The sixth edition of the I-4 Corridor Clash is set to kick off Friday afternoon, when South Florida hosts Central Florida. Kickoff is scheduled for noon ET, with television coverage on ESPN2 and streaming access on WatchESPN.
How to watch Central Florida vs. South Florida: Game guide, TV/streaming, odds
Central Florida makes the short trip down I-4 Friday. Here’s how to see it.
Central Florida has followed up its 2014 Fiesta Bowl win over Baylor with another successful season. After losing the first two games of the season, including a two-point defeat to Penn State in Ireland on the season's opening day, UCF has won seven of eight games and is a half-game behind Memphis in the American Conference race. Despite losing quarterback and NFL first rounder Blake Bortles, the Knights are averaging a respectable 234 passing yards per game. Bortles's replacement, sophomore Justin Holman, has thrown for 2,237 yards and 18 touchdowns.
South Florida is suffering through another disappointing season, already assured of its fourth consecutive losing season. Second-year coach Willie Taggart has found a halfback: Freshman Marlon Mack has 1,009 yards rushing this season and 9 touchdowns. Mack has posted three 100-yard games in AAC play, as well as a jaw-dropping 275-yard, four-touchdown performance against Western Carolina.
How to watch, listen, and stream
Game time: Friday, November 28, noon ET
TV: ESPN2
Online streaming: WatchESPN
The numbers
Rankings and records: Neither team is ranked entering Friday’s game, but Central Florida (7-3, 5-1 American) still has a chance to win the American Conference title. South Florida (4-7, 3-4 American) has already been eliminated from the conference title race and bowl eligibility.
Vegas: Central Florida is a 12-point favorite Friday, with the over/under at 42.5 points, per Odds Shark.
Weather forecast: Clear skies and temperatures in the low 60s at kickoff, topping out near 65 degrees.
Two things at stake
There have only been five previous meetings between the teams -- USF did not field a football team until 1997, and canceled the series for four seasons so that it could pursue higher-profile opponents -- but the I-4 Corridor Clash is becoming one of the fiercer mid-major rivalries in football. Central Florida won last season’s meeting 23-20 despite turning the ball over five times. It was the Knights’ first win in the series.
As if that was not enough, Central Florida still holds an outside shot of a second consecutive American Conference title. Current conference leader Memphis has one game remaining against lowly UConn to close out a 7-1 AAC season. UCF could match the Tigers with wins over South Florida and East Carolina.
One big matchup
Marlon Mack vs. the UCF defense: The anemic USF offense has been centered almost exclusively on Mack. In USF’s four wins this season, Mack has averaged 147 rushing yards and broken 100 yards three times. In losses, Mack has been held to 60 yards per game. It won’t be easy: He will have to break through a Central Florida defense that is first in the league in total defense and second against the run at just 115 yards per game.
Further reading
Voodoo Five covers USF, while Underdog Dynasty handles UCF and the rest of the non-Power 5 teams.
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