UCF vs. Tulsa: Preview and Prediction

The Tulsa Golden Hurricane and the UCF Knights have a heated history dating back to their time in Conference USA together. The two teams faced off in the C-USA championship game three times over an eight season span with UCF winning in 2007 and Tulsa winning in 2005 and 2012. In total, Tulsa leads the series 7-3 with a 4-0 record at home.

Can UCF finally get their first win in Tulsa, Oklahoma?

Kickoff: 7:00pm

Location: Chapman Stadium - Tulsa, Oklahoma

TV: ESPN2

Commentary: Dave Flemming, Gene Chizik, Paul Carcaterra

Radio: FM 96.9 The Game

Odds: UCF -17, O/U 69.5 (OddsShark)

Series: Tulsa leads 7-3

Last Meeting: 2016 (35-20 Tulsa)

Last UCF Win: 2014 (31-7 at UCF)

Tulsa Coming In

While the Golden Hurricane are only 2-7 on the season, their record doesn’t do them justice. They lost in triple overtime to SMU and missed a 29-yard game winning field against Memphis, both of who are current top-25 teams. Tulsa may only have 7 wins in their last 33 games but they’ve proven that they can play with some of the best this season.

#UCFierce vs. Tulsa’s Offense

Tulsa has struggled to find consistency on offense this season. Their two best games have come against arguably their two best opponents. The Golden Hurricane offense averaged 39 points and 542 yards against Memphis and SMU while averaging just 20.3 points in all other games.

While Tulsa has experience and talent at their skill positions, their offensive line has done a poor job most of the season. Tulsa has allowed 33 sacks and 74 tackles for a loss which are both bottom ten in the nation. UCF on the other hand is the nation’s leader in tackles for a loss (90) and tied for tenth most sacks (24). Randy Shannon’s defense had 17 tackles for a loss and 5 sacks against Houston last week and all signs are pointing to another big time showing by that unit against Tulsa.

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#UCFast vs. Tulsa’s Defense

The Tulsa defense is 74th in yards per game allowed (407.3) and 109th in points per game allowed (33.0). They are also bottom three in sacks and bottom twenty in tackles for a loss. This is a matchup in which the #16 rushing offense in UCF will face off against the 112th rushing defense in Tulsa. If Dillon Gabriel has time in the pocket and Tulsa isn’t stopping the run, we may see another performance like we did at Temple.

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Prediction

UCF 55, Tulsa 21