Knights vs Cardinals NCAA Football Spread/Handicapping
This bowl match-up knocks the rust off an old acquaintance, back from when Central Florida was part of the MAC conference. The Knights left the MAC in 2004.
Beef O’Brady’s St. Petersburg Bowl
UCF Knights (9-4) vs. Ball State Cardinals (9-3)
Friday, Dec. 21, 2012, 7:30 pm EST
Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, FL
Betting Information Courtesy Sportsbook.ag
UCF -8, Ball State +8
Over/Under: 61.5
ATS Matchup Stats | Gambling Insight!
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This Conference-USA UCF squad will have to rally following a gut-wrenching OT loss to Tulsa in the Conference-USA title game.
For Ball State’s part, the team from Muncie, Indiana only earned its berth after the Big East conference was unable to fill its spot. The Cardinals will take it, as this year’s St. Petersburg Bowl is Ball State’s first bowl appearance since 2008.
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The Knights should have a marked advantage in the game, as the Cardinals have to travel from the Midwest while UCF merely has a short trip down the interstate. UCF fans should be out in earnest in “The Trop.” If Ball State is to return north with a victory, it must maximize the galloping of sophomore RB Jahwan Edwards.
The 230-lb star is a load to bring down, as evidenced by his 218 carries for 1,321 yards and 14 TDs this season. Ball State’s offense is also spearheaded by junior QB Keith Wenning. The Ohio native chucked for 2,878 yards and 22 TDs to just 10 picks. The Cardinals are putting up a lot of points and are riding a bunch of momentum – they’ve won their last six games.
Victories this season have come against a good Ohio squad, Big Ten representative Indiana and South Florida of the Big East. Those are impressive feathers in the cap of a program that hasn’t been to a bowl in four years. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
While Ball State tends to yield a lot of points to the opposition, UCF has a stingy defense; the Knights finished 29th in the nation, surrendering 22.5 points per game. Offensively, UCF must take advantage of the Cardinals’ shortcomings.
They can do it with sophomore pivot Blake Bortles (22 passing TDs to just 7 INTs) and their own 1,000-yard rusher in senior Latavius Murray.
Sure, UCF is plenty talented, but the recent torment received at the hands of Tulsa may be in the Knights’ collective psyche. Central Florida lost 23-21 to the Golden Hurricanes in mid-November, while two weeks later it was followed up with the 33-27 disappointment in OT, for all the Conference-USA marbles.
The Knights must put these humbling results behind them if they are to be firing on all cylinders against a pesky Ball State team that is perhaps flying under the radar.
Expect UCF head coach George O’Leary to have his team fired up to atone for those losses in the Beef O’Brady’s St. Petersburg Bowl, being played at Tropicana Field – a neutral site that will essentially operate as a home game for the Knights.
Score Prediction: UCF 33, Ball State 24
