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UCF (8-4) vs. Nevada (8-3) Dec. 24, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN) Favorite: Nevada by 2 |
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The Nevada Wolf Pack are a fun team to watch and have been playing pretty good football over the last month or so. Their “pistol” offense sets quarterback Jeff Rowe up just 3 yards behind the center and allows them to have a shotgun passing game and a straight ahead rushing attack out of the same formation. Pretty interesting scheme that has allowed them to put up some serious yardage and points in the WAC this season.
Central Florida went winless last season and started this year off with two more losses. Since then they’ve gone 8 and 2 and earned their first ever bowl berth. Despite the eight win season the Golden Knights haven’t exactly been dominant, with seven of those eight wins coming by margins of ten points or less. Their offense is solid but not explosive, if they make some stops against the Nevada offense and keep this game close they’ll certainly have a shot to win this game late.
Unfortunately for UCF, I don’t think it’ll be close in the fourth.
Players to Watch: UCF QB Steven Moffett, Nevada QB Jeff Rowe, Nevada RB B.J. Mitchell
Prediction: UCF 16, Nevada 33
If Texas was in the Hawai’i Bowl…
Both the UCF football team and George O’Leary rebounded this season and both are great stories, but the Golden Knights aren’t a great team. They went 8 and 4 this season by winning a ton of close games against bad football teams. They needed a last second field goal to beat a Louisiana Lafayette team that the Longhorns put up 60 points on in about a half. The media would attack Texas if they scheduled UCF in the regular season. Texas 66, UCF 3.
It would be interesting to see how the Wolf Pack’s pistol offense would fare against a team with the athletes the Longhorns have on the defensive side. They were shut down pretty well by Washington State, Colorado State, and Boise State, not exactly defensive powerhouses. They certainly haven’t faced anyone with the firepower the Texas offense brings to the table. Texas 56, Nevada 14.
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