · #26

Filling the Shoesas of Nov 4

Duke Watson takes over from Myles Montgomery at UCF.

597rushing yards3rushing TD92carries

Rushing value per play

+0.25

our model · 2026 · 62 plays

Read the story so far

Duke Watson arrived as a 4-star prospect, the No.382 recruit nationally. Duke Watson lines up at RB for UCF.

On the field, the headline is 597 rush yds, with 3 rush td.

Duke Watson inherited the RB job from Myles Montgomery (3-star).

The number to watch: +0.25 — rushing value per play.

RB successionleap of faith
  • Inherited fromMyles Montgomery 3★
  • Pushed byTaevion Swint 4★
  • How many games until Taevion Swint (4★) takes the job from Duke Watson?

AI-generated narrative · may contain errors · not journalism · updated 2026-11-04

Style of play

Style of play

Play style

Hits the crease and outruns the angle.

Short-yardage / goal-line · enumeration

Who gets the tough yard

2/26Inside-5 share

2 of the team's 26 inside-the-5 carries (7.7%).

Similar players

Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.