College Football Betting – #5 Cincinnati vs. #15 Pittsburgh for the Big East Title
Saturday, December 5: 12:00 p.m.
College Football Betting Odds: Cincinnati -1 ½
They call the first Saturday in December “Championship Saturday,” in college football circles. And although the Big East doesn’t have an official championship game, they’ll have a de-facto one Saturday, when the Pittsburgh Panthers host the Cincinnati Bearcats at Heinz Field.
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The Bearcats are undefeated, and although it would take basically a miracle, still have an outside shot at playing for a National Championship. They feature one of the most explosive offenses in college football, one that is currently ranked No. 6 in scoring offense and passing offense, and No. 4 in total offense. Tony Pike leads the attack for the Bearcats, and don’t be fooled by his pedestrian numbers, Pike missed several games in the middle of this season. He’s been back playing phenomenally of late however, as he threw a staggering six touchdowns last weekend against Illinois. His top receiver is Mardy Gilyard, whose 75 catches ranks 21st in college football, and his 1032 receiving yards 18th.
Here are some NCAA betting trends which may impact this game:
Cincinnati: 4-1 ATS in their last 5 road games
Cincinnati: 5-0 SU in their last 5 road games
Cincinnati: The total has gone OVER in 6 of their last 9 road games
Pittsburgh: 3-2 ATS in their last 5 games
Pittsburgh: 5-0 SU in their last 5 home games
Pittsburgh: The total has gone UNDER in 6 of their last 7 games
Defensively, the Bearcats have played well this year, but have struggled as of late. In two of their last three games they’ve given up 35 points or more, but have found ways to win. Their run defense is currently ranked 49th in college football and could give them problems, if they can’t contain Pitt Saturday. 
As for the Pitt Panthers, they are coming off a tough loss to rival West Virginia last Friday, and will now need to win the conference to get the Big East’s automatic BCS berth. On offense, the Panthers have a powerful running game, ranked 32nd in college football. It is led by true freshman superstar Dion Lewis, who has rushed for 1446 yards on the year. He has gone for at least 100 in each of the Panthers last six games. Senior quarterback Bill Stull has been impressive as well this year, as he’s thrown for 19 touchdowns and just six interceptions. Unfortunately, two of them came in the loss against West Virginia last weekend.
What will be most interesting paradox in this game is how both teams run successful offenses, but so in completely different ways. Cincinnati wants to get the ball and go, doesn’t worry about time of possession or clock management, as long as they get points. Pittsburgh however likes to use its power running game, and the short and intermediate passing game to control the clock.
The biggest key in this game will be a Pittsburgh defensive line that is as underrated as any in college football. Two weeks ago against Notre Dame they were able to get pressure on quarterback Jimmy Clausen and he was never comfortable. If they can do the same Saturday, they should win.
While Cincinnati is the more talented group, something is making me lean towards the Panthers. Mostly it’s that their offense is the kind that gives Cincinnati fits. The best way to beat the Bearcats is to keep their offense off the field, which is exactly what is going to happen Saturday. With Pittsburgh slowing down the game, and limiting Cincinnati’s scoring opportunities, the game will be lower scoring than most expect.
Because of it, I like the Panthers to cover this weekend’s odds, as well as win the game straight up.
OUR Pick: Pittsburgh +1 ½
