Baylor visits UCF headlining Friday's three-game college football slate

Baylor visits UCF on Friday night in the best of three college football games on the schedule. Both teams are 4-3, and kickoff at the Bounce House is 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN. Tulane plays at Charlotte at 7 p.m. on ESPN2, and Kent State visits Sacramento State at 10:30 p.m., also on ESPN2.

Baylor (4-3) at UCF (4-3)

These teams are headed in opposite directions. UCF beat BYU 39-31 last Saturday as Keyone Jenkins threw for 293 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another, according to the Associated Press. Jenkins has 11 touchdown passes and three interceptions this season, and Duke Watson has 577 rushing yards.

Baylor lost 25-24 to Kansas the same day. DJ Lagway has thrown for 1,352 yards, but he is completing 52.1% of his passes, and Gavin Freeman has 58 catches for 678 yards. The Bears' defense is the better unit. It allows 16.1 points a game, 19th in FBS, and 104.1 rushing yards, 22nd. Baylor's problem is self-inflicted: it gives up 73.9 penalty yards a game, 124th in the country. DraftKings has Baylor as a 2.5-point favorite after UCF opened as the favorite.

Tulane (3-4) at Charlotte (1-6)

Tulane has dropped to 3-4 and is coming off a 42-19 loss to UTSA. Trace Johnson threw for 265 yards and two interceptions in that game, and Johnnie Daniels ran eight times for 104 yards. Charlotte is rested after a bye and won its last game, 38-31 over Temple on Oct. 17. Its defense is the issue. The 49ers allow 40.6 points a game, which ranks 137th in FBS, and their turnover margin of minus-11 ranks 138th. Tulane is an 8.5-point favorite.

Kent State (3-5) at Sacramento State (1-7)

Kent State is a seven-point road favorite after beating Akron 35-20. Dru DeShields threw four touchdown passes in that one, three of them to Wayne Harris, who finished with 156 yards. Sacramento State lost 34-17 to Ball State and has a minus-9 turnover margin.

What to watch: Whether Lagway can move the ball against a UCF defense that ranks 108th against the pass. If he can, Baylor's defense should be enough. If he can't, UCF keeps its momentum going into a Nov. 7 trip to Kansas.