Central Florida vs. BYU: TV Schedule, Live Streaming, Radio, Game Time and More

College football fans will be blessed with a special Friday night attraction this week when the 1-2 BYU Cougars host the 2-1 Central Florida Knights on ESPN. Both teams are coming of Week 3 losses, as the Cougars were clobbered at home by Utah and the Knights were edged by Florida International.

UCF is jockeying for position in Conference USA while BYU is trying to establish itself as an independent. The Knights are expected to compete for a C-USA title and the Cougars are certainly a bowl-caliber team.

This game could literally go either way and it will likely come down to BYU's ability to tidy up on run defense and slow down the explosive rushing attack of UCF.

Where: LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo, Utah

When: Friday Sept. 23 at 8 p.m. EDT

Watch: ESPN/ESPN3 at 8 p.m. EDT

Listen: WYGM 740 AM (Central Florida) and KSL 102.7 FM (BYU); XM Satellite Radio-Channel 143

Betting Line: BYU (-3)

Who Might Not Play for Central Florida: QB Rob Calabrese

The run-heavy UCF Knights don't feature much in terms of the passing game, but should starting quarterback Jeff Godfrey be lost to injury Friday, the Knights won't have backup signal caller Rob Calabrese to turn to.

Calabrese played sparingly last season, but was certainly the most experienced quarterback on UCF's roster heading into his senior season in 2011. Calabrese is out for the season with a knee injury, however, so keeping dual-threat quarterback Godfrey healthy will be paramount for the Knights.

Who Might Not Play for BYU: LB Jordan Pendleton

Senior linebacker Jordan Pendleton is questionable for Friday's game with an ankle injury. Pendleton missed last week's game against Utah and figures to be a game-time decision. If Pendleton is unable to go, his leadership will be sorely missed by the Cougar defense.

Solid tackling will be of the utmost importance against UCF's excellent running game, so the loss of a sure-handed tackler like Pendleton could be devastating. If he plays, however, it should provide the Cougars with a big lift.

Key Storyline: Will BYU Bounce Back From 54-10 Drubbing vs. Utah?

After an opening-week victory over Ole Miss and a narrow defeat to Texas in Week 2, the BYU Cougars looked like a team to be reckoned with in 2011. BYU was embarrassed at home by Utah 54-10 last week and is suddenly reeling with a 1-2 record.

Things won't get much easier this week against the 2-1 UCF Knights. The Knights were upset 17-10 by Florida Atlantic last week, so they will certainly be hungry to atone for that loss. Another loss could really start to have a negative snowball effect on BYU's season, but a win would definitely have a stabilizing effect.

BCS/Top 25 Poll Implications

Had BYU upended Texas in Week 2, then they would be firmly in the Top 25 conversation, but that loss and the ensuing Utah loss squashed that. UCF started off 2-0 and dominated Boston College in Week 2, but a tough loss to Florida International ended their Top 25 bid.

Neither team has any type of hope of reaching a BCS Bowl game at this point with losses on their resumes so they're essentially playing to reach a regular Bowl game. A loss would put BYU in a precarious position at 1-3, so a win in Week 4 is desperately needed to remain in bowl-eligible territory.

What They're Saying

The BYU Cougars were dominated by Texas' rushing attack two weeks ago due to zone-read plays. This is a staple in Central Florida's offense, but BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall is confident the Cougars have rectified the problem, according to Jay Drew of the Salt Lake Tribune.

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“Quite frankly, the zone-read [problems] against Texas was simply because of lack of preparation on my part,” Mendenhall said. “We chased down the other 98 percent of their offense, and not the two percent we didn’t think they would run, and they ran the two percent more than what we thought. It wasn’t the players’ fault. It was my fault.”

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Central Florida Player to Watch: QB Jeff Godfrey

As quarterback Jeff Godfrey goes, the UCF Knights offense goes. Knight is an accurate albeit low-volume passer and he is also dangerous as a runner. Godfrey has run for 156 yards on the season and is very dangerous in the red zone as evidenced by his six rushing scores.

Godfrey will be key in this game as a runner seeing as BYU's defense has struggled mightily against the run over the past couple weeks. If the Cougars over-commit against the run, though, Godfrey is an adept enough passer to make them pay through the air.

BYU Player to Watch: QB Jake Heaps

BYU quarterback Jake Heaps is BYU's field general, and his struggles the past couple weeks have directly led to a stagnant BYU offense. Heaps has thrown for 722 yards on the season and has a touchdowns to interceptions ratio of just 3:4.

The Cougars have been unable to get much going in the running game, and that may be the main culprit for Heaps' mediocre play to this point. He'll have to be good for BYU to get back to its winning ways this week.

Key Matchup: UCF Rush Offense vs. BYU Rush Defense

This matchup plays perfectly into the hands of the UCF Knights. The Knights feature a bevy of impressive rushers on the roster, with four players with at least 100 rushing yards on the season in the form of Ronnie Weaver, Jeff Godfrey, Brynn Harvey and Latavius Murray.

BYU has been absolutely decimated by the running game to this point, particularly over the past two weeks. Utah ran for a ridiculous 242 yards last week, while Texas went for 166 yards on the ground the week before. UCF will obviously attempt to exploit this glaring weakness, so the Cougars will have to find a remedy quickly.

Prediction

Both teams are coming off tough losses a week ago, and will want to put the disappointment behind them. BYU looked shell shocked last week and will struggle against the UCF running game.

UCF wins 24-17.