The Friday night action provides an incredible opportunity to savvy bettors when the Houston Cougars (7-2, 4-2 Big 12) head south to face the UCF Knights (4-4, 1-4 Big 12) in conference action.
Houston was ranked last week before a shocking loss to WVU. The Mountaineers posted an incredible 246 rushing yards en route to a 45-35 upset. It was the first time an opponent had scored over 40 points against the Cougars this season.
UCF is on the other end of the spectrum. After the Knights reeled off three straight wins to open the season, the Florida-based school’s only victory since then was against WVU two weeks ago, a 45-13 dismantling of the Mountaineers.
Can UCF post its second conference victory of the year by knocking off Houston? We’ll cover that and provide bettors with our top three player props from this Friday night's Big 12 matchup.
Although Houston prefers to run the football, that doesn’t mean Cougars quarterback Conner Weigman is an inept passer. He’s completed nearly 65 percent of his passes for 1,890 yards, 16 touchdowns, and only four interceptions in 2025.
Weigman is coming off a 300-yard performance last week against WVU, and UCF has struggled defending the pass. That’s why bettors should expect Weigman will finish with at least 210 passing yards to cover this player prop on Friday.
Senior Myles Montgomery has posted a strong season for the Knights. The 5-foot-11 athlete is averaging over five yards per carry, and he’s earned 572 rushing yards and 151 receiving yards thus far.
Since back-to-back 100-yard performances against Kansas and Kansas State, Montgomery has posted just 194 rushing yards in his last three outings. Houston’s defense just gave up 246 rushing yards to WVU.
Can he and his Knight teammates replicate that performance on Friday? We’ll call last week’s loss a fluke for Houston because the Cougars had been stout against the run before that outing. Take Montgomery to finish below the 65-yard mark and fail to cover his prop total.
Junior wide receiver Amare Thomas has quietly put together a strong season in his first year wearing a Houston uniform. Through nine games, he’s caught 40 passes for 634 yards and seven touchdowns.
More than half of his stats have come in three games, however. The wide receiver has posted 23 receptions for 367 yards and three touchdowns against WVU, Oregon State, and Oklahoma State. That makes him a boom-or-bust betting option.
Bettors should expect him to have a big game on Friday. UCF’s passing defense has been suspect this season, but the Knights have limited Big 12 opponents’ running attacks. Take Thomas to cover his player prop bet total.
Oddsmakers have bought into what WVU did against the Cougars. Otherwise, it’s hard to fathom how Houston – a team that was ranked just one week prior – is favored by less than a field goal against the Knights.
UCF has lost every game in Big 12 play by at least a touchdown, and that’s not going to change on Friday. Expect Houston to flex its defensive muscle and win this conference contest by at least seven points.
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