College Football Game Lines – Central Florida Goes To Western New York

The Central Florida Golden Knights will have a new field general when they take on the Buffalo Bulls this weekend.  

Central Florida Golden Knights @ Buffalo Bulls 

Saturday, September 18th – 7:05 PM ET 
UB Stadium, Buffalo, NY 
Broadcast: ESPN Game Plan

College Football Game Lines: Central Florida -8.5, Buffalo +8.5  

It’s an urgent time for the Central Florida football team. Widely seen as the main competitor to Southern Mississippi in the battle for the Conference USA East Division crown, the Golden Knights have a quarterback issue on their hands. Veteran signal caller Rob Calabrese was expected to deliver the goods in 2010, but he faltered quite noticeably in last week’s 28-21 loss to North Carolina State. Coach George O’Leary decided to make an in-game change versus N.C. State, and that’s the only reason UCF became competitive in that contest. We’ll see how the Golden Knights move forward with a new leader under center. 

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College Football Game Lines: What Central Florida Has To Do To Win 

The story for the Knights as they trek north to Buffalo is freshman quarterback Jeff Godfrey, whose second-half heroics were nearly enough to rally UCF in a 28-21 loss to North Carolina State this past Saturday.  All Godfrey did was rush for two touchdowns and complete seven of 10 passes for 107 yards in relief duty after halftime versus the Wolfpack. The display erased almost all of a 28-7 deficit and gave UCF a chance to tie in the final minutes.  Considering the immense difficulty Buffalo’s defense had in coping with Baylor sophomore quarterback Robert Griffin in a 34-6 loss to the Bears on Sept. 11, Godfrey could very well have another big week.  If UCF coach George O’Leary puts the rock in his hands, the Golden Knights stand a very good chance of winning in upstate New York.   

Regardless of who the quarterback is, the Knights will have a decided advantage when their defense is on the field.  UCF held N.C. State to 239 yards of total offense in week two, and South Dakota State to only 220 yards in week one. 

College Football Game Lines: What Buffalo Has To Do To Win

The Bulls showed flashes of effectiveness in their first two games versus FCS-based Rhode Island and Big 12 opponent Baylor, but it’s worth noting that in the face of Baylor’s power, Buffalo had few answers in a 34-6 loss. The Bulls need to find a way to become more consistent and move the sticks on third down. Any team that’s a clear underdog has to find ways of controlling the ball and converting on third down in particular. The Bulls made a handful of plays against Baylor. Now, they’ll need to make three or four handfuls of plays in order to keep pace with Central Florida.

Buffalo’s most reasonable and likely path to victory is to crank up its defensive energy and produce a very good game plan for Godfrey. If the Bulls and defensive coordinator William Inge can disguise their looks and produce a multiplicity of complex defensive packages, they might be able to coax two or three interceptions from Godfrey’s relatively untested arm. With a few turnovers in their pocket, the Bulls could get the short fields and momentum boosts they will most certainly need in order to pull off the upset.

NCAA Handicapping: Outlook & Pick 

This is too much of a mismatch up front, for one thing. The Mid-American Conference doesn’t have the same physical ability that Conference USA does. The other key in Central Florida’s favor is that Godfrey is a very deft and able running quarterback. He won’t need to put the ball in jeopardy. Godfrey can play a safe, no-risk game and still make plays with his legs. That will carry UCF to a comfortable win in Buffalo. 

College Football Game Lines Pick: Central Florida -8.5