The Cincinnati Bearcats (-17.5) will clash with their AAC rival Connecticut Huskies at Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field. Fans can catch the action live on CBS Sports Network and kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET.
Betting Preview: Connecticut Huskies vs. Cincinnati Bearcats
In this Saturday American Athletic Conference matchup, Cincinnati is getting picked as the big favorite and is currently giving up 17.5 points. The Bearcats are also receiving -1450 moneyline odds while the Huskies are +800. If one school can create a bunch of points early, it’ll probably create a worthwhile live betting scenario.
The profitable Bearcats have gained 7.0 units so far and are 3-1 against the spread (ATS). The team’s posted an O/U record of 1-2.
The Huskies are up 1.0 unit for moneyline bettors this season. They’re 1-3 ATS and have an O/U record of 2-1.
The Bearcats have gone 4-0 straight up (SU) and they haven’t faced any AAC competition yet. The Huskies are 1-3 SU overall and 0-1 SU in conference play.
The Bearcats are hoping to remain unbeaten following a 34-30 victory over Ohio last week in which Desmond Ridder completed 19 passes for 274 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Michael Warren II (124 yards on 23 rush attempts, two TDs) and the signal-caller Ridder (28 yards on 10 carries, one TD) led the ground attack in the win. Josiah Deguara (six receptions, 69 yards) and Kahlil Lewis (five catches, 51 yards) shared the receiving duties.
One week ago, Syracuse knocked off this Connecticut crew by a score of 51-21. The Huskies defense allowed the Orange to eat up the clock by running for 341 yards on 46 rush attempts, including three rush TDs. Sean Riley had a good outing, recording 120 yards on six catches for Syracuse. As a group, the Huskies collectively completed 19-of-29 passes for 217 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. David Pindell went 17-for-24 for 151 yards and one touchdown while Marvin Washington was two-of-five for 66 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Kevin Mensah (76 rushing yards on 19 attempts) and the signal-caller Pindell (76 yards on 12 carries, one TD) handled the ground attack in the defeat as Zavier Scott (seven receptions, 38 yards, one TD) and Hergy Mayala (five catches, 41 yards) led the pass-catching corps.
Cincinnati has run the ball on 67.0 percent of its offensive possessions this year while Connecticut has an overall rush percentage of 58.2 percent. The Bearcats have produced 235.3 rush yards per game and have 14 touchdowns via handoffs this year. The Huskies are totaling 196.3 rush yards per game and have six total rushing TDs.
It appears that the Bearcats ought to hold an edge when it comes to efficiency in the ground game. Their running backs has produced 4.9 yards per carry while the defense is allowing 4.0 yards per rush attempt to opponents. The Huskies have rushed for 4.8 yards per carry and given up a YPC of 8.0 to opponents.
The Bearcats offensive scheme has tallied 190.3 yards per game through the air overall and has six passing TDs so far. The Huskies have produced 218.3 pass yards per game and have eight total pass scores.
Defensively, Cincinnati appears to have the upper hand in both facets. The team has allowed opponents to run for an average of 121.3 yards and pass for 153.3 yards per game. The Connecticut defense has given up 355.0 yards per game to opposing passers and 309.0 yards per game to opposing runners. The Bearcats are allowing an adjusted net yards per pass attempt (ANY/A) of just 3.30 to opposing QBs, while the Huskies have given up an ugly 12.03 ANY/A.
Offensively, Ridder has put up 419 passing yards on the year. The signal-caller has connected on 59 percent of his 64 attempts with three passing scores and one interception. Ridder’s got a 6.45 adjusted net yards per pass attempt overall, although that number is 12.95 over the past two games.
Michael Warren II, Kahlil Lewis and Rashad Medaris have combined for 505 yards from scrimmage and five touchdowns over the last couple of outings.
For the home team, David Pindell has managed to complete 55-of-86 passes for 488 yards, three TDs and two INTs. Pindell’s ANY/A sits at a less-than-spectacular 4.56 for the season and 8.00 over his last two outings.
Similar to the Bearcats, expect a balanced approach offensively from Connecticut this Saturday. Kevin Mensah (217 rushing yards this season), David Pindell (273 rush yards, two rush TDs, zero receiving yards) and Tyler Davis (75 receiving yards, two receiving TDs) have combined for 545 yards from scrimmage and six touchdowns over the last two games.
When these two teams met a year ago, Cincinnati emerged victorious by a final score of 22-21.
Cincinnati Bearcats at Connecticut Huskies Free Pick
SU Winner: Bearcats, ATS Winner: Bearcats
Team Betting Notes
- Cincinnati was favored by 7 points in its last game and the O/U was 56. The over cashed and Cincinnati failed to cover in the 34-30 victory over Ohio.
- Cincinnati, as a team, has averaged 5.33571428571429 yards per rush attempt over its last three outings and 6.3 over its last two.
- Connecticut has averaged 4.8 yards per carry over its last three games and 4.8 over its last two.
- Connecticut has lost six fumbles this season while Cincinnati has lost one.
- Connecticut was favored by 31 points in its previous match and the Over/Under was 75.5. The under cashed and Connecticut did not cover in the 51-21 loss to Syracuse.
- The Bearcats offense has registered two pass plays of 40 yards or more, while the Huskies have accounted for three such plays.
- The Cincinnati defense has allowed one pass play of 40+ yards, while Connecticut has given up six such plays.
- The Cincinnati offense has created eight rushing plays of 20 or more yards, while Connecticut has created four such runs.
- The Bearcats defense has allowed five rushing plays of 20+ yards, while the Huskies have given up 15 such runs.
- The Cincinnati defense has twice as many sacks as Connecticut this year (eight versus four).
