Unranked UCF travels to Lawrence to face unranked Kansas at 4:00 PM ET on Saturday on FOX. Can the Jayhawks cover the 1.5-point spread as home underdogs this weekend? Read our 2023 UCF vs. Kansas Betting Prediction to find out!
UCF is 3-2 straight up this season and 2-3 against the spread. Their best win came against Boise State and their worst loss came against Baylor.
Kansas is 4-1 straight up this season and 2-3 against the spread. Their best win came against BYU, and their only loss came against Texas.
Game Matchup & Betting Odds
319 UCF Knights (-1.5) at 320 Kansas Jayhawks (+1.5); O/U 64
4:00 PM ET, Saturday, October 7, 2023
David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium, Lawrence, KS
UCF vs. Kansas Public Betting Information
As of this writing, the public is favoring the Knights in this game. Our CFB Public Betting page shows that 56% of public bets are on UCF -1.5. Note that these numbers are subject to change and could be different once game time rolls around.
UCF Knights Game Notes
UCF will be without their Week 1 starter John Rhys Plumlee this weekend as he’s dealing with a right knee injury. Plumlee hurt his knee in UCF’s win over Boise State in Week 2 and he’ll be out indefinitely. In his stead, the Knights will start 6’1” 196-pound sophomore Timmy McClain. McClain got the starting nod at home against Baylor last weekend and completed 13 of 25 passes for 234 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 1 interception in his team’s narrow 36-35 loss. Saturday will be McClain’s third start of the season. The Knights have gone 1-2 in those starts in 2023.
¡Sí sí sí Johnny!
— UCF Football (@UCF_Football) October 3, 2023
Shoutout to our @FLBlue team 🔥🎙️ @yosoycarlosbo @ruizsergio & @LeoSportif ! pic.twitter.com/RWqdaJY1qX
Kansas Jayhawks Game Notes
Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels won’t start Saturday’s game as he deals with a lingering back injury according to The Action Network’s Brett McMurphy. Daniels is officially listed as questionable on the injury report, and could potentially be available in a relief role if he gets cleared on gameday, but it’s looking doubtful that he’ll play on Saturday.
Instead, the Jayhawks will start sixth-year senior Jason Bean at quarterback against the Knights on Saturday. Bean has a lot of game experience as he threw for over 1,200 yards in both 2021 and 2022 and was called on to start Kansas’ game against Texas last weekend, which the Jayhawks lost 40-14. With UCF’s Timmy McClain and Kansas’ Jason Bean, it will be the battle of the backup QBs in Lawrence this weekend.
UCF vs. Kansas Betting Trends
UCF is 3-7 ATS in their last 10 games.
The over is 7-3 in UCF’s last 10 games.
The over is 6-3-1 in Kansas’ last 10 games.
Kansas is 6-2-1 ATS as the home team since the beginning of 2022.
UCF vs. Kansas Betting Prediction
In this matchup featuring a pair of backup quarterbacks, I like Kansas and Jason Bean to cover the number on Saturday. The Jayhawks will get this game at home, and their quarterback is a sixth-year senior with 548 career passing attempts and 40 career passing touchdowns. Central Florida QB Timmy McClain is a true sophomore and only has 344 career passing attempts and 12 career passing touchdowns to his name. What’s more, McClain sat out all of 2022 as he used a redshirt year to avoid burning a year of eligibility after transferring from South Florida. He’s only thrown 82 passes in two years. Bean has thrown 185 passes in that same span. Furthermore, Jason Bean’s touchdown-pass-to-interception ratio is a stellar 17-4 since the start of last season. I like the Jayhawks to get their second conference win on Saturday or come very close to doing so.