Memphis Tigers (10-1 SU, 7-3-1 ATS) vs. Central Florida Golden Knights (11-0 SU, 6-3-1 ATS)
College Football Week 14
Date and Time: Saturday, December 2nd, 2017 12:00 PM ET
Where: Spectrum Stadium Orlando, FL
TV:ABC
by Keith F., Football Handicapper, Predictem.com
Point Spread: MEM +7/UCF -7
Over/Under Total:84.5
The American Athletic Conference Championship has all the makings to be a Game of the Year candidate. With all the chaos that has ensued within the Power Five conferences and their respective championship games setting the table for an action-packed high-stakes weekend, this affair has been overlooked by many. Nevertheless, the contest has a New Years Six Bowl berth on the line. The match-up will feature a rematch of two of the best teams in the country. Two teams that have already met in the same venue in October. The Memphis Tigers and the Central Florida Golden Knights will once again square off. This team the stakes are even higher. The two teams are coming together again by virtue of winning their respective divisions in conference play. Earlier this season, the Knights took the Tigers to the woodshed in route to a 40-13 victory. Likely, this result has had a huge effect on the assessment of this market in its preliminary stages. The game will be televised across the country on ABC with a kick-off time of 12:00 PM ET. The match will be broadcasted live from UCFs stead, Spectrum Stadium in Orlando, Florida. Memphis has not beaten Central Florida since 1990. UCF holds a ten-game winning streak against the Tigers dating back to 2005.
What can we say about UCF? Two years ago this was a team that did not win ONE game. Now, they have failed to lose ONE game in 2017. The culmination of this storyline has to be described as one of the greatest turnarounds in college football history. The architect behind the UCF renaissance is their coach Scott Frost, who has now become a target of many big programs looking to fill coaching positions as the carousel gets set in motion. Frost is the mastermind behind the UCFast Offense. This unit is simply the best in the country as no team scores more points per game than they do. The Knights average 48.3 points per game. UCF enters in off a thrilling clash with its arch rival South Florida in the War of I-4. UCF defeated USF 49-42 but the fireworks were on display all game long.
The speculation was there from the get-go concerning the Memphis Tigers. With premiere talent at quarterback some analysts and pundits painted the Music City Maulers to be a dark horse for the American Athletic Conference in 2017. Those prognostications needless to say have been confirmed and well warranted. The Tigers have not lost any other game this year outside of the aforementioned clash with Central Florida earlier this season. Like their adversaries in this game, the Tigers can also score at will. In fact, Mike Norvell has coached his team to absurd production as they have eclipsed 70 points in a single game, twice this season. The Tigers have also been a cash cow against the spread as of late as they have gone 6-0-1 ATS in their previous seven outings. After showing signs of rust in their early season contests, this team has shifted in to second gear ever since they lost to Central Florida. Needless to say UCF will be seeing a different Memphis team in this contest.
From the offset of this market we have seen a considerable lean on the Knights. This is mirrored by 67% of the cash coming in on UCF. So far, we have seen the market fall by a half of a point thanks to action coming in on the Tigers. In Over/Under markets, we have seen the number rise by 3.5 points to its current position to further showcase substantial action on the Over.
We have been saying it all week but it certainly applies here: it is hard to beat the same team twice in the same season. Nothing can typify this scenario more than this contest. As we have stated, the Memphis team that UCF is meeting is a far different outfit than the one it beat up on. Many takers are fostering a recency bias on the Knights by virtue of their dominance against Memphis and its inability to get a win against UCF. However, if the streak were to end, a championship game would be the optimal stage. Take the points.
Keiths Pick to Cover the Point Spread: MEMPHIS +7. – Bet this game for FREE by taking advantage of a FAT 100% bonus up to $1000 at MyBookie! (Use Promo Code: PRDCT14)