The UCF Knights will host the BYU Cougars in Week 9 of the college football season. And after the Week 8 games wrapped up, it was announced on Saturday night that the game will kick off at 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN on Saturday, October 26th.
BYU is coming of a thrilling comeback victory against Oklahoma State on Friday night, while UCF blew a double-digit lead in Ames to lose to the Iowa State Cyclones on Saturday night in Ames.
Related: Five Biggest Takeaways From Week 8 of the Big 12 Football Season
The Cougars are one of the biggest surprises in college football this season, starting 7-0 for just the second time since 2001. Meantime, UCF, who was expected to be a contender, fell to 3-4 overall with their loss and 1-3 in Big 12 play.
BYU vs. UCF Odds
According to Odds Shark, UCF is a 2.5-point favorite heading into the game. The spread opened up at UCF -2 and has moved 1/2 a point. 57% of the public’s tickets are on BYU heading into this game in Orlando on Saturday afternoon, according to Wager Talk.
The over/under opened at 54, and has moved slightly, down to 53.5 for total points in the game.
BYU vs. UCF Football History
The history between these two teams does not run deep. They’ve only met three times in their history, with all three times coming in the last 15 years. Their first-ever meeting came in 2011, when BYU won in Provo 24-17. UCF won the next match up in 2014 by a score of 31-24. Their last and final meeting was in 2020, when BYU won 49-23 in the Boca Raton Bowl.
But now, both teams are members of the Big 12 Conference, which BYU and UCF both joined prior to the 2023 college football season. But they did not meet last season, making this their first meeting as fellow Big 12 teams.
BYU at UCF is one of seven Big 12 games on the schedule for Week 9 of the season, with two teams, Iowa State and Arizona State, having their bye weeks.
Prediction: BYU 28, UCF 24
BYU is going to Orlando as an underdog in this game against the Knights. We know that teams traveling east two time zones have struggled this season, and while UCF might have some early struggles, I don’t see them leaving Orlando with a loss. UCF has talent, but still struggles with some basics like passing the ball. BYU’s run defense will get back on track after a tough game vs. OSU. The offense will get to take advantage of weaker UCF pass defense and get out of central Florida with a victory. BYU will improve to 7-1 against the spread this season with a victory.
