The Central Florida Knights will travel to play the Cincinnati Bearcats at Nippert Stadium this week in an AAC battle. Players will take the field Saturday, Oct 31 at 12:00 p.m. ET and the game will air on ESNN.
Cincinnati cruised past Connecticut 37-13 last week. Hosey Williams had an outstanding performance on the ground in the win, rushing for 140 yards and one TD on 13 carries. Gunner Kiel also had a big game with 327 yards and two TDs through the air. UCF didn’t have the same success as Cincinnati, getting blown out by Houston 59-10. Tre’Quan Smith had a good game for the Knights, registering seven receptions for 89 yards. Tristan Payton added 63 receiving yards and a TD on two receptions.
Cincinnati is a heavy 20-point favorite in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is unavailable at the moment.
Heading into Week 9 of the college football season, the Bearcats are 4-3 Straight Up (SU) and 3-4 Against The Spread (ATS). Over their last five games, the Bearcats have records of 3-2 for both SU and ATS. Cincinnati has America’s eighth-ranked passing attack, which averages 353.7 yards per game. Transitioning to the Cincinnati defense, there are some things to keep in mind when it is on the field. Cincinnati is opportunistic in its pass defense, allowing a completion percentage of only 53.3%. Keep an eye on Cincinnati to turn it up a notch during the second quarter, when it averages 13.4 points per game. Based on an average time of possession of 32:57 per game, which ranks 23rd in the nation, look for Cincinnati to control the clock.
On the other side, the Knights have 0-8 SU and 1-7 ATS records this season. In the previous five games, UCF has a record of 0-5 SU and 1-4 ATS. The UCF pass defense has given teams problems during the past five games. During that time, opponents have gained an average of only 211.0 passing yards against this terrorizing bunch. If the Bearcats aren’t careful with ball security against UCF’s defense, they are going to be in some trouble. That defense has recovered the 23rd-most fumbles on the season with 0.9 per game. With an average of 127.1 return yards per game (ninth-most in the country), UCF has had a great deal of success with its special teams.
Predictions: SU Winner – Cincinnati, ATS Winner – Cincinnati
Notes
Cincinnati is 3-5-1 ATS in its last 9 games.
Cincinnati is 11-4 SU in its last 15 games.
Cincinnati is 2-3-1 ATS in its last 6 games at home.
Cincinnati is 20-5 SU in its last 25 games at home.
UCF is 0-3 SU when leading at the start of the 4th quarter this season. Cincinnati is 3-2 SU when carrying a lead into the fourth quarter.
Cincinnati is 3-2 SU in games where it wins the turnover battle this year, and an even 1-1 SU in games where it loses the turnover battle.
According to overall FBS team rankings, Cincinnati is rated higher in the ground game on both sides of the ball. Its 34th-ranked rushing attack will face the 89th-ranked run defense of UCF, while its 69th-ranked rush defense will look to contain the 128th-ranked running game of the Knights.
