UCF opens the season tonight against New Hampshire. In their second season in the Big 12 the Knights have hopes for a winning season.

Sports Talk Florida

August 29, 2024

Central Florida tight end Alec Holler (82) celebrates his 23-yard touchdown reception with teammates, including tight end Jake Hescock (88), wide receiver Ryan O'Keefe (4) and offensive lineman Lokahi Pauole (77), during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Boise State on Thursday, Sept. 2, 2021, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

UCF opens the season tonight against New Hampshire. In their second season in the Big 12 the Knights have hopes for a winning season. — Central Florida tight end Alec Holler (82) celebrates his 23-yard touchdown reception with teammates, including tight end Jake Hescock (88), wide receiver Ryan O'Keefe (4) and offensive lineman Lokahi Pauole (77), during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Boise State on Thursday, Sept. 2, 2021, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

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Gus Malzahn enters his fourth year with UCF as they face New Hampshire. It is time to continue our college football odds series with a New Hampshire-UCF prediction and pick.

New Hampshire is led by Ricky Santos, who is entering his fourth year as the head coach of New Hampshire. It was a down year for New Hampshire after making the playoffs in the 2022 season. Last year it was a 6-5 finish for New Hampshire, but they did almost have an upset of an FBS school. They would face Central Michigan on the road, but fall 45-42.

Meanwhile, UCF is coming off their first season since moving up to the Big 12. They would start strong, winning their first three games, but a five-game losing streak de-railed their season. They would end the season going 3-1 down the stretch, making the Gasparilla Bowl. There, they would fall to Georgia Tech 30-17.

Here are the College Football odds, courtesy of FanDuel.

College Football Odds: New Hampshire-UCF Odds

New Hampshire: +40.5 (-108)

UCF: -40.5 (-112)

Over: 63.5 (-110)

Under: 63.5 (-110)

How to Watch New Hampshire vs. UCF

Time: 7:00 PM ET/ 4:00 PM PT

TV: ESPN+

Stream: fuboTV (Click Here for a free trial)

Why The New Hampshire Could Cover The Spread/Win

New Hampshire will be starting a new quarterback this year. With Max Brosmer off to Minnesota, Seth Morgan comes in at quarterback. After some time at VMI, Morgan spent last year at Division II Shepherd. He would pass for 2970 yards on 239 of 364 passing. He threw 24 touchdown passes while throwing 11 interceptions. He will not have last year’s top receiver, as running back Dylan Laube is gone. He ran for 715 yards last year and had 699 yards receiving. He also scored a combined 16 times.

Longan Tomlinson is back though. He brought in 42 receptions for 616 yards and seven scored last year. Caleb Bruek is also back at wide receiver, after bringing in 437 yards and three scores. Rounding out the top returning receivers is Joey Corcoran, who had 324 yards and a score. At running back, it will be Myles Thomason. He was the backup last year but did have 48 carries for 216 yards and a touchdown last year.

The defense brings back a lot. They bring back three players who were honored by the CAA at the end of the season. Josiah Silver is back after having 5.5 sacks last season. They also return Dylan Ruiz on the defensive line, who had three sacks last year. At linebacker, Ryan Toscano is back. He led the team with 61 tackles, plus he had three sacks, two passes defended, forced a fumble, and recovered a fumble.

Why The UCF Could Cover The Spread/Win

With John Rhys Plumlee gone, UCF will have a new signal caller under center this year. They bring in KJ Jefferson from Arkansas. Last year he completed 64.2 percent of his passes, for 2,107 yards and 19 scores. He also had eight interceptions. It was his worst passing year in his three years as the starting quarterback for Arkansas. AStill, he ran for 447 yards and two scores last year. The was also a step back from the prior two games.

In the backfield, RJ Harvey is back. He ran for 1,416 yards and 16 scores last year. Harvey also had 19 receptions for 238 yards and two scores. He will be joined by Toledo transfer Peny Boone. Boone ran for 1,400 yards and 15 scores last year for Toledo. At receiver, second-leading receiver, Kobe Hudson is back. He brought in 44 receptions for 900 yards and eight scores last year. Further, Zavier Townsend is back as well. He is coming off 33 receptions, 325 yards, and two scores.

The defense was not great last year, but they brought in Nyjalik Kelly from Miami to help out with the pass rush. He will be across from Malachi Lawrence. Lawrence had 7.5 sacks last year for UCF. Demari Henderson is also back in the secondary. He has three interceptions and two pass breakups. Further, he forced two fumbles and recovered three, including bringing one back for a touchdown. Brandon Adams is also back for UCF. He had three pass breakups last year but did not have an interception.

Final New Hampshire-UCF Prediction & Pick

The UCF run defense struggled last year. When they gave up over 100 yards on the ground, they went 2-7. When UCF gave up less than 100 yards on the ground, they were 4-0. With New Hampshire replacing their top running, and UCF upgrading on the defensive front, that under 100-yard mark will hit in this game. Further, UCF will be able to score plenty in this one. Still, expect UCF to keep the ball on the ground in this one and build a huge lead. With that, take the under in this one.

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Final New Hampshire-UCF Prediction & Pick: Under 63.5 (-110)

Bryan Logan is a sports betting writer and analyst for ClutchPoints, primarily covering the NHL, MLB, and NCAA Football. The Liberty University alumni combined his love of analytics and sports to start using models for daily sports picks.