Saturday, Dec. 17
5:30 p.m. ET
Camping World Statdium
(65,000/AstroTurf)
Orlando, Fla.

Television
CBS Sports Network
Carter Blackburn, Aaron Taylor and Jenny Dell

UCF Radio
WYGM-FM 96.9 (flagship)

National Radio
Touchdown Radio
SiriusXM 81



THE GAME
The AutoNation Cure Bowl will be played for the second time in 2016 … The bowl pairs teams from the American Athletic Conference and the Sun Belt, though this year’s game will mark The American’s debut in the game … The bowl is estimated to have an economic impact of $20 million on the Orlando community … Proceeds from the Cure Bowl go directly toward breast cancer research … The only previous meeting between UCF and Arkansas State took place Oct. 5, 1991, when the Knights were 31-20 winners … UCF was an NCAA FCS member, while Arkansas State was an NCAA independent transitioning to FBS status in that first matchup.

CURE BOWL RESULTS (0-0)
12-19-15    San Jose State 27, Georgia State 16
 

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UCF
6-6, 4-4 American

Head Coach
Scott Frost (Nebraska ’97)
6-6, first season

NOTES
UCF has made a remarkable turnaround in 2016 under first-year head coach Scott Frost, culminating in the Knights’ return to postseason play following a one-year absence … UCF is playing in its eighth bowl in program history and its seventh in the last 10 years … The Knights are 3-4 all-time in bowl games, but have won three of their last four … Included in that stretch was a victory against Big 12 champion Baylor in the 2014 Fiesta Bowl to cap a 12-1 season with a No. 10 national ranking … The Knights, who did not win a game in 2015, have improved by six wins from last year … The six teams that defeated UCF this season take a combined 54-19 record into the postseason … UCF did not lose to a team with a sub-.500 record after the regular season … The Knights rank eighth nationally in pass efficiency defense (104.91) … The top player is LB Shaquem Griffin, who was chosen as the American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year … Griffin leads The American with 11.0 sacks and has 19.0 tackles for loss to go with two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and an interception … Griffin’s play is more notable given the fact that he has one hand — he suffered from amniotic band syndrome as a child and had most of his left hand amputated at age 4 … CB Shaquill Griffin (Shaquem’s twin brother) has four interceptions and 12 pass breakups to rank as The American’s leader with 16 passes defended … Shaquill Griffin and DE Jamiyus Pittman were both all-conference second team selections in 2016 … QB McKenzie Milton took over as the starter early in his freshman season and has thrown for 1,808 yards and nine touchdowns with seven interceptions … RB Dontravious Wilson has a team-high eight rushing touchdowns with 463 rushing yards, while RB Jawon Hamilton has 481 rushing yards and four TDs … WR Tre’Quan Smith has 54 catches for 808 yards and five touchdowns … Smith, who was The American’s Rookie of the Year in 2015, had four games with at least 100 receiving yards this season and has seven 100-yard games in his career … K Matthew Wright has made 15 of 20 field goal attempts and has hit seven of his last eight entering the postseason … P Caleb Houston has averaged 41.8 yards per punt and has 12 kicks of at least 50 yards.
 

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ARKANSAS STATE
7-5, 7-1 Sun Belt

Head Coach
Blake Anderson (Sam Houston State ’92)
23-15, third season

NOTES
Arkansas State overcame an 0-4 start to the season to win seven of its last eight games heading into the AutoNation Cure Bowl … The RedWolves are playing in their 14th bowl game in program history and have gone 4-8-1 in their first 13 bowls … Arkansas State played in the Tangerine Bowl in Orlando in 1951 and 1952 … Arkansas State has clinched  a winning record for the sixth straight year, marking the first time that has happened in Jonesboro since 1912-17 … The RedWolves have won back-to-back Sun Belt titles and have gone a combined 15-1 in conference play in the last two seasons … Arkansas State has won five Sun Belt championships in the last six years, joining Troy as the only teams with as many as five league titles … Arkansas State is the only NCAA FBS program with five conference titles in the last six years … The RedWolves are 40-7 in their last 47 conference games … Arkansas State has future series against American Athletic Conference members scheduled against SMU (in 2017 and 2019), Tulsa (2018, 2020) and Memphis (2020-23) … Head coach Blake Anderson is in his third season with Arkansas State after serving as the offensive coordinator at North Carolina, Southern Miss and Louisiana … The RedWolves have allowed 16 points or fewer in five of their last seven games … The top player is DE Ja’von Rolland-Jones, who was chosen as the 2016 Sun Belt Player of the Year and was one of 11 RedWolves players named to either the first or second all-conference team … Rolland-Jones has 53 tackles, 11.5 sacks and 18.5 tackles for loss entering the postseason … DE Chris Odom, meanwhile, has a team-high 12.5 sacks to go with 17.5 tackles for loss and four forced fumbles … CB Chris Humes has scored three touchdowns on fumble returns … The offense is led by QB Justice Hansen, who has thrown for 2,514 yards and 16 touchdowns against eight interceptions … RB Warren White has rushed for 867 yards and a team-high seven touchdowns … TE Blake Mack leads a balanced group of receivers with 33 receptions for 585 yards and three touchdowns, while WR Kendall Sanders had 33 catches for 426 yards and four TDs … K J.D. Houston has made 12 of 18 field goal attempts and has 72 points on the year … P Damon Foncham averages 39.4 yards per punt and has seven kicks of at least 50 yards.