The UCF Knights take on the Texas Tech Red Raiders. Check out our college football odds series for our UCF Texas Tech prediction and pick. Find how to watch UCF Texas Tech.
The UCF Knights are a weird team, but that makes total sense, because they are coached by Gus Malzahn, the king of volatility in college football. Malzahn's Auburn teams were little different from this UCF group. Malzahn will coach horribly several times per season, but then he will also coach brilliantly and get the most out of his team in a few other games. We have seen this wild fluctuation between excellence and misery so many times over the years, and we have seen it with UCF in 2023.
UCF is good enough to beat Oklahoma State 45-3. UCF is bad enough to lose to Kansas 51-22. UCF is good enough to take Oklahoma down to the wire before losing 31-29 on a failed 2-point conversion attempt. UCF is bad enough to blow a 35-7 home-field lead to Baylor in the second half and lose 36-35. You get it all with Gus Malzahn. He makes you wonder how his teams could ever possibly lose when everything is rolling, and then he makes you wonder how he ever did anything of value at Auburn (making the 2013 season's BCS National Championship Game, winning the 2013 SEC championship, winning the 2017 SEC West championship) when his teams crumble and wither.
Through all of the ups and downs for UCF this season, the Knights are at 5-5. That's the same record Texas Tech has entering this very big ballgame. The winner secures a bowl bid and will not have to sweat out its postseason chances next week. The loser will be placed in a must-win situation next week.
Here are the UCF-Texas Tech College Football odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
College Football Odds: UCF-Texas Tech Odds
UCF Knights: +2.5 (-102)
Texas Tech Red Raiders: -2.5 (-120)
Over: 59.5 (-110)
Under: 59.5 (-110)
How To Watch UCF vs Texas Tech
Time: 5:00 pm ET / 2:00 pm PT
TV: Fox Sports 2
Stream: fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why UCF Could Cover the Spread
You saw UCF crush a good Oklahoma State team a week ago. When a Gus Malzahn-coached team is clicking, the product looks amazing. Malzahn is an inconsistent play-caller, but when he is locked in and enjoying momentum, he usually stays there within the course of a game. (The Baylor game this year was an exception, not the rule.) The UCF team, after playing a virtually perfect game against Oklahoma State, will fly to Lubbock and then take the field with a ton of confidence and belief. The Knights saw what happens when they all execute and play together for 60 minutes. They are known for being inconsistent, but this might be a time where they actually do carry over one performance into the next week.
Why Texas Tech Could Cover the Spread
The UCF Knights will look like world-beaters one week and then completely implode the next. It's a Malzahn trademark. You might be wondering why we're not talking a lot about Texas Tech. It's because UCF is such a wild card that the Knights become the focus for a lot of bettors. Getting a read on whether the Knights will play well or poorly is usually the key to betting on a game involving them. The opponent matters less, as we have seen with UCF's games against Oklahoma and Baylor. The quality of competition does not regularly determine how UCF plays or whether the Knights cover the spread. UCF determines whether it covers the spread.
Given that UCF just played well, regression is the more likely outcome this week.
Final UCF-Texas Tech Prediction & Pick
Trusting UCF with your money is not smart. Stay away from this game unless you think you have a great read on how well UCF will play.
Final UCF-Texas Tech Prediction & Pick: Texas Tech -2.5
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