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St. Petersburg Bowl: Knights vs. Scarlet Knights Predictions

The Central Florida Knights and the Rutgers Scarlet Knights will both be trying to pick up a win when they battle at Tropicana Field in the St. Petersburg Bowl. Oddsmakers currently have the Scarlet Knights listed as 2½-point favorites versus the Knights, while the game’s total is sitting at 44½…

2009 ST. PETERSBURG BOWL – UCF KNIGHTS (8-4) vs. RUTGERS SCARLET KNIGHTS (8-4)

Event: St. Petersburg Bowl
Date: Saturday, Dec. 19, 8:00 pm EST
Site: St. Petersburg, FL
MY Sportsbook.com LINE: Rutgers -2.5

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Team records:
Central Florida: 8-4 SU, 9-2 ATS
Rutgers: 8-4 SU, 5-5 ATS

Preview:

College football’s second bowl game of the holiday season provides a much more intriguing match-up.

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The Battle of the Knights could indeed be a close one. I am sure some experts are enamored with the fact these teams have the same record while Rutgers plays in a better conference than Central Florida – though the Big East shouldn’t send too many people quaking in their boots this season.

In a game that offers a short commute for UCF fans (St. Pete being only a bus ride down Interstate 4 from UCF’s Orlando stomping grounds) there are also reasons for optimism for them.

The UCF Knights rank 4th in the nation in rush defense; with Rutgers rolling out a freshman pivot in Tom Savage, that’s a very nice stat to have. Rutgers will lean on Joe Martinek on the ground; if UCF shows up to play they should be able to smother him at the line of scrimmage. Rutgers isn’t a slouch itself defensively so this could be a close, low-scoring game where a costly error might make the difference.

The Scarlet Knights probably have a slight edge on UCF in terms of the talent on their respective rosters, but I like the chances of UCF giving Savage some jitters and UCF QB Brett Hodges making just enough plays to emerge victorious under the Floridian lights and amongst a swarm of local supporters.

2009 Team Stats

Total Offense: UCF 84th
Rutgers 99th

Total Defense: UCF 46th
Rutgers 19th

Trends:
Central Florida is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games
Central Florida is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Central Florida’s last 6 games
Rutgers is 15-4 SU in its last 19 games
Rutgers is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games

Pick: UCF -3

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James has been naming every player on the EA Sports NCAA video game rosters for half a decade now, he’s finally putting his knowledge to better use writing for us here at CappersPicks.com. As always you’re comments are welcome below…Give Us Your Take!

By James Hayes

James has been naming every player on the EA Sports video game rosters for half a decade now, he’s finally putting his knowledge to better use writing for us here at CappersPicks.com. Your comments are welcome below…Give Us Your Take!