Central Florida Knights vs. West Virginia Mountaineers Pick & Prediction NOVEMBER 23rd 2024
Preview and Prediction
As bowl invitations loom, conference rivals UCF and West Virginia will face off in Morgantown, West Virginia on Saturday to solidify their chances for the postseason.
The pressure is on for UCF (4-6, 2-5), who has already gone through three different starting quarterbacks this season. Coach Gus Malzahn has rotated between KJ Jefferson, EJ Colson, and Jacurri Brown, with Brown losing the starting job after throwing four interceptions in losses to BYU and Iowa State.
Now, Malzahn has turned to Dylan Rizk, a Florida native who has thrown for 523 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception in his two starts against Arizona State and Arizona. However, UCF has only managed one win in their last seven games.
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The Knights' offense heavily relies on their rushing game, led by RJ Harvey who is the top rusher in the Big 12 with 1,328 yards, 19 touchdowns, and seven 100-yard games. In order to become bowl eligible, UCF must win their upcoming game against West Virginia and their final home game against Utah.
Coach Malzahn emphasized the importance of focusing on the present game against West Virginia, rather than looking ahead to the next one. He acknowledged the challenge of playing in a tough environment and facing a team that defeated them 41-28 last season.
The Mountaineers (5-5, 4-3) will also be looking to secure a bowl berth, needing to win either against UCF or in their final game against Texas Tech. In their previous matchup, West Virginia's quarterback Garrett Greene rushed for three touchdowns and threw for 156 yards. This season, Greene has passed for 1,589 yards with 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions, while also rushing for 600 yards and five scores.
However, West Virginia is coming off a loss to Baylor and coach Neal Brown knows the importance of stopping UCF's strong rushing attack. Brown and Malzahn have a history, having coached against each other in Alabama when Brown was at Troy and Malzahn was at Auburn.