UCF Fans: Pay Attention to the Tulane at Cincinnati Game
The final War on I-4 game will be played Saturday, but today’s contest pitting Tulane at Cincinnati, is another game Knights fans should watch.
There’s nothing that UCF fans enjoy more than watching the Knights smack the Bulls, and that’s likely to happen on Saturday if anyone asks the Inside The Knights staff about their predictions. After that game, the next step for the Knights will be winning the American Athletic Conference championship game, and it’s going to be against either the Green Wave or Bearcats.
To help preview the game, it’s good to see how each team performs in certain situations, as that’s likely to be an example of what UCF will see the following week. Here are three questions to consider in conjunction with UCF’s style of play.
1) The winner between Cincinnati's rushing attack versus Tulane’s rushing defense will be?
UCF suffocated Cincinnati’s running game, holding the Bearcats to only 35 yards on the ground. While Tulane’s rushing defense has earned just a No. 68 overall ranking by giving up 147.3 yards per game, it’s still a good barometer to see if the Cincinnati rushing attack has improved.
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If the Bearcats cannot run the ball consistently, even if they beat the Green Wave, that does not bode well for them against the Knights.
2) How will Tulane’s passing game perform?
For much of the game against UCF, Tulane’s passing attack missed opportunities. Dropped passes plagued the Green Wave more than anything else. Quarterback Michael Pratt has shown to be an accurate passer, but if the Green Wave cannot consistently move the football through the air it will limit the rushing total for talented running back Tyjae Spears.
On the other hand, if Tulane’s receivers play well, look out! When Tulane’s offense has been balanced, it’s been one of the most difficult to slow down in the country. For the record, Cincinnati’s passing defense came into this game ranked No. 19 by giving up 188.6 yards per game. Should be a great matchup.
3) Which team has more explosive offensive plays?
The winner of this category should have come out on top. Maybe it’s Spears busting an 80-yard touchdown run, or perhaps it’s Cincinnati’s explosive wide receiver Tyler Scott that takes a tunnel screen to the house for a long touchdown.
It’s the end of the season, both teams know what the other has shown it likes to do. How each offense executed, as well as how each defense prepared for the opposition and tackled in space, will have determined which team won this category.
There could honestly be a lot of fireworks in this contest. Lots of talented skill players for both teams.
Overall, this should be a fun game to watch. Take a little bit and check it out. It starts at noon EST on ABC. UCF should be playing one of these two teams on Dec. 3.
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