Free Week 8 Prediction: Knights vs Pirates Odds
Looking for UCF Knights vs. East Carolina Pirates free picks? Week 8 betting sees the UCF Knights taking on the East Carolina Pirates on Saturday, October 20 at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium in Greenville, NC. Cappers Picks provides complimentary handicapping picks all NCAA football season long so stay tuned for more FREE college football predictions like this UCF East Carolina free pick.
College Football Handicapping: Week 8
(6-0) UCF Knights vs. East Carolina Pirates (2-4)
Date: Saturday, October 20, 2018
Time: 7:00 pm EST
Venue: Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium, Greenville, NC
NCAA Football Spread: UCF -21.5
NCAA Betting Total: 66
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The Central Florida Knights continue to roll out the wins, having scored 31 points in 19 straight games. That is also the length of the Knights’ current winning streak entering week 8 of the NCAA football season.
Those 31 points didn’t come easily last weekend against Memphis, however, as the Knights escaped with a 31 – 30 thrilling win.
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The East Carolina Pirates will be looking to shake off a two-game skid, and have lost three of their last four outings. Let’s hope they don’t recall what happened last season when they squared off against UCF, as the Knights poured 63 on the Pirates in Orlando.
UCF Knights
The UCF vs. Memphis game might have left some folks short on finding that total that was set at 80. That didn’t stop a phenomenal game from breaking out, however, as UCF scratched and clawed their way to a 1-point win.
McKenzie Milton struggled with the Memphis defense, only completing 17 passes while eliminating his running ability. Milton lost -11 yards in the ground game, and only had 1 TD pass in the win. His lone score on the ground in the 4th quarter ultimately provided the game-winning drive.
Memphis held a 16-point lead with 2 minutes left in the second quarter, although a drive that resulted in three points brought UCF closer to end the half down 30 – 17.
New UCF Head Coach Josh Heupel must have made quite a halftime speech to his guys, especially to the defense.
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Memphis was held without a single point in the second half, as the defense reminded everyone that it’s not all about the offense for the Knights.
Randy Shannon’s defense caused 3 fumbles and recovered 2 of them, although they struggled to contain Darrell Henderson. The Memphis RB out of Batesville, Mississippi toted the rock 31 times for 199 yards, and scored once as well.
East Carolina Pirates
As soon as you figure out what is happening at East Carolina this season, drop us a line because it’s been a wild year so far. After opening the year with a 28 – 23 home loss to North Carolina A&T, the Pirates proceeded to beat down the real North Carolina team, 41 – 19. Most would expect that to be turned around, no disrespect intended to the Aggies.
They essentially lost as 14-point favorites to an FCS team, and then won as 16.5 underdogs against the Tarheels to start the 2018 campaign.
Since then, the Pirates have gone 1 – 3, with their only win coming against Old Dominion in week 5, 37 – 35. Temple and Houston outscored the Pirates 91 – 26 in their last two outings, and the high-flying Knights are coming to town.
East Carolina ranks 100th in points allowed this season, giving 32.2 PPG. That might be a little bit of an issue, as McKenzie Milton and company stroll in to downtown Greenville, NC, having scored at least 31 points in 19 straight games.
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Sophomore QB Reid Herring is still learning the Tony Peterson offense, but there is plenty of room to grow. He is a risk-taker and will try to squeeze balls in tight spaces, although the 7 INTs to the 6 TDs need to start going in the other direction.
Senior wideout Trevon Brown has grabbed 500 passing yards out of Herring’s arm, so those two are establishing a nice relationship. Always look to your seniors when you’re learning how to get your feet wet.
You will hear the word ‘Trap’ used this week, simply because UCF is favored by three scores. The Knights have Temple, Navy, Cincinnati and South Florida remaining on their schedule after this contest.
The trap won’t be about if UCF will win this game, because their defense wants to make sure they show that second half last weekend was no fluke. We might not even see a lot of McKenzie Milton in this game either, should the Knights start to pull away.
NCAA Football Handicapping Trends
- Knights are 6-2 ATS in their last 8 games overall.
- Knights are 5-2-1 ATS in their last 8 road games.
- Pirates are 3-9-1 ATS in their last 13 home games.
- Pirates are 5-16 ATS in their last 21 games in October.
- Over is 6-1 in the last 7 meetings.
- Knights are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 meetings.
Free Week 8 NCAA Football Pick
After watching the UCF defense shut down Memphis the way they did in the second half last weekend, it’s affecting my thoughts about that total at 66. The UCF team total should fall around 44 I would surmise, and that might be the best option here.
East Carolina knows that the Knights can run it up on them, because most of these characters were here last year when UCF smashed the Pirates, 63 – 21.
4* Free NCAA Betting Pick: Central Florida are -21.5 favorites and the total is set at 66. Free ATS or O/U final score pick provided below!
The ICF team total to go Over the 44 will be your best option in this contest.
Week 8 Free Score Prediction: UCF Knights 49 – East Carolina 23
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