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Despite coming off a tough overtime loss to the Tulsa Golden Hurricane in the C-USA Championship Game, the Central Florida Knights will square off against the Ball State Cardinals in the Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl as seven-point favorites according to most sports books.
It's not completely surprising that the centrally-located Knights would have an edge playing in St. Petersburg, Fla., which could amount to a home game for UCF. But the Cardinals come in riding a six-game winning streak, which included a win over the then-No. 25 Toledo Rockets and a blowout win over the Ohio Bobcats.
UCF is led by quarterback Blake Bortles, who threw for 22 touchdowns on the season, while Ball State features running back Jahwan Edwards heavily. Edwards finished the season with 1,321 yards and 14 touchdowns on 218 carries.
Ball State quarterback Keith Wenning is questionable for the bowl game after passing for 2,878 yards and 22 touchdowns on the year.
The over-under for the game total is set between 61.5 and 62 points across sports books.