UCF Football: Knights poised to complete second perfect season

UCF football puts its 23-game winning streak on the line against rival South Florida. Will the Knights win or will the Bulls get the upset in this year’s War on I-4?

With their takedown of Cincinnati in Week 12, UCF locked up the AAC East title for the second straight year. But the stakes remain as high as ever when they head to Tampa this week to face rival South Florida on the day after Thanksgiving. The Knights are riding a 23-game winning streak into the War on I-4, while the Bulls have lost four in a row.

UCF features one of the top offenses in the country, with new head coach Josh Heupel and his staff picking up right where Scott Frost and his crew left off on their way out to Nebraska. Heupel has kept the machine running smoothly, and now all that stands between the Knights and a second consecutive New Year’s Six bid is this contest and the AAC championship game against Memphis and Houston.

For South Florida, getting off a four-game schneid and bolstering their bowl position is the main motivation to take down the Knights. Then there is the matter of getting revenge for last year’s defeat in the series, as UCF survived the 49-42 barnburner in Orlando to earn the berth in the AAC championship game.

UCF is a decided favorite given the divergent fortunes of the two teams entering this contest. But rivalries are always strange affairs, and the Knights are in danger of walking right into a trap. Can the Bulls actually take down their Sunshine State rival? Here’s how you can watch the War on I-4 live on Black Friday between UCF and South Florida:

Date: Friday, Nov. 23
Time: 4:15 p.m. ET
Location: Tampa, Fla.
Venue: Raymond James Stadium
TV: ESPN
Live Stream: WatchESPN | FuboTV

Keys to Victory

Few teams have earned themselves more flags this year than South Florida. The Bulls rank 124th in the country in penalties incurred, and 122nd in penalty yards lost. Scaling back on those sorts of self-inflicted mistakes will be critical if the Bulls will have any chance against UCF this week. And one of the nation’s best defenses in takeaways needs to win the turnover battle to give their offense as many chances as possible.

UCF has won 23 in a row, but they haven’t been perfect along the way. To leave nothing to chance against their rivals, the Knights need to do a better job of clamping down and getting third-down stops. They could also get a bigger contribution from their kickoff return team, which currently ranks outside the top 100 in the country. Otherwise, one of the nation’s top 10 teams needs to keep doing what they’ve done to get to 10-0 this year.

Betting Odds

Odds courtesy of oddsshark.com

Point Spread: UCF -14
Over/Under: 68.5

Prediction

UCF is too close to forcing the College Football Playoff to make tough choices to collapse so near the finish line. The Knights are going to take full advantage of a South Florida defense that coughs up more than 230 yards on the ground per game. The winning streak will extend to 24 games on Friday in Tampa as the visitors run away with victory to stay undefeated ahead of the AAC championship game.

Final Score: UCF 48, South Florida 21