And I admittedly fall into that trap often. These seem to be the storylines when talking about Bison football. Pick: Louisville +5.Has North Dakota State’s dynasty become bad for the FCS? Are the playoffs getting boring? Will NDSU ever move up to the FBS? I like the value on the Cardinals at +5.5 or better. I have UCF projected at -0.9, and our Action Network PRO Projections have UCF as a -3 favorite. Their issues in the front seven are going to be rigorously put to the test against one of the most talented rushing attacks in college football. So, Louisville’s focal point will likely have to be Cunningham and the rushing attack.Įven though UCF has matchup advantages on offense in the running game and in the secondary, this line is too high for the Knights. In 2021, UCF ranked 15th in Passing Success Rate Allowed, sixth in explosive passing allowed and 29th in EPA/Pass Allowed. The entire unit remains intact and added Austin Peay transfer Koby Perry, who was one of the best defensive backs in FCS last season. The secondary is going to be one of the best in the group of five this year. That’s not going to bode well against a dual-threat quarterback like Cunningham, who recorded 99 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns in this game last year. The Golden Knights ranked 74th in Defensive Line Yards, 70th in Rushing Success Rate Allowed and 118th in rushing explosiveness allowed. Knights Defenseĭefensively, UCF has eight starters coming back but loses three starters on the defensive line, including first-team All-AAC defensive end Big Kat Bryant. Plus, it has 132 starts returning on the offensive line, so this rushing attack is going to be just as good as it was in 2021 when it ranked 25th in EPA/Rush. UCF does bring back their running back tandem of Johnny Richardson and Isaiah Bowser, who combined for 1,587 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2021. So, he’s a massive downgrade from what UCF had at the quarterback position last season. Plumlee was a four-star recruit coming out of high school and started a few games back in 2019 but averaged only 6.10 yards per attempt and had a PFF passing grade of 60.1. The Knights have a new starting quarterback in John Rhys Plumlee, who comes over from Ole Miss. This unit should continue to be the strength on the defense even if it did allow 9.3 yards per attempt in the opener. Scott Satterfield also went out and first-team All-ACC cornerback Quincy Riley from Middle Tennessee, along with a host of other transfers. The secondary was the strength of the Louisville defense last season, and it returns Kei’Trel Clark, who was a first-team All-ACC selection in 2020 but missed a boatload of time due to injury last year. So, this unit should be improved from those horrible numbers a year ago. It also brings back two other starters, plus an Arizona State transfer who gives it some depth. It does return second-eam All-ACC edge rusher Yasir Abdullah, who had 10 sacks and 6.5 tackles for loss last season. Louisville ranked 74th in Success Rate Allowed, 100th in Finishing Drives Allowed and 84th in EPA/Play allowed.Ī lot of those problems came in the front seven, especially against the run, as Louisville finished outside the top 80 in Rushing Success Rate Allowed, EPA/Play Allowed, Rushing Success Rate Allowed, and rushing explosiveness allowed. The Cardinals defense was quite poor last season. Tiyon Evans gets Louisville on the board with a 36 yard TD run! | #ACCFootball /LJ1SChhCCO
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