Week 1 Previews: Central Florida at Akron

Thursday, August 30
UCF at Akron--This opening night matchup features one of the best defenses from 2011 in UCF who only gave up 18.3 points per game, good for 10th in the nation last fall. The 2011 season for Akron couldn’t not have ended fast enough with a 1-11 season that saw the Zips outscored by an average of 24 points per game.

Offense: The Zips were among the worst in the nation on offense with only 114 yards on the ground per game and 163 yards in the air per game. The Zips also failed to score regularly with an average of 14.2 points per game in 2011. The Zips were held to 3 points or fewer in 4 games and only scored 20 or more points 4 times last fall. UCF was right in the middle of the pack in both rushing and passing offense in 2011 with 168 yards on the ground and 238 yards in the air adding to over 400 yards of offense per game. The Knights put up 27.1 points per game but the numbers were inflated due to high scores versus poor opponents.  EDGE: UCF

Defense: Akron gave up 38.4 points per game in 2011, good for the 4th worst scoring defense in the nation. The Zips gave up 219 yards on the ground and only 207 in the air per game for a total of 426 yard per game given up. Central Florida had a very impressive defense in 2011 with the 9th best scoring defense in the country at 18.3 points per game. The Knights only gave up 108 yards on the ground and 194 yards in the air per game for a total of 302 yards total for opponents per game. EDGE: UCF.

Coaching: The Zips brought in veteran Terry Bowden to right the ship after last year’s 1-11 disaster. Bowden has not coached on the FBS level since his time at Auburn ended in 1998. Bowden got back into coaching in 2009 with North Alabama and led them to a 29-9 record in the three years at the program. Bowden brings instant name recognition for the program and does hold an undefeated single season record while at Auburn. On the other sideline is coach George O’Leary leading the Knights to battle. O’Leary is in his ninth year with UCF with a 50-51 overall record with the program. O’Leary also had a 7-year stint at Georgia Tech in which he went 52-33 with 5 bowl appearances. O’Leary was then hired to take over Notre Dame but inaccuracies in his resume led to him being let go before ever coaching a game. O’Leary then worked as the defensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings for two years before being hired at UCF. EDGE: PUSH

Previous History: Akron leads the all-time series 5-2 with an undefeated record at home (3-0) versus the Knights. The schools have not played since 2004, a 26-21 win on the road for Akron.

The more talented team by far is UCF but with the recent sanctions dropped on the program by the NCAA may have taken the wind out of the sails for the Knights. This game being played on a Thursday night and being kicked as the opening game of the college football season, anything can happen. Add in UCF having to deal with the NCAA penalties giving them nothing to play for but pride, Akron could come in and steal the game catching the Knights off guard. Do not look for that to happen as UCF should roll in this opening night road game at Akron. Central Florida should win big.