Group of Five New Year’s Six Watch 2019: Boise leaps over UCF
By Dante Pryor
The Tigers had the week off after a 42-6 drubbing of South Alabama on Sept. 14. The run game looked fantastic as Kenneth Gainwell and Kylan Watkins each ran for over 100 yards. They are going to need that run game to be just as effective as they’ve had 12 days to prepare for their pivotal AAC matchup against the Navy Midshipmen. Memphis needs this game to stay on the NY6 watch wall, and Navy needs the win to legitimize their 2-0 start.
The Bearcats rebounded well against their oldest rival the Miami (OH) RedHawks. The defense was dominant limiting the Redhawks to only 207 yards of offense. The Bearcats have a tough road game against the Marshall Thundering Herd in lieu of their big show down against UCF at Nippert Stadium in prime time on ESPN. We all know what happened the last time Cincinnati faced Central Florida in prime time; so does Bearcats head coach Luke Fickell. But if they want to stay in the watch, they need to take care of business in Huntington, West Virginia lest their showdown on Oct. 4 loses some of its luster.
Speaking of those Knights, Dillon Gabriel looked like a superstar at times and a true freshman at others as the Knights fell to the Pitt Panthers 34-35 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh on Saturday. The Panthers jumped out to a 21-0 lead, but the Knights showed calm by getting back in the game cutting the lead to 21-10 at the half. In the waning moments of the game the Panthers simply outplayed the Knights when it counted. The Knights get a bye week against UConn — because it’s the same thing — before they travel to Cincinnati in a NY6 watch elimination game.