The Louisville Cardinals passed their most difficult test of the season to date by beating the Rutgers Scarlet Knights 24-10 last Saturday, keeping their perfect season intact. The Central Florida Knights represents one of an ever-dwindling number of real threats to the Cardinals' unbeaten season, and as was the case last week, the Cardinals are lucky enough to play this game at home.
How to watch UCF vs. Louisville: Preview, TV schedule, odds and more
Here’s all the information you need in order to catch the game between Central Florida and Louisville on Friday night.
Andy Lyons
Central Florida could be trouble regardless of venue, though. The Knights have a win at Penn State under their belts, and they also put a scare into South Carolina last month. All of which suggests the Knights are capable of hanging with Louisville for a while, and perhaps capable of making things very interesting with a few breaks here and there.
The numbers
Rankings and records: Louisville comes in at 6-0 (2-0), ranked eighth in the AP Poll and sixth in the Coaches’ Poll. Unranked UCF is 4-1 (1-0), though the Knights did receive votes in both major polls.
Vegas: Louisville is a 10.5-point favorite. The over/under opened at 53.
Weather: The high in Louisville is expected to hit 69 degrees, and there is no rain in the forecast.
Three names to know
Teddy Bridgewater -- Not much has seemed to bother Bridgewater this season, and that's UCF's task -- can it get the Heisman candidate out of his comfort zone? He has 18 touchdown passes against just two interceptions, and he is completing 71 percent of his throws. He is one of just eight FBS quarterbacks averaging 10 yards per pass attempt or better.
Blake Bortles -- Bortles was particularly outstanding in UCF's win at Penn State, throwing for 288 yards and three scores while completing more than 74 percent of his throws. The Knights may need a performance of that caliber from Bortles if they want to pull off the upset, and while the odds of that may not be great, at least they know he's capable.
DeVante Parker/Damian Copeland -- Bridgewater is spreading the ball around a lot this season, so neither Parker nor Copland have a high reception total (Parker missed the last game because of injury, it should be noted), but they've combined for a lot of big plays this season. The two have accounted for nine touchdown receptions between them.
Two things at stake
Louisville cannot afford any losses if it wants to accomplish the improbable and make it into the BCS title game. The Cardinals’ schedule, weak as it is, simply leaves no room for missteps, and it’s late enough in the season that any team would have trouble recovering from a loss.
A win for UCF would put it in control of its own AAC destiny. The Knights would move to 2-0 in league play by upsetting the Cardinals, and they have upcoming home games against the only other two teams that could be undefeated in league play, Houston and South Florida.
How to watch
TV: ESPN, 8 p.m. ET (Carter Blackburn, Danny Kanell, Allison Williams)
Further reading
For more on the game, visit Louisville blog Card Chronicle.
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