Memphis Tigers vs UCF Knights Game Preview and Prediction - 10/22/2021

Game Time: 7:00 pm ET, Friday, October 22, 2021

Venue:  Bounce House, Orlando, FL

Where to Watch:  ESPN2

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Memphis +2.5, UCF -2.5; Over/Under:  65 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  Memphis +3, UCF -3; Over/Under:  65 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Memphis +2.5, UCF -2.5; Over/Under:  64 points

 

Memphis Tigers:  4-3 (7th place, AAC)

UCF Knights:  3-3 (8th place, AAC)

 

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Memphis Tigers:  won at home on Oct. 14 against the Navy Midshipmen 35-17.

UCF Knights:  lost on the road on Oct. 16 against the Cincinnati Bearcats 56-21.

 

 

 

Memphis is coming into this game with a 4-3 record overall and they are 1-2 in their road games this regular season where they will be in this game. This will be their 4th conference matchup of the year and they have already fallen behind the mark with a 1-2 record in theri conference games this season. Their 2 losses came against the Temple Owls and the Tulsa Golden Hurricane while their 1 win came against Navy in their last game. They won that game by gaining a lead right at the start and never giving it back, staying in control the entire length of the game. Seth Henigan played alright but also struggled at times as he completed 8/12 passes for 215 yards, 2 touchdown passes and 1 interception. Calvin Austin III led the team in rushing with 69 yards and 1 touchdown on 1 carry while Marquavius Weaver had 65 rushing yards and 1 TD on 11 carries. Brandon Thomas actually led the team in carries with 15 for 56 yards and 1 touchdown as well. Eddie Lewis led the team in receiving with 92 yards and 1 touchdown on 3 receptions in what was a quiet day for the receiving corps. Cole Mashburn led the defense in that game with 8 solo tackles and 3 assisted ones while Zay Cullens was right behind him with 7 solo tackles and 4 assisted ones. Quindell Johnson also had a nice day with 6 solo tackles, 1 assisted one and he also led the team in sacks with 1 along with Rodney Owens, John Tate, and Maurice White who all recorded 1 sack in that game as well. No one on the defense came away with an interception though. They have scored 251 points in 7 games this season averaging 35.9 PPG and they have allowed their opponents to score 213 points against them allowing 30.4 PPG. Their offense is averaging 487.3 YPG while the Memphis defense is allowing 426.6 YPG.

 

 

UCF is coming into this college football game with a 3-3 record overall and they are 3-0 in their home games this season where they will be in this game. This will be the 4th conference matchup on their schedule and they have already fallen behind with a 1-2 record in their conference games this season. Their 1 win came against the East Carolina Pirates while their 2 losses came against the Navy Midshipmen and against Cincinnati in their last game. Cincinnati took a big lead right from the start and they never really had a chance in that game as the score just got larger and larger. Mikey Keene did not play well in that game as he completed 16/27 passes for 141 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions. Ryan O'Keefe led the team in rushing with 51 yards on 1 carry while Joey Gatewood had 42 rushing yards on 8 carries. Isaiah Bowser actually led the team in carries with 13 for 27 yards and 1 touchdown. O'Keefe also led the receivers with 60 yards on 7 receptions in that game while Johnny Richardson had 3 receptions for 31 yards receiving in what was a very quiet day for the receiving corps. Divaad Wilson led the defense with 6 solo tackles and 2 assisted ones while Quadric Bullard was right behind with 5 solo tackles and 1 assisted one. Bullard also had the only sack in that game for the defense and no one was able to come away with an interception. They have scored 205 points in their first 6 games averaging 34.2 PPG and they have allowed their opponents to score 193 points against them allowing 32.2 PPG. Their offense is averaging 440.8 YPG while their defense is allowing 384.2 YPG.

 

Both of these teams have some very strong offenses as they both gain a lot of yards in their games and are averaging over 30 points per game each. They both have bad defenses as well that give up a lot of yards and are both allowing over 30 points per game this season. This game is going to turn into a no defense shootout as both teams tend to focus more on their offense. There will be a lot of points in this game from both sides so the best bet to place in this game is on the over.

 

Memphis UCF Prediction:  Our NCAAF Pick for Friday, October 22, 2021 (7:00 pm ET start time) is UCF 41 Memphis 38.

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Memphis Tigers: 30-39 ATS when the line is +3 to -3. 158-172 ATS in all games. 86-92 ATS as an underdog. 48-52 ATS as a road underdog. 73-78 ATS in road games. 99-114 ATS against conference opponents.

UCF Knights: 140-130 ATS in all games. 85-78 ATS as a favorite. 54-40 ATS as a home favorite. 68-57 ATS in home games. 85-81 ATS against conference opponents.

 

 

Memphis Tigers:  S. Henigan (QB) Prob Fri - Hand injury. R. Clark (RB) Ques Fri - Undisclosed injury. G. Rogers (RB) Ques Fri - Undisclosed injury.

UCF Knights:  D. Marks (WR) Ques Fri - Leg injury. R. Barber (DL) Ques Fri - Undisclosed injury. J. Robinson (WR) Out indefinitely - Leg injury.

 

 

Memphis Tigers: Calvin Austin III is one player to watch in this contest. He leads his team in receiving yards and in touchdowns scored this season. He is coming off of a game where he was a bit quiet in the receiving game but actually led the team in rushing yards. He is the biggest playmaker on their team so look for them to get the ball in his hands at all costs in this game.

 

UCF Knights: Isaiah Bowser is one player to watch in this game. He leads his team in touchdowns scored this season. He is coming off of a game where he was quiet on the ground for yards but did get the most carries on the team. Look for him to step up his performance in this game and try to lead his team on the ground in this game.

 

 

"It'll obviously be a big experience. I've played some pretty some high stakes games. ... but it'll be nothing like what I'm getting into this week. That's exciting to get that opportunity to go on the road against a quality team." - Seth Henigan on their upcoming game against UCF.

 

 

“That team can play with any team in the country. They’ve got a complete team. They can win the whole thing.” - Gus Malzahn after their loss to Cincinnati in their last game.

 

 

 

WR Austin III, Calvin 

WR Rogers, Gabriel 

WR Ivory, Javon 

TE Dykes, Sean 

QB Henigan, Seth 

RB Thomas, Brandon 

TB Fleming, Cameron 

 

WR Johnson, Brandon 

WR Jaylon Robinson

WR Ryan O'Keefe

TE Hescock, Jake 

QB Keene, Mikey 

RB Bowser, Isaiah 

 

Passing: S. Henigan (2153)

Rushing: B. Thomas (642)

Receiving: C. Austin III (857)

Touchdowns: C. Austin III (8)

Sacks: M. White (2)

Tackles: J. Russell (48)

 

Passing: D. Gabriel (818)

Rushing: J. Richardson (317)

Receiving: R. O'Keefe (375)

Touchdowns: I. Bowser (6)

Sacks: J. Celiscar (3)

Tackles: Q. Bullard (30)

 

Coaches:

Memphis Tigers: Ryan Silverfield (2nd season)

UCF Knights: Gus Malzahn (1st season)

 

87 degrees F partly cloudy, 65% humidity, 0% chance of rain, up to 9 mph wind speeds SE.