The Louisville Cardinals and UCF Knights will square off in a Friday night college football matchup. With that said, it’s a good time to check out our College football odds series, which includes a Louisville-UCF prediction and pick, laid out below.
Louisville is coming off a 31-7 drubbing at the hands of Syracuse in their season opener. The brutal loss may have started the clock on the end of head coach Scott Satterfield's time with the program. The talent is solid on this club, and expectations should be pretty high for the season.
UCF routed FCS South Carolina State 56-10 in their season opener, a very unfair and lopsided matchup. UCF went 9-4 last season, which included a thrilling 42-35 loss against these same Louisville Cardinals. The Knights won the Gasparilla Bowl against in-state rivals Florida at the end of the season.
Here are the Louisville-UCF College Football odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
College Football Odds: Louisville-UCF Odds
Louisville Cardinals: +5.5 (-108)
UCF Knights: -5.5 (-112)
Over: 61.5 (-112)
Under: 61.5 (-108)
Why The Cardinals Could Cover The Spread
Louisville quarterback Malik Cunningham is the best to play for the program since Lamar Jackson made the leap to the NFL. Cunningham is in his fifth season with the program, playing in 47 games so far. Cunningham has tossed 62 touchdowns and just 26 interceptions in his career. Saturday night against Syracuse, the veteran was clearly rattled by the significant crowd noise, throwing no touchdowns and two interceptions. Thankfully, a veteran is easier to count on for a bounceback. Louisville's running game is bolstered by Cunningham, who ran for 20 touchdowns last season. Tiyon Evans, a transfer from Tennessee, is the main ball carrier and ran for 89 yards and the team's lone touchdown. Senior receiver Tyler Hudson caught eight passes for 102 yards in the opener.
Benjamin Perry led the team with eight tackles in the opener. The group totaled eight tackles for a loss, including two sacks of Syracuse. The team can bring the pressure to opponents, although it did come against a Syracuse group that has struggled a bunch in recent seasons. The secondary broke up two passes in the opener.
Why The Knights Could Cover The Spread
UCF has a new starting quarterback in John Rhys Plumlee, an Ole Miss transfer. Plumlee is one of the more dynamic quarterbacks in the league, getting it done both with his arm and his legs. Plumlee was 20-31 for 308 yards and four touchdowns in the opener, adding 100 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Running back Isaiah Browser added two touchdowns on the ground. Four different receivers scored a touchdown pass from Plumlee in the opener, led by Javon Baker's 84 yards and Kemore Gamble's 82 yards. The team actually left more points on the table, missing a field goal that would have put them over 60 points.
The defense dominated an inferior opponent in week one, which is to be expected. The group totaled nine tackles for loss, including two sacks and three quarterback hits. Divaad Wilson intercepted a pass in the opener. Walter Yates paced the team with seven tackles, and four Knights registered at least three tackles. Now, Louisville is a lot different than trying to stop South Carolina State.
Final Louisville-UCF Prediction & Pick
Cunningham is unlikely to have two bad ones in a row in a matchup of two dynamic, talented quarterbacks. Expect a TON of offense in this one.
Final Louisville-UCF Prediction & Pick: Louisville +5.5 (-108), over 61.5 (-112)
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