HELMUT SPORTS
Best Bet: Under 44.5

UCF’s defense led C-USA in points allowed at 20.7 ppg which is pretty impressive given
the offensive nature of most of the conference. They also had non-conference tilts
against Texas and Miami. The rush defense was really strong finishing fifth in the nation
and if there is one area of concern it is in the pass defense, which at times was a little
suspect. With the graduation of Mike Teel the Scarlet Knights used freshman quarterback
Tom Savage and the production in the passing game fell off the grid. The offense
particularly struggled against teams that defend the run as they failed to surpass 21
points in games against Syracuse, Pittsburgh and West Virginia. On the surface it appears
UCF’s offense was not that bad, but keep in mind that they had five games against
teams ranking 100th or worse in total defense and one FCS opponent. In the other six
games the offense averaged only 14.5 ppg and really struggled when playing teams
with strong defenses. Against Texas and Miami, the offense could not generate more
than seven total points and was held to less than 200 ypg. Expect the offense to once
again have problems going against an above average Rutgers’ stop unit. Take the under.