2009 St Petersburgh Bowl Odds: UCF vs Rutgers

Written December 14, 2009 by Rock Henderson

Central Florida will not have to travel far for their bowl match up this year as they stay in state to take on the Rutgers Scarlet Knights in the St. Petersburg Bowl. This game will feature two teams that finished the regular season 8-4, but did so in opposite ways. Rutgers lost two of their last three games to finish on a sour note while UCF won six straight conference games to earn a bowl berth. Coach Greg Schiano has led Rutgers to three straight bowl victories and five consecutive bowl appearances overall. Central Florida is still looking for their first bowl win and seems to have built the necessary momentum to possibly obtain the win. Rutgers is a 2.5 point favorite according to our latest college football odds.

The Golden Knights of UCF have been one of the hottest teams in the country. Their last two losses have been against top 25 ranked Miami and Texas. Wake Forest transfer Brett Hodges took over the reigns at quarterback this season and put up decent numbers. Leading a balanced offense, Hodges threw for 2263 yards and 15 touchdowns with 11 interceptions. RB Brynn Harvey has carried much of the load in the running attack, getting the rock 248 times and rushing for 1077 yards and 14 touchdowns. He is only a sophomore and has eclipsed the 100 yard mark in his last three contests. As a team, UCF has scored a total of 38 touchdowns with 19 coming through air and 19 coming on land. Don’t let those numbers fool you though as this team is run first and pass second. Their leading receiver, A.J. Guyton, has just one touchdown and caught 42 balls. Hodges spreads the ball around nicely when the Knights do pass, but they are lacking a big time playmaker in the passing game. Defensively, this team will get after the opposition up front. As a unit they rank in the top 5 nationally in sacks and rushing yards allowed. DE Bruce Miller leads the way with 12.5 sacks on the season and should have ample opportunity to get after the quarterback on December 19th. Pick up a $500 match bonus at BetUS that you can use to bet college football this season.

True freshman QB Tom Savage was thrust into the spotlight early in his career at Rutgers after upperclassman Domenic Natale struggled. Savage has not been asked to do too much in his freshman campaign and has been efficient for the most part. He has thrown for 1917 yards and 12 touchdowns against just six interceptions. The highly touted recruit has proved that the future of Scarlet Knight football is very bright. Junior RB Joe Martinek is the leading rusher totaling 923 yards and nine scores while averaging almost five yards per attempt. Central Florida lacks a playmaker on the outside, but Rutgers definitely has one of their own that fills that spot. WR Tim Brown is averaging over 20 yards per catch and has gone over the 1000 yard mark receiving with eight touchdowns. He is without a doubt one of the more electrifying players in the country with the ball in his hands. The offense is only averaging 322 yards a game and has relied on a stout defense to keep them competitive in most games. Schiano will lean on a defense that ranks 19th in total defense.

This is one of the more even matchups of the 2009-2010 bowl season. Central Florida comes into this game riding high and their fans are within driving distance to cheer on the Black Knights. The defenses are a wash, but I do believe that Central Florida holds a slight advantage on offense in the running game. Rutgers does not really want to be in this game. UCF has a major goal of bringing home the school’s first bowl win in the history of the program.

Recommended Play: Central Florida +2.5

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Tags: central florida, rutgers, St. Petersburgh Bowl

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2 Comments

Comments

2 Responses to “2009 St Petersburgh Bowl Odds: UCF vs Rutgers”

Victor Dell on December 15th, 2009 9:21 PM

Just for reference, UCF is no longer the Golden Knights, they changed to the Knights in 07 when they changed their logo.
Nick on December 19th, 2009 10:09 PM

Yo, how bout the last 9 times i have come here and actually went with your pick i lost all 9. You need to be fired. You sain Fresno -10.5 earlier and that was way off and then you say CF +2.5 and they lost by 20. Thats 2 wrong just today. You are horrible. My fiance knows more about Football then you. Im sending an email to your boss to ask him how the hell you still have a job. You have probably lost the betting world that actually goes with your picks over a million dollars in the last year. You need to pick a new profession because sports betting is not your thing. YOU ARE HORRENDOUS!!!!!

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