tart Time: Saturday, November 5, 2016 at 5 PM EST.
Location: Brighthouse Networks Stadium , Orlando, FL
TV/Streaming: WatchESPN. Sigh.
Radio/Live Stats: 96.9 FM/740 AM in Orlando, and over here for live stats.
Betting Line: UCF opened as a 16.5 favorite, but is now a 17 point favorite depending where you look.
Records: UCF is 4-4, 2-2 in the AAC. Tulane is 3-5, with four conference losses and not a single win.
All-Time Series: UCF leads, 5-2. Tulane has never won in Orlando.
UCF Outlook: This is an important game
for the Knights in order to get bowl eligible. At this point in the
season, we know who the Knights are – a middling team that shows promise
for the future but makes too many mistakes and has trouble closing out
games (Maryland in double overtime. Temple with :01 on the clock. Houston in a second half collapse).
Looking at the schedule that remains, USF is a likely loss. Tulsa a
toss-up. Tulane and Cincinnati look like the likely wins – so let’s see
the Knights collect them and get bowl eligible. If on the other hand the
Knights lose to a poor Tulane team, it portends very bad things for UCF’s bowl prospects.
So let’s take care of business and not have to worry about it, hm?
Last week’s collapse was lamentable, but linebacker
Shaquem Griffin continues to be the star of the defense. Against
Houston, the one-handed Griffin notched 14 tackles, 2.5 sacks, a fumble
recovery, and – yes – his first interception.
I thought I might embed a video of the interception, but then I thought this was mroe awesome and decided to embed it instead:
Griffin has 10% of the team’s total tackles (tied for
first on the team with fellow LB Mark Rucker – both have 48). Griffin
also leads the Knights in tackles for loss (12), sacks (8.5, or 43% of
the Knights’ sacks), and forced fumbles (2).
I’ll look for his success to continue against the most beatable team left on the slate ...
Tulane Outlook: Like the Knights, Tulane
is also coming off a tough loss. The Green Wave allowed SMU to score 14
points in less than six and a half minutes and lost 35-31. That made it
three in a row for Tulane, who also lost to Memphis and Tulsa in
October.
During its three game skid, Tulane has suffered from
numerous self-inflicted injuries in the form of penalties. After only
having 29 penalties through the first five games of the season, the
Green Wave racked up 26 in the last three.
Expect the Green Wave to pound the ball. Tulane has the
sixteenth ranked rushing offense in terms of total yardage with an
average of 248 per game. Tulane is led on the ground by junior RB
Dontrell Hilliard, who has eight touchdowns and is averaging 6.2 yards
per carry. Two other RBs are also getting at least six yards per carry –
seniors Josh Rounds and Lazedrick Thompson.[1] If Tulane’s going to win, it’s because they follow a Temple-esque blueprint.
[1] Among those with meaningful carries. Freshman Andrew Zuckerman has 26 yards on 4 carries. OK.
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