The Mercedes-Benz Stadium will host the AAC Champion (10) Central Florida Knights when they take on the (8) Auburn Tigers from the SEC Conference. The Peach Bowl is scheduled to get underway on Monday, January 1st at 12:30 p.m. EST. It also can be seen on ESPN to kick-off some college football action for the first day of the new year. Las Vegas has the Auburn Tigers as a -9.5 point favorite and the game’s total at 67.
The Central Florida Knights finished off their dream season with a compelling 62-55 overtime victory over the Memphis Tigers to capture the AAC Championship. As a result, the Knights went 12-0 on the season and were the only undefeated team in college football. Head coach Scott Frost was rewarded for his efforts with a job offer back in Nebraska. He took the gig but will return for one last game with his Central Florida Knights.
The Auburn Tigers fell just short of reaching the College Football Playoffs when they fell in defeat to the Georgia Bulldogs in the SEC Championship. The loss was the third for the Tigers who finished off their regular season 10-3. Even with the losses, the Tigers proved they still are a club to be reckoned with. Over the last three weeks of the year, the Tigers defeated Georgia and Alabama. Both of those schools will be playing for a National Championship.
(10) Central Florida Knights (12-0)
The Central Florida Knights are the lone remaining undefeated team left in college football. Because they play in the American Athletic Conference, they will not be apart of the NCAA Playoffs. Still, the Knights had a hell of a season and they’re coming into the Peach Bowl as the ACC Conference champions. Let’s remember that it was just two short years ago that this team was 0-12. Now that is how you turn a program around.
Leading the way for the Central Florida offense was quarterback McKenzie Milton. Milton hit 28 of 40 passes for 494 yards with five touchdowns against the Tigers. For the Year he has thrown for 3,795 yards with 36 scores and just nine interceptions. He also ran for 68 yards and a trip to the promised land in the ACC Title game. Now, he has rushed for 497 yards and seven more touchdowns on the year.
Even though the Knights like to throw the ball, they still keep teams honest with their ground attack. Tailback Adrian Killins Jr. is their go-to guy out of the backfield. This year, he has rushed for 762 yards on 113 carries and has 10 end zone appearances. His backfield mate Otis Anderson also contributed, rushing for 456 yards and four more scores. Combined with McKenzie Milton, Central Florida has a nice rushing attack to compliment their passing game.
Four Knights’ wide receivers do most of the damage when head coach Scott Frost sees fit to throw the ball. The foursome has combined for just over 160 catches for almost 2,500 yards and 28 touchdowns. Tre’Quan Smith is the leader of the pack with 54 catches for 1,082 yards and 13 scores. his 20 yards a catch average is one of the best in the country. In fact, all four wideouts average over 14 yards a grab.
The weak link for the Knights has been the play of their defense. They surely will be tested by the big and athletic offense that the Tigers will bring into the Peach Bowl. Overall, they allowed 25 points a game (54th). Not bad, but they gave up 428 total yards a contest (94th). The secondary is especially weak, surrendering 262 yards to opposing quarterbacks (111th).
(8) Auburn Tigers (10-3)
Motivation might be an issue for the Auburn Tigers as they head into the 2017 Peach Bowl. They were defeated in a revenge game by the Georgia Bulldogs and will be watching the playoffs instead of participating. Still, they had an outstanding 2017 season and can be the team that finally hands the Knights their first loss of the year.
Quarterback Jarrett Stidham had a rough game against the Georgia Bulldogs. In that affair, he connected on only 16 of 32 passes for 145 yards and a score. He will have a better showing in this match-up against a very weak pass defense. For the year, Stidham has thrown for 2,827 yards with 17 end zone tosses with just four picks.
The Auburn Tigers also need to get their running game going in this one and that means getting Kerryon Johnson. The banged-up back could only manage 44 yards in the rematch with the Bulldogs. Even so, he is one of the most powerful backs in the FBS and should go off against the Knights. In all, he has run for 1,320 yards and 17 trips to the promised land.
Two wide receivers do all the heavy lifting in the run-heavy offense of Gus Malzhan. Ryan Davis clearly is the top performer, catching a team-high 76 balls for 768 yards and five touchdowns. On the other side, teammate Darrius Slayton has made some big plays. He only has reeled in 24 passes but they have gone for almost 600 yards and five more trips to pay-dirt.
Defensively, the Tigers are holding their opponents to an average of 17.3 points a game. They also limit their enemies to only 312 yards per game. Linebacker Jeff Holland has been outstanding on the defensive end for the Tigers this season as he led the team with 9 sacks. As a whole, Auburn has forced 18 turnovers on the season and had an overall turnover margin of plus 1.
Prediction
This should be one of the better match-ups in the all the bowl games we’ll review. We will find out if the UCF offense can still have success against one of the better SEC defenses in the Tigers. The Knights finished the year with the 7th- ranked passing offense. However, the Tigers were successful defending the pass as they finished with the 14th-ranked passing defense. UCF defense has done a great job forcing turnovers on the season but their average run-stop could have trouble against the solid Auburn offensive line and their star tailback, Kerryon Johnson. I want to pick UCF as it’s amazing to see their turnaround but I believe there is a better play than the spread for this contest.
Oddsmakers also have the over/under for this game at 67. I believe this is where the value is. I know the 67 seems like a lot of points but I think the Knights and the Tigers should move the ball freely. Even if the Tigers brute defense finds success, UCF has plenty of ways to score besides through the air. Combine that with the Tigers ability to run the ball down the Knights throat and we have all the makings of an over. Take the total to be breached halfway through the fourth quarter in a game that I personally hope stays within one score till the end. @EriktheHun
Head over to BetDSI Sportsbook to make a play on the 2017 Peach Bowl.
Trends
The Knights are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 vs. SEC.
The Over is 4-0 in the Knights last 4 games overall.
The Tigers are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 neutral site games.
The Under is 3-0-1 in the Tigers last 4 Bowl games.
