Before the College Football Playoffs begin, we will have a little bit of an appetizer. The nation’s only undefeated team will get to take center stage for the first time all season. The Central Florida Knights didn’t get any respect from the selection committee, but can gain a heap if they win on Monday afternoon. Their opponent will be the Auburn Tigers, a team that played Clemson close, and beat both Alabama and Georgia.
Watch the Peach Bowl live on Monday, January 1, 2018, at 12:30 p.m. ET at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. This game will be broadcast on ESPN.
College Football Opening Odds at BookMaker.eu
Auburn -9.5
Central Florida +9.5
Odds Analysis
UCF is led by its fantastic offense, which is leading the nation in scoring. The Knights covered their first five games this season thanks to that offense, but couldn’t handle covering bigger spreads as the season wore on. The defense had something to do with this, giving up a combined 97 points in their last two games. Unsurprisingly, the over was an easy winner in each of UCF’s last four games.
The Tigers would have made the CFP had they been able to knock off Georgia a second time, but instead they will have to settle for playing in a New Year’s Six bowl. Auburn has had an up and down season, blowing a big lead against LSU and struggling against both Mercer and Louisiana-Monroe, but also hammered Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi State. Under cashed in the Tigers’ first three games, then over hit over the next seven, before the under won three in a row to close out the year.
Coaching Angle
It’s a tale of two situations when it comes to the coaches. UCF’s Scott Frost has departed for Nebraska, but early indications are that he will come back in order to coach the Knights in this game. Troy Walters is the team’s interim head coach in the meantime while the team is looking for a replacement. This creates an interesting dynamic where there are two separate coaching staffs and if the school hires Kevin Sumlin like expected, two different offensive philosophies.
Although Gus Malzahn received a pretty big offer from Arkansas, he decided to stay at Auburn when it was all said and done. He has done a great job here and is amazingly the third-longest tenured coach in the conference after just five seasons at Auburn. His offense is somewhat similar to that of UCF’s in that he likes to run out of a spread option look.
Player to Watch
Jarrett Stidham is going to be the key to this game. When Stidham has shined, Auburn has not had trouble with any opponent. In every one of the Tigers’ wins, he has completed at least 55 percent of his passes and thrown for 185 yards or more.
However, it’s a different story in the losses. In Auburn’s three losses, Stidham is a combined 38-82 for 389 yards. Completing under 50 percent of your passes and averaging less than five yards a pass is not a key to success in any game.
Fortunately, Stidham will be facing a defense that has had a hard time stopping good quarterbacks this season. Riley Ferguson and Quinton Flowers each had career days against the UCF defense and Stidham may be able to explode too.
Free ATS Pick
UCF doesn’t have much of a chance to stop Auburn if the Tigers decide to take this game seriously. Auburn has the size and the talent in the trenches to dominate on both sides of the ball and the Knights won’t be able to hold their own. This one could get ugly in a hurry, especially with the uncertainty taking place in Orlando now. Back Auburn and look for them to win big.
College Football Odds: Auburn 45, UCF 20
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