Miami of Ohio Redhawks at Cincinnati Bearcats
One of the longest and most heated rivalries in college football opens another chapter on Saturday as the Redhawks of Miami-Ohio (1-2 SU, 1-1 ATS) visit the Cincinnati Bearcats (1-1 SU, 0-1 ATS) as the Victory Bell is at stake in this NCAA college football contest that is set to begin at 7:30 PM ET at Nippert Stadium (artificial turf) in Cincinnati.
Saturday, September 20
BetUS NCAA Football Betting Odds: CINCINNATI -11.5, Total 47
Here are some of the NCAA college football betting trends as they relate to this matchup:
* MIA-O has lost four of its last five games SU
* MIA-O has covered seven of its last ten road games
* MIA-O has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* MIA-O has played five of its last six road games UNDER the total
* CIN has won 14 of its last 18 games SU
* CIN has won 12 of its last 14 home games SU
Also…
* CIN has covered four of the last five meetings
* CIN has won four of the last six meetings SU as the home team
This is the fifth longest running college football rivalry in the country, as the two teams will meet for the 113th time (Miami leads the series 59-46-7). The two schools, who are located just 35 miles apart, first started playing each other back in 1888, which means fans probably traveled by stagecoach, or whatever.
Cincinnati is handicapped a bit at quarterback. Dustin Grutza, coach Brian Kelly’s preferred choice to run the spread offense, is out with a broken leg suffered against Oklahoma, and Tony Pike, the 6’6″ junior, is in. Pike is 8 for 18 in limited action, and last year completed 11 of 20 for 91 yards and three interceptions. Cincy had better get a handle on its rushing game as well, because no one in the backfield has reached 100 yards yet.
The saving grace for Cincinnati is that it has some terrific talent on defense, including defensive tackle Terrill Byrd and defensive backs Mike Mickens and D’Angelo Smith (all of whom will be in the NFL), on a stop unit that returned six starters from a year ago. But that secondary was shredded by Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford, who went 29 of 38 with five touchdown passes in the 52-26 loss a couple of weeks ago. But let’s not forget that the game was tight – just 28-20 with five minutes to go in the third quarter.
So does Daniel Raudabaugh, the Miami quarterback, command enough firepower to make a dent? Well, the jury is still out on the 56% passer who has passed for 15 TD’s with 19 interceptions in his career. And his running game hasn’t produced much in the way of support (11th nationally in the early going).
With two weeks to prepare, the Bearcats will be ready for this one. Remember that when he took over the job, Kelly quickly installed the spread and got it rolling for the International Bowl, where Cincinnati beat Western Michigan. He should be able to get Pike much more prepared, taking snaps with the first team.
And even though Miami is highly motivated to avenge last year’s 47-10 embarrassment, we’re not sure they have the horses to do so, as Cincinnati’s speed on the defensive side of the ball, not to mention superior special teams play (second in kickoff returns and punting) will strike the winning notes. We’re going to lay the points with the Bearcats, the 11.5-point favorite in the BetUS NCAA college football betting odds. They will ring that Victory Bell!
JAY’S PLAY: CINCINNATI -10.5 **
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