Houston vs. UCF Prediction, Odds and Key Players to Watch for College Football Week 11

UCF is coming off its worst performance of the season.

Tayven Jackson and UCF are favored against Houston on Friday. / Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images

Oddsmakers are down on Houston in a major way. The Cougars will visit Acrisure Bounce House on Friday to take on UCF as 1.5-point underdogs after suffering an unexpected loss to West Virginia in their last game. The Knights are also coming off a loss and are looking to bounce back from a terrible showing against Baylor.

The Cougars were a strong 7-1 overall and 4-1 in conference play before suffering a 10-point loss to a Mountaineers team that was winless in the Big 12 until last week. Houston’s offense still churned out 35 points in the matchup and quarterback set season highs in passing yards (309) and passing touchdowns (4). That kind of production could overpower the Knights, as they scored a season-low three points against Baylor their last time out.

Here’s our full betting breakdown of the matchup.

Houston vs. UCF Odds, Spread and Total

Spread

• Houston: +1.5 (-114)
• UCF: -1.5 (-106)

Moneyline

• Houston: -108
• UCF: -111

Total: 47.5 (Over -106/Under -114)

Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook

Houston vs. UCF How to Watch

• Date: Friday, November 7
• Game Time: 8:00 PM EST
• Venue: Acrisure Bounce House
• How to Watch (TV): Fox Sports 1
• Houston Record: 7-2
• UCF Record: 4-4

Houston vs. UCF Key Players to Watch

Houston

Conner Weigman: Weigman threw for six touchdowns and ran for four touchdowns during a three-game winning streak before falling short against West Virginia. Weigman has thrown for 18 touchdowns with six interceptions and leads the Cougars with nine rushing touchdowns. Tayven Jackson is enduring a tough stretch and could have a tough time matching Weigman’s level of play.

UCF

Jaden Nixon: Nixon is not UCF’s lead back, but is averaging 12.1 yards per carry and leads the Knights with six rushing touchdowns this season. Nixon has scored a touchdown on just over 17 percent of his carries this season. He doesn’t need a ton of touches to get going and isn’t too far removed from putting up 116 rushing yards and two scores on seven carries against West Virginia.

Houston vs. UCF Prediction and Pick

Houston won and covered the spread in three straight games before losing to West Virginia. The Cougars are 6-2 against the spread overall and have covered in three of their four road games this year.

The Knights are a respectable 4-4 against the spread, but Jackson’s slump is worrisome. The quarterback has thrown two touchdowns with four interceptions over his previous four games. UCF lost three of those contests by a touchdown or more and failed to cover the spread in two of them.

Houston’s offense has been much more potent than UCF’s and the team has played much better overall in recent weeks. Bettors shouldn’t let one down week against West Virginia scare them away from this matchup, as the Cougars have the weapons to win outright.

PICK: Houston moneyline (-108 at FanDuel Sportsbook)

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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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