Central Florida Knights vs. Iowa State Cyclones Pick & Prediction OCTOBER 19th 2024
Preview and Prediction
After falling behind by a touchdown in the early stages of last week's game against West Virginia, Iowa State rallied to secure their sixth consecutive victory of the season.
This Saturday, the No. 9 Cyclones (6-0, 3-0 Big 12) will welcome UCF (3-3, 1-2) to Ames, Iowa, as they strive to maintain their unbeaten record and stay at the top of the Big 12 Conference.
Iowa State had a slow start against the Mountaineers, but Carson Hansen's performance led the team to a 28-16 win with 96 rushing yards and three touchdowns.
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However, Hansen's strong showing does not guarantee that he will start against UCF, as the Cyclones have three running backs who have each accumulated at least 245 rushing yards this season. The starting position is up for grabs between Hansen (307 yards), Abu Sama III (248), and the team's leading rusher, Jaylon Jackson (314).
According to Cyclones coach Matt Campbell, the competition for the starting spot is a positive aspect of football practice. He stated, "We've got three guys that are really good football players, and they keep playing really good football, and I think we're as blessed as anybody in college football right now to have guys that are playing great."
Campbell's main concern for Saturday's game is UCF's running game. Knights coach Gus Malzahn relies on RJ Harvey, who leads the Big 12 in rushing touchdowns (nine) and ranks third in rushing yards (694).
Harvey is part of a diverse ground attack between the running back and quarterback positions for UCF, with both potential starting quarterbacks having rushed for over 175 yards each.
Campbell acknowledged the challenge that this presents, stating, "I think when you have that, and you have the ability to create multiple ball carriers with every possession, you've got the ability to attack multiple gaps with what they do, it's a real challenge."
The Knights' main dilemma is deciding which quarterback will start on Saturday.
After leading the team to a three-game winning streak at the start of the season, senior KJ Jefferson lost two games as a starter and was subsequently benched in favor of sophomore Jacurri Brown. In their 19-13 loss to Cincinnati, Brown made his first start of the year, completing 13 of 20 passes for 207 yards and one touchdown, and rushing for 84 yards.
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Malzahn was non-committal about who would start on Saturday, stating, "All I can tell you now is he's the first to take snaps tomorrow in practice." He also praised Brown's performance, saying, "With Brown as our quarterback, you can see we had a little bit more life in our offense. We put the ball vertically down the field. I think he did some good things for his first rodeo."
In their loss to the Bearcats, UCF struggled to convert their drives into points, scoring only one touchdown on 10 possessions. They will now face the top-scoring defense in the Big 12, with Iowa State allowing an average of just 11 points per game.
A win on Saturday is crucial for Iowa State to keep pace with Texas Tech and BYU at the top of the Big 12, with all three teams entering the weekend with a 3-0 record. Furthermore, the Cyclones have not started a season with six consecutive wins since 1938.