UCF
run offense vs. Buffalo
run defense:
The Knights became more and more confident running the football as the season
went on. Alex Haynes still needs to run the ball
better. Though, Haynes did show
flashes of confidence running the rock the last two games. Look for UCF’s young offensive line to
pick up where it left off as they gained valuable experience and establish the
ground attack from the start.
Alex
Haynes will likely to break 100 yards this Saturday against
Buffalo. UCF will likely use Dee Brown and Dontavius Wilcox against
Buffalo
more often then what we saw in the last four games.
This
is one of the easy games on the UCF schedule. It would be nice if the starters could
take care of business in the first half by putting the Bulls away early. If that happened, they'll allow the
second unit to get some valuable playing time and experience.
Buffalo
gave up 165 yards rushing in its last game against
Akron. Akron
is not good this year. Akron
beat the Bulls 38-21. Advantage: UCF
UCF
pass offense vs. Buffalo
pass defense:
UCF will not use much of their playbook against the
Buffalo. The passing attack will probably look
simple especially now that starting QB Ryan Schneider is out for at least three
weeks. Simplifying the playbook
might actually make the passing offense look good. However, Tavaris
Capers
along with the rest of the wideouts need to turn in another solid
performance.
True
freshmen, Brooks Turner and Mike Walker, will get involved in the offense a
little bit against Buffalo,
as they were invisible since the FAU game.
Their talents and athleticism will help QB Jon Rivera to have a big
game.
And
if Rivera has a big game, expect to see backup QB Brandon Sumner in the game early to get a little
experience.
Buffalo
gave up 362
yards passing to Akron
last Saturday. Advantage: UCF.
Buffalo
run offense vs. UCF run defense: Buffalo
returns all five starters from an experienced OLine that is still young. Two-year starter RS Sr RT Jeff Mills,
two-year starter RS Jr RG Erik Zeppuhar, RS Sr C Kevin Dunn, S So LG Mike
Schifano, and RS So LT Zack Love.
The Bulls ran for 108 yards and averaged 3.9 yards per carry for the
season. Chris McDuffie
gained
23 yards on 3 carries and Aaron Leeper totaled 61
yards on 13 attempts. On Saturday, Buffalo
will look to run more often since got very good production from their tailbacks
throughout the year.
UCF
surrendered 121
yards on 22 carries Kent
State's
tailback David Alston last week. UCF will have to do better stopping the
run. Stanford Rhule was moved to third team earlier
this week which indicated that he has not recovered fully from an injury since
camp. Look for Atari Bigby and Antoine
Poe
to make plenty of noise for the Knights’ defense. Advantage: UCF.
Buffalo
pass offense vs. UCF pass defense: Do the Bulls have a passing
offense?
Buffalo
completed 7-of-21 passes for 58 yards in their first game of the year against
Rutgers. However, the Bulls coaches made a change
at the quarterback position in hope for the better results. Last week P.J. Piskorik passed
for 119 yards in 13-18 attempts in a lost against
Akron. UCF
has already improved their pass defense the last two games. UCF recorded three sacks in Saturday’s
game Kent
State.
The
Knights are expected to continue to create turnovers against
Buffalo
as they did against Kent
State. Look for UCF to return a turnover for a
score. Advantage: UCF.
Intangibles: The injury to Ryan Schneider for the
next two to three weeks, perhaps give the Knights offense fired up to make
plenty of big plays in his absence.
This is the only game on UCF’s schedule in which it's an easy opponent
and a chance to bounce back from a disappointed 1-3 start. With Schneider injured, UCF wideouts are
learning how to adjust in a way it never really had to since the start of the
season. The offense must learn how
to play with Rivera in this game.
PREDICTION: On Saturday evening Knights fans would
love to see UCF's offensive line continue to improve in this game. The expectation is UCF to dominate the
line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. Alex Haynes will have big day (100+
yards) and he should get a decent help from Dee Brown. There should be very little pressure
from Buffalo
put on Rivera. The junior QB should finish with 250 yards passing, 100 yards
rushing, and two TD in his first career start. If the Knights can take care of business
early, it would be nice if Rivera could run the offense for half of the third
quarter and backup QB Brandon Sumner could take over in the fourth. The big key for UCF might be to stay
healthy for the next game and let the backups gain game experience. FINAL: UCF 45, Buffalo 13.
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