Central Florida vs Florida International College Football Handicapping
The Florida International Golden Panthers will face a stern test in their first home game under new head coach Ron Turner when they host in-state rival Central Florida.
UCF Knights (1-0) at FIU Golden Panthers (0-1)
Date: Friday, September 6, 2013
Time: 8:00 PM ET
Venue: FIU Stadium
City: Miami, Florida
O/U Odds: 53
Spread: UCF -24.5
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Turner is certainly hoping the Golden Panthers fare better in their home opener than they did in their regular season opener, a game they dropped to Maryland, 43-10. Not a great Conference-USA debut for the Panthers.
Central Florida is heading in the opposite direction. Not only did they leave Conference-USA this year in favor of the newly formed American Athletic Conference, they opened their regular season with a 38-7 thumping of Akron.
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The Knights were nearly perfect in that contest, keeping the Zips off the scoreboard until the final minute of the game, and committing only a single penalty.
Quarterback Blake Bortles was the star of Central Florida’s Week 1 win. He completed 18-of-24 passes for 314 yards and three touchdowns, including a 91-yard touchdown pass to Breshad Perriman on the second play from scrimmage – the longest play from scrimmage in school history. Storm Johnson filled in nicely for Latavius Murray who moved on to the NFL in the offseason, rushing for 99 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries.
The UCF defense didn’t lose a step after finishing second in Conference-USA in total defense and first in scoring defense. They limited the Zips to just 250 yards of offense and forced a pair of turnovers.
The Golden Panthers understandably experienced some growing pains in their opener, with a new head coach and 13 new starters, although the team did show some fight after going into the half down 40-10. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
The Panthers focused on their all-new offensive line and running backs corps in the game, attempting only 22 passes.
The run game produced only 2.8 yards per carry with Lamarq Caldwell doing the bulk of that work, generating 79 yards on 21 carries and scoring the team’s only touchdown.
Defensively, FIU allowed Maryland to walk all over them, with the Terrapins putting up an average of 8.1 yards per play. Quarterback C.J. Brown threw for 281 yards and rushed for another 105 yards.
The Panthers have done of terrible job of making plays in the crucial moments of games. Last season, the team ranked third in total defense in the Sun Belt, but allowed 31.7 points per game because of lousy play in the red zone. The team struggled in clutch spots again Week 1, converting on only four of 17 third down attempts.
The Florida International offense should find a little more room to operate on their home turf, but a defense that had so little success against Maryland should be in for another long day.
Expect another big game from Bortles, who leads the Knights to another impressive offensive showing.
The over is 9-3 in Knights last 12 road games.
The play: Over 53
