I mentioned in an earlier post that UCF’s quarterback Jeff Godfrey has displayed a knack for getting off to good starts this season, something that could be problematic given Georgia’s track record of being accommodating to opposing offenses on their first drives. I’ll admit, though, that overall, Central Florida’s offense isn’t particularly scary, as it’s built more for control than running the other team off the field.
The Golden Knights’ defense, however, looks pretty competent. And before you go dismissing them on the basis of strength of schedule, note that they did a pretty good job against the two BCS conference teams they faced. UCF held NC State’s offense to its lowest yards per play average of the season, and that by a pretty wide margin. (NC State is ranked higher than Georgia in total offense in 2010, by the way.) And while Kansas State fared better in that regard, they were limited to their lowest number of offensive plays for the year.
Admittedly, Mike Bobo has more weapons at his disposal today than either of those two schools. Let’s hope he deploys them wisely.
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UPDATE: For what it’s worth, Steele likes Georgia big today.
At 6-6 Georgia has 2 options: either a positive finish or a losing season, which would put added pressure on HC Richt. There is a big talent disparity between these teams and while UCF’s D can potentially slow GA, they will not stop them. UCF’s offense has looked impressive but that was vs CUSA opps and on the year they faced 5 defenses in the bottom 20 and found their success without having to face a D rated in our Top 50. Georgia should win rather impressively here.
PHIL’S FORECAST: GEORGIA 34 UCF 17
One thing worth mentioning that he picks up on – if it’s a close game that comes down to field goal kicking, you have to like Georgia’s chances. UCF is 10-20 on FG attempts this year, “forcing the Knights to go for it on 4th down a few more times than they wanted”.
