AutoNation Cure Bowl

Bowl History: The Cure Bowl, officially the AutoNation Cure Bowl for sponsorship purposes, is an annual American college football game played in December of each year starting in 2015. The Cure Bowl is so named to promote awareness and research of breast cancer, with proceeds going to the Breast cancer research Foundation. The AutoNation Cure Bowl, which features a match-up of teams from the AAC and the SBC, is played at Camping World Stadium in downtown Orlando, Florida . It is the third annual college bowl game at the Citrus Bowl, joining the Russel Athletic Bowl and the Citrus Bowl. The inaugural AutoNation Cure Bowl took place on December 19, 2015, and was nationally televised on the CBS Sports network. On October 24, 2014, AutoNation signed on as the inaugural title sponsor of the game.

Teams: UCF 6-6 (AAC) vs Arkansas State 7-5 (SBC)

Bowl Location: World Camping Stadium, Orlando, Florida

Day, Date & Time: Saturday, December 17, 2016 @ 6:00 p.m. CST

Network: CBS Sports Network

Best Win(s):  UCF did not beat a team with a winning Record, Arkansas State beat Troy (9-3), 35-3

Worst Losses: Arkansas State lost to Central Arkansas (a FCS Team from the SLC) 28-23, UCF did not lose to a team that had a losing record!

Common Opponents: None

Las Vegas Hotsheet Favorite: UCF -6.5

Offensive Team Data: UCF; Total Yards,  362 YPG; Passing Yards,  210 YPG;  Rushing Yards,  152 YPG; Scoring Average,  30 PPG, Turnovers,  1.83 TPG; Percent of 3rd Down Conversions, 30.6%; Percentage of all scores in Red Zone, 90% & Percentage of TD’s in Red Zone, 67%

Offensive Team Data: Arkansas State; Total Yards, 392 YPG; Passing Yards, 245 YPG;  Rushing Yards, 146 YPG; Scoring Average  27 PPG, Turnovers,  1.33 TPG; Percent of 3rd Down Conversions, 30.6 %; Percentage of all scores in Red Zone, 76% & Percentage of TD’s in Red Zone, 52%

Defensive Team Data: Ark State; Total Yards,  375 YPG; Passing Yards,  220 YPG;  Rushing Yards,  154 YPG; Scoring Average,  22 PPG, Turnovers,  1.67 TPG; Percent of 3rd Down Conversions, 37.4%; Percentage of all scores in Red Zone, 79% & Percentage of TD’s in Red Zone, 46%

Defensive Team Data: Central Florida ; Total Yards,  381 YPG; Passing Yards,  199 YPG;  Rushing Yards,  183 YPG; Scoring Average,  24 PPG, Turnovers,  1.83 TPG; Percent of 3rd Down Conversions, 29.9%; Percentage of all scores in Red Zone, 70% & Percentage of TD’s in Red Zone, 46%

Sully’s CFP Game Simulator is a statistical analysis / predictor of how these teams will preform, based solely on their numbers, when they face off on the gridiron! Keep in mind, these stats were established against different teams and conferences and these differences must be taken into account to get a complete picture when attempting to predetermine a winner. If you are interested in how the Simulator works … read this part … if not … skip it! The process used is … we take Arizona’s total yards on offense, add it to what Nevada gives up on defense, …  get a total and then divide that number by 2 … to get the mean. We then invert the process by taking Nevada’s total offense, add it to what Arizona gives up on defense, get a total and divide that number by 2  to get the second mean… the greater number (with the exception of Turnovers) is then determined to have the advantage ( please note …. statistical advantage). We repeat this process in each of the eight statistical categories assessed!  That said… here are the results of the Head to Head Analysis:

Total Yards Advantage: Ark State 386.5 to 368.5, ….

Passing Yards Advantage: Ark State 222 to 215, ….

Rushing Yards Advantage: Ark State 164.5 to 153, ….

Scoring Advantage: Central Florida 26 to 25.5, ….

Turnovers Advantage: Ark State 1.58 to 1.75, …

3rd Down Conversions Advantage: Central Florida 34 to 30.25,

Red Zone All Scores Advantage: Central Florida 90 to 81.5, …

Red Zone TD’s Only Advantage: Central Florida 63.5 to 56, …

Game Simulator Says:  Its a 4 to 4 tie

Individuals to Watch: Arkansas State’s Chris Odom & Ja’von Rolland Jones are ranked 5th & 8th in the country in Sacks. UCF Shaquem Griffin is ranked 12th in the nation in sacking the QBs & Chris Johnson is the 26th best Punt returner in the nation

Sully Says: UCF defeats its first team with a winning record in 2016. The AAC is flat out better league than the SBC. The Knights are to athletic for the Red Wolves as they win and cover the 6.5