College Football Friday: (18) UCF vs Cincinnati Week 6 Preview, Prediction & Pick

Jason Radowitz (83% in CFB) breaks down the AAC East Divisional Match-Up Between the UCF Knights and the Cincinnati Bearcats.

We’re going into week 6 of the College Football season. On Friday, we have an AAC East Divisional Game. At this point in time, you’d think UCF would be undefeated going into the game but two weeks ago, UCF took a stinging loss to Pittsburgh and a hot Cincinnati team is coming for them with their best punch at home. 

(18) UCF (4-1) @ Cincinnati (3-1) 8pm EST on ESPN

UCF Knights

UCF’s offense is a high powered one. Dillion Gabriel, the freshman QB has thrown for 14 touchdowns and just two interceptions after taking over for Brandon Wimbush. After their loss to Pittsburgh, UCF responded against UConn (which isn’t saying much). But they responded.

If Pittsburgh was a test for UCF, Cincy will be a tough task as well, especially on the road. UCF’s offense is explosive. They had two touchdowns for over 70 yards passing. They’ll run up the score and do it fast. Gabriel has thrown for at least two touchdowns in all five games this season.

UCF has scored 30 or more points in 31 straight games. They’ve reached 40 or more points in 19 of them and 50 in 11 of them. They rank 6th in the nation in scoring offense with 49 points a game. 

Cincinnati Bearcats

If it weren’t for Ohio State, Cincinnati would be undefeated. Ohio’s best team, the Buckeyes destroyed Cincy 42-0 but Cincy bounced back from that game two weeks ago to defeat Miami Ohio and Marshall very convincingly.

The good news for Cincy is that running back Gerrid Doaks is back from an injured meniscus. He only ran for 32 yards on six carries, but as he eases back into it, he’ll be a factor for Cincy in the remaining eight games. Cincy seems to be getting healthier as Arquon Bush and Malick Mbodj are finally back from their injuries. 

Bearcats quarterback Desmond Ridder seems like he’s finally living up to expectations for Cincy. He’s had eight touchdown passes but four of them came last week against Marshall. He looked flawless in his last game. But he’s always been a little inconsistent for my liking. Cincy made seven trips to the Red Zone and scored six touchdowns and a field goal. Before that game, Cincy had a lot of trouble scoring in the Red Zone.

Pick

Here’s the deal. Cincy has been very inconsistent while UCF has been very consistent in the last couple of seasons. I’ll take the consistent team especially if it’s only -3.5 on the road.