West Virginia at Cincinnati Odds

Written by Jack Jones

The No. 23 Cincinnati Bearcats look to grab a stranglehold on a potential Big East title Saturday when they host the West Virginia Mountaineers. They will also be looking for revenge from a 37-10 road loss to the Mountaineers last season. Geno Smith threw for 174 yards and four touchdowns to lead WVU to victory, while Zach Collaros threw for 222 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions for the Bearcats. The Mountaineers outgained Cincinnati 419-281 for the game and held a 29-15 edge in first downs. WVU owns a 15-3-1 record all-time in this series.

If you are looking to wager on this game, then you will find a line of Cincinnati -3.5 over West Virginia and a total set of 66.5 points.

Cincinnati

The Bearcats have now reeled off six straight victories since a 45-23 road loss to the Tennessee Volunteers back on September 10th. Cincinnati (7-1, 3-0 Big East) is certainly the favorite to win the conference thanks to back-to-back road wins by a field goal. They scored 20 points in the fourth quarter, including a game-winning 2-yard touchdown run from Collaros to beat South Florida 37-34 on October 22nd.

Following a bye week, the Bearcats returned to play last Saturday and took down the Pittsburgh Panthers 26-23 after erasing a 13-23 third quarter deficit. Collaros had an off game as he was just 19 of 32 for 214 yards with no touchdowns and two picks. Running back Isaiah Pead picked up the slack offensively, rushing for 118 yards. Collaros did have two rushing touchdowns, though he was held to 20 yards on 11 carries. Kicker Tony Miliano gets most of the credit for this win as he kicked four field goals and accounted for 14 of their 26 points.

Cincinnati ranks 40th in the FBS in total offense (425.4 yards/game) and 46th in total defense (363.3 yards/game). Their strength is a run defense (86.0 yards/game) that ranks 4th in the country, but their weakness is a pass defense (277.3 yards/game) that is 105th in the land. That could be bad news as they are up against one of the top pass offenses in the land Saturday. Collaros is completing 63.4 percent of his passes for 1,784 yards with 14 touchdowns to eight interceptions, while also rushing for 245 yards and eight scores. Pead leads the team with 821 rushing yards and eight touchdowns this year.

West Virginia

After a 5-1 start, the Mountaineers have lost two of their last three games. West Virginia (6-3, 2-2 Big East) was a preseason favorite to win the conference, and their hopes of playing in a BCS bowl will be completely crushed with another loss Saturday. They lost 49-23 at Syracuse three weeks ago before bouncing back with a 48-38 victory at Rutgers.

West Virginia’s inconsistent play continued last week with a 38-35 home loss to Louisville. Kicker Tyler Bitancurt missed one short field goal attempt and had another blocked in the fourth quarter that was returned by the Cardinals for a touchdown. Geno Smith had another big game with 410 passing yards and three touchdowns, but it wasn’t enough for the Mountaineers. They have been outscored 45-28 in the second half of their two conference losses, and they went scoreless in the third quarter for the first time all season against Louisville.

The Mountaineers rank 12th in the country in total offense (487.8 yards/game) and 24th in total defense (331.9 yards/game). Their strength is a passing offense (361.0 yards/game) that ranks 7th in the land. They’ll be up against one of the worst pass defenses in the FBS Saturday, so look for Smith to put up more big numbers. The junior quarterback has thrived in new head coach Dana Holgorson’s offense, completing 64.2 percent of his passes for 3,125 yards with 23 touchdowns and five interceptions.

Betting Trends

The Mountaineers are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 road games, and 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games as a road underdog.

The Bearcats are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games as a home favorite, but just 4-11 ATS in their last 15 games following a win.

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