Big East Football Previews – West Virginia Mountaineers vs Cincinnati Bearcats
The West Virginia Mountaineers will try and keep their faint Big East title hopes alive when they tangle the Cincinnati Bearcats this Saturday at Paul Brown Stadium.
Date/Time: Saturday, No. 12 12 p.m. (ET)
Venue: Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati, OH.
Broadcast: ABC
Mountaineers @ Bearcats Lines by BetOnline.com
Point spread: Bearcats -3.5
Over/Under: 67
The kick-off is slated for 12 p.m. and the game will be broadcast nationally on ABC.
West Virginia started this season ranked in the top 25 and with high hopes of recapturing the Big East title. After a couple of bad conference losses, it is now just looking to end the season on a high note with a couple of wins. The latest setback, a stunning 38-35 loss to Louisville this past Saturday as 12.5-point home favorites, dropped the Mountaineers to 6-3 straight-up overall (4-5 against the spread) and 2-2 SU in conference play. The total has gone ‘over’ in eight of their nine games this year.
This team still boasts one of the most potent passing attacks in the nation behind quarterback Geno Smith, but West Virginia has seem to have forgotten how to beat the teams it is supposed to. Three weeks ago it lost to Syracuse 49-23 as a 14-point road favorite.
Cincinnati was mired in the middle of the pack when the preseason odds to win the Big East were first released, but it has surprised everyone with a 7-1 SU start overall (5-3 ATS) and a perfect 3-0 SU start in conference play.
The Bearcats have already knocked-off Louisville, South Florida, and Pittsburgh in their past three games, but were only able to cover the spread against the Bulls as three-point road underdogs in a thrilling 37-34 victory on Oct. 22. The total has gone 4-4 in their eight games. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
The Bearcats success this season has revolved around a solid running game that is averaging 194 yards a game and a defense that is holding opponents to 19.5 points a game. Their average margin of victory this season has been an impressive 20 points a game.
West Virginia is 4-0 ATS in its last four games as a road underdog and the total has gone ‘over’ in its last six games against the Big East.
Cincinnati is 4-1 ATS in its last five games as a home favorite and the total has stayed ‘under’ in four of its last five games in the conference.
Head-to-head, the road team is 5-2-1 ATS in the last eight meetings and the underdog is 3-1-1 ATS in the last five games. The total has stayed ‘under’ in five of the last seven games between the two. Stick the Bearcats to squeak-out the win at home, but take the Mountaineers tom stay true to the recent series trends by covering with the 3.5 points on the road.
The Pick: Cincinnati 24 vs. Pitt 21
