South Florida at Cincinnati

Written by Steve Janus

This Friday the Cincinnati Bearcats will look to remain unbeaten in Big East play when they host the South Florida Bulls. The Bearcats opened conference play with a nice 35-27 win at Louisville last week, while the Bulls fell to 0-2 in conference play with a 20-6 loss at West Virginia. Cincinnati has won four straight against the Bulls, including a 34-17 win at South Florida a season ago. If you are thinking about placing a bet on the game this weekend, the current college football odds have the Bearcats favored by 8-points at home over the Bulls.

South Florida (3-3, 0-2 Big East): Defensively the Bulls have been great, allowing just under 17 points per game, but the offense has been unable to get the job done. The Bulls have managed just 15 points in their last two games.

Last week against West Virginia the Bulls were only able to manage 202 yards of total offense, their lowest output of the season, and came away with just two field goals. Quarterback B.J. Daniels really struggled against the Mountaineer defense, as he had just 119 yards passing with three interceptions. Running back Moise Plancher had a decent game running the ball, as he finished with 63 yards on just 11 carries, and you have to wonder why they didn’t give him a few more opportunities in this game.

If the offense doesn’t find a way to put more points on the board, the Bulls are going to continue to lose these close games. The problem is they just don’t have the playmakers on offense to get the job done. For the Bulls to win against Cincinnati they are going to need an outstanding defensive performance and a few lucky breaks to go their way, or they simply won’t have a chance.

Cincinnati (3-3, 1-0 Big East): I was really impressed with the Bearcats performance last week against the Cardinals, as they managed to really turn things around after a slow start. After trailing 24-14 in the second quarter, Cincinnati turned up the defense, allowing just three points over the final 35 minutes of the game, while the offense continued to have a ton of success throwing the football.

Quarterback Zach Collaros threw for 275 yards and five touchdowns, three of which went to Armon Binns and the other two going to D.J. Woods. Running back Isiah Pead also had a nice game with 145 yards on 21 carries.

Offensively the Bearcats are averaging 38 points a game at home this season, but with the way the Bulls are struggling on offense, the Bearcats won’t need nearly as many points to secure the win this week. I believe the Bulls will give the Bearcats some problems on offense, but I don’t think it will be enough to keep Cincinnati from winning this game.

Looking at the Odds: While I don’t think the Bearcats are going to run away with this game, I do however think they will be able to cover the 8-point spread. Collaros should be able to carve up the Bulls secondary for at least a couple touchdowns, and I think defensively the Bearcats can keep South Florida right around the 10 point mark. My final score prediction is Cincinnati 24, South Florida 13.

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