PREMIUM
Rogers' TOTAL OF THE WEEK (10* NCAAF!) >> 5-0 Last Saturday!
(NCAAF) Tulane vs. UCF,
11/05/2016 1:00 PM, Score: 6 - 37
Total: 50.00 | -106.00 Under
Result: Loss
Total: 50.00 | -106.00 Under
Result: Loss
The set-up: From 2009 through 2014., UCF made five bowl appearances in six years but coming off a 9-4 season in 2014, went 0-12 in 2015. Meanwhile, after ending a bowl drought which extended back to 2012 by going to the New Orleans Bowl in 2013, Tulane regressed to past form by going 3-9 in both 2014 and 2015. Both schools made coaching changes prior to the 2016 season and when the two teams meet in Orlando on Saturday (a game rescheduled from Oct. 7 due to Hurricane Matthew), Tulane checks in at 3-5 overall (although 0-4 in AAC play) and UCF brings a 4-4 overall record into the game (2-2 in AAC play).
Tulane: Willie Fritz was the head coach at University of Central Missouri from 1997 to 2009, before moving to Sam Houston State University from 2010 to 2013, where he led the Bearkats to back-to-back national title game appearances in 2011 and 2012. He was the head coach at Georgia Southern University in 2014 and 2015, going 9-3 and 8-4. Last year's team earned a bowl berth but he accepted the Tulane job before coaching the team in it. He's quickly turned the Tulane offense around, as after averaging 16.0 and 19.7 PPG in 2014 and 2015, the Green Wave have averaged 28.4 PPG in 2016, despite being held to 14 points or less in three of eight games. Fritz has yet to win a conference game but it's coming.
UCF: Scott Frost was given his first-ever head coaching job at UCF prior to the 2016 season and ended the Knight's 13-game losing streak with a 38-0 season-opening home win over South Carolina State. The Knights take the field 4-4 (2-2 in AAC play) and like Tulane, have turned things around offensively, averaging 31.1 PPG, after averaging only 13.9 PPG in 2015's winless season. The Knights are kicking off a three-game homestand with this game on Saturday and would probably need to win all three to keep their division title hopes alive going into the finale at USF. That's an unlikely scenario but reaching six wins to become bowl-eligible is reasonably attainable.
The pick: UCF has failed to score more than 25 points in any of its last three games (has scored 24 twice and 25 once) but in its two previous contests, had rolled to 53- and 47-point efforts. Tulane visit Orlando having allowed 85 points in consecutive losses but has also scored 58 points in those two games. By game's end, this over/under number should be in "the rearview mirror." The Over is a 10* play.
Tulane: Willie Fritz was the head coach at University of Central Missouri from 1997 to 2009, before moving to Sam Houston State University from 2010 to 2013, where he led the Bearkats to back-to-back national title game appearances in 2011 and 2012. He was the head coach at Georgia Southern University in 2014 and 2015, going 9-3 and 8-4. Last year's team earned a bowl berth but he accepted the Tulane job before coaching the team in it. He's quickly turned the Tulane offense around, as after averaging 16.0 and 19.7 PPG in 2014 and 2015, the Green Wave have averaged 28.4 PPG in 2016, despite being held to 14 points or less in three of eight games. Fritz has yet to win a conference game but it's coming.
UCF: Scott Frost was given his first-ever head coaching job at UCF prior to the 2016 season and ended the Knight's 13-game losing streak with a 38-0 season-opening home win over South Carolina State. The Knights take the field 4-4 (2-2 in AAC play) and like Tulane, have turned things around offensively, averaging 31.1 PPG, after averaging only 13.9 PPG in 2015's winless season. The Knights are kicking off a three-game homestand with this game on Saturday and would probably need to win all three to keep their division title hopes alive going into the finale at USF. That's an unlikely scenario but reaching six wins to become bowl-eligible is reasonably attainable.
The pick: UCF has failed to score more than 25 points in any of its last three games (has scored 24 twice and 25 once) but in its two previous contests, had rolled to 53- and 47-point efforts. Tulane visit Orlando having allowed 85 points in consecutive losses but has also scored 58 points in those two games. By game's end, this over/under number should be in "the rearview mirror." The Over is a 10* play.
