UCF Football: Statement win on the line vs. Cincinnati in Week 6

It’s AAC action as the Cincinnati Bearcats and “Nippert at Night” welcome the UCF football on Friday. Here’s a preview, prediction, and how to watch.

If you’re a fan of the Group of Five, this is the first pivotal contest of the season for you. Not only is this game for supremacy in the AAC East, it allows the winner to stay on the New Year’s Six watch.

For Cincinnati, it would give it a win over a ranked team, and absolve them of their embarrassing loss at the hands of the Knights a year ago. The Knights could really wash the “Pitt Special” stink off, and defeat the toughest opponent they have left in their season.

The Bearcats did not buy into the trap game doctrine against Marshall last week, routing them 52-14. Desmond Ridder was the star of the show, throwing four touchdowns, and the defense gave up only 256 yards of total offense.

The Knights also topped the 50-point mark in “The Civil Conflict” against UConn defeating the Huskies 56-21. Quarterback Dillon Gabriel only needed 16 pass attempts to throw for 280 yards as the Knights amassed 607 yards of total offense.

Both teams come into this game showing their dominance, and know full well how crucial this game is.

Here’s how to watch:

Date: Friday, Oct. 4
Time:  8:00 p.m. ET
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio
Venue: Nippert Stadium
TV: ESPN
Live Stream: WatchESPN

Keys to Victory

The Knights thrive on quick strikes and big plays. Fifteen-play, 10-minute drives aren’t in their DNA. They want explosive plays. They use their superior speed to take the top off of a defense after they’ve set them up with the running game.

The secret sauce to UCF’s success — which often goes unheralded — is their offensive line. They do a good job of giving Gabriel time to throw those deep balls.

The Bearcats, on the other hand, want to use one of the deepest stable of running backs, to ground and pound. That’s not to say Ridder is a liability, or game manager. He’s thrown for over 8.0 yards per attempt and eight touchdowns, but their bread is buttered on the ground.

The question the Bearcats have to answer is do they want to shorten the game by grinding it out on the ground, or do they think they can win a shootout with the Golden Knights?

Prediction

The Knights have speed all over the field, including their defensive line, and Cincinnati’s offensive line has inexperienced players. However, UCF is prone to giving up lots of yards defensively because their offense scores so quickly. I like UCF in this game, but I have to ride with my pick to win the AAC. So I’m going with the magic of Nippert at Night and the Bearcats.

Final Score: Cincinnati 35, UCF 32