#21 UCF vs East Carolina: Preview and Prediction

Start Time: Saturday, October 14 at 7 p.m. ET.

TV: CBS Sports Network

Radio: FM 96.9/AM 740 The Game

Live stats: ucfknights.co/FBLiveStats17

Location: Spectrum Stadium, Orlando FL

The Series: ECU owns a 10-5 lead in the series (7-5 after UCF moved up to I-A). The Knights won last year 47-29, and Adrian Killins Jr. demonstrated his tremendous speed with a kickoff return for a touchdown (Killins’s return starts at :20 in the video below):

Betting Line: The line opened at UCF -28 and has now moved to UCF -35.

This Saturday will feature one of the most lopsided matchups of the college football season thus far. The undefeated #21 UCF Knights will host the 1-5 East Carolina Pirates in a game that will feature the highest scoring offense in the nation against the worst defense in the nation (in terms of both yards and points against). The Knights are deservedly a 35-point favorite in what’s sure to be a high scoring performance for UCF.

UCF is averaging 47.5 points per game which is an FBS best despite not even playing the 4th quarter of their last game. The Pirate defense has been giving up an average 600 yards and 47.8 points per game halfway through their season. On the other side of the ball, ECU and quarterback Thomas Sirk has shown some life with their passing attack, throwing for over 300 yards per game despite not being able to establish any success with the run. The Knights showed some weakness in their secondary last week against Cincinnati so this week’s game should test if Coach Erik Chinander and his defense were able to fix those mistakes.

McKenzie Milton is coming into this game with the 2^nd highest passer rating and yards per attempt right behind Baker Mayfield. Other Knights who are near the top of the stat sheet are Tre’Quan Smith, who is tied for 2^nd in the nation for receiving touchdowns, and Killins, who is 3^rd in the nation for yards per rushing attempt.

Saturday’s game will be the 16^th meeting between UCF and East Carolina which ties Bethune-Cookman for the most games UCF has played against a single team. Knight fans will get to see their team play at home as a ranked program for the first time since the 2013 season finale against South Florida. UCF is 10-1 all-time as a ranked team.

There is no doubt that fans will be in for some fireworks from the UCF offense this weekend. Things might get out of hand real fast if the Knights are even close to the perfect efficiency they showed last week. If you’re in Central Florida, get your tickets because this is a performance you won’t want to miss. For those too far away, tune in to CBSSN at 7pm to watch the spectacle that is #UCFast.

SCORE PREDICTION: 52-17, UCF