The UCF Knights and the Florida Gators will square off on Thursday night at Raymond James Stadium for the Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl.
The Knights are 8-4 this season and are riding a two-game winning streak after defeating the South Florida Bulls 17-13. Freshman quarterback Mikey Keene finished with 14-of-26 for 115 yards and a touchdown.
The Gators are currently 6-6 this season and are coming off a 24-21 home win over the Florida State Seminoles. Junior quarterback Emory Jones went 16-of-24 for 163 yards with a touchdown and three interceptions.
UCF at Florida Betting Preview
Throwing the Ball Out Wide
Junior wide receiver Ryan O’Keefe has been playing very well this season for the Central Florida Knights and has recorded 77 receptions for 727 yards (9.4 yards per catch) with six receiving touchdowns as well as 12 rushing attempts for 164 yards (13.7 yards per carry) with a rushing touchdown. In his last game against South Florida, O’Keefe finished with five catches for 45 yards (nine yards per reception).
The UCF Knights have been playing decently well on the defensive side of the field as they are giving up 25.2 points per game. In their previous game against the South Florida Bulls, Central Florida allowed 13 points on 312 total yards of offense (222 passing, 90 rushing).
They allowed the Bulls to go 6-of-16 on third-down attempts and converted on both of their fourth-down tries. UCF shut down the opposing running game as they gave up two yards per carry.
Throwing It Shorter
The Florida Gators have been throwing the ball in the direction of junior wide receiver Justin Shorter as he has 38 catches for 496 yards (13.1 yards per reception) with three touchdowns grabs.
In his last game against Florida State, he finished with two receptions for 10 yards (five yards per catch) with a receiving touchdown.
The defense of the Florida Gators has been decent this season as they are allowing 6.6 points per game. In the previous game against the Florida State Seminoles, Florida gave up 21 points on 348 total yards of offense (203 passing, 145 rushing).
The Gators forced three turnovers (one fumble recovery, two interceptions). The Seminoles were able to run the ball well as they averaged 4.4 yards per rushing attempt.
Who to Bet: UCF Knights or Florida Gators?
The top sportsbooks are currently listing this game as the Florida Gators as a 6.5 point favorite in this neutral-site game. Running back Isaiah Bowser is questionable for the Knights with a leg injury and would be a huge plus for the UCF Knights.
Emory Jones has thrown four interceptions in his last four games, so he needs to step up and not turn the football over. Central Florida is 3-8 against the spread in their previous 11 neutral site games, so go with the UCF Knights to cover the spread getting almost an entire touchdown in this game and potentially win this game outright.