Central Florida had a perfect record in conference play to capture the AAC title, and they'll face Big 12 champion Baylor in this year's Fiesta Bowl on January 1.
Baylor took advantage of a late Oklahoma State loss to grab the Big 12 title and the BCS berth, and they're No. 6 in the final BCS rankings.
Central Florida, No. 15 in the final BCS rankings, matched Baylor with their 11-1 SU record this season.
Central Florida has won and covered three straight bowl games (all UNDERs).
Baylor is 15-3 ATS past 18 games overall and 15-4 ATS past 19 as double-digit favorites (they were 17-point chalk recently at Sportsbook). UCF is 5-1 ATS past 6 games as double-digit dogs.
They battle the Knights, currently with a 11-1 mark (7-5 ATS). The over under records, important for totals bettors, are 8-4 for the Bears and 4-8 for the Knights.
View Central Florida Knights vs Baylor Bears Odds and Stats.
The Bears were listed as 16.5-point favorites at sportsbooks such as Sportsbook on the college football bowl betting lines. The total was 71 in early betting at Sportsbook.
It's a betting matchup between the No. 2-rated Bears and the No. 33-ranked Knights, according to the NCAAF Power Rankings here at Odds Shark. Predictive-scoring models run on this game indicate a potential 49-32 result in favor of the Bears.
Central Florida won its last outing, a 17-13 result against Southern Methodist on December 7. Central Florida failed to cover in that game as a 13-point favorite, while the 30 combined points took the game UNDER the total. The Knights grabbed a Week 15 victory over the Mustangs in their last game, winning 17-13 at Gerald J. Ford Stadium. Glasco Martin tore up the turf for 102 rushing yards in the latest Bears game, a 30-10 win over the Longhorns at Floyd Casey Stadium.
How They Match Up:
The game also pits Baylor's No. 1-ranked offense, averaging 53.25 PPG, against a Knights defense that ranks No. 13 this week at 19.58 PPG. The Bears aerial game is averaging 359.33 yards per game, more than the Knights secondary allows through the air, 229.83 YPG per game.
In comparing defenses, the Knights own the league's No. 10-rated front 7 in terms of stopping the run, allowing 110 yards per game when on the road. Baylor, on the other hand, rates No. 7 this week in generating rushing yards at home.
