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In a 6 p.m. (ET) kickoff at Bright House Networks Stadium this Thursday night, the Conference USA Florida International Golden Panthers square off against the AAC Central Florida Knights in Week 1 of the new college football season. The game will be broadcast nationally on CBS Sports Network.
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Florida International at Central Florida Game Overview<br />
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The Golden Panthers are coming off a straight-up 4-8 run through the 2016 season with a more productive 8-4 record against the spread. They were able to cover in five of their last eight games when closing as underdogs including a pair of SU victories against conference rivals Florida Atlantic and Middle Tennessee. The total went OVER or ended as a PUSH in six of their last eight games last season.
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The prospect for quickly turning things around with a winning campaign this season appears to be a bit more promising with veteran head coach Butch Davis now at the helm. Both Alex Gardner and Anthony Jones are back to anchor the running game and Alex McGough returns as the team’s starter at quarterback. Gardner led the way last season with 930 rushing yards and six touchdowns on 181 carries and McGough ended the season with 1,891 yards passing and 13 touchdown throws.
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UCF went 6-7 SU with an 8-5 record ATS in 2016 after dropping its last three games both SU and ATS. The total stayed UNDER 51 points in a season-ending 31-13 loss to Arkansas State as a 3.5-point favorite in the Cure Bowl and it stayed UNDER in seven of the Knights’ final eight games last year. The bowl game loss dropped their record to 5-3 ATS in their last eight games when closing as favorites.
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Sophomore quarterback McKenzie Milton is looking to raise the bar from a respectable performance last season in which he threw for 1,983 yards and 10 touchdowns while completing 57.7 percent of his 336 passing attempts. He has some solid targets in wide receiver Tre’Quan Smith and tight ends’ Jordan Atkins and Jordan Franks and the Knights should be in good shape up front with one of the better offensive lines in the AAC.
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Florida International at Central Florida Game Betting Trends<br />
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The Golden Panthers have failed to cover ATS in their last five nonconference games, but they are 5-2 ATS in their last seven games played on Thursday. The total has stayed UNDER in four of those last five games played outside Conference USA.
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The Knights have gone just 4-9 ATS in their last 13 home games, but they improve to 7-3 ATS in their last 10 Thursday games. The total has stayed UNDER in their last eight games at home.
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The road team has covered in the last four meetings and the total has stayed UNDER in three of the last five games between these two in-state foes.
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