Time: 7 PM EST
Spread: CIN -18.5
Total: 58.5
Betting Odds from Bookmaker
Miami of Ohio has got back on pace after a shaky 1-2 start that included losses to Ohio State and Boise State. They took down UMass and Akron i the last two weeks, scoring 83 points between the two contests.
Akron gave the Redhawks all they could handle, though. Akron put up 49 points on a Redhawks defense that has been solid in all other games. That defensive lapse dropped their stats a lot, since they already gave up 56 to the Buckeyes (quite understandably). The D was solid against Southern Illinois and UMass, but that really isn’t saying much.
They’ll likely encounter similar problems this week against Cincinnati, as college football oddsmakers set the line 18.5 points in the Bearcats favor. The Bearcats have a very balanced and very good offense that ranks in the upper third of both passing and rushing yards (39th and 31st). George Winn is their primary ball carrier, and has rushed for 318 yards on 52 carries this year. QB Muchie Legaux does a good bit of running in his own right, as he has carried it 25 times for 169 yards.
The great running game accents Legaux’s air attack nicely. Legaux has posted a QB rating of 140.6 with a 54.6 percent pass completion ratio. His main targets are Kenbrell Thompkins, 204 yards; Ralph Abernathy, 170; Damon Julian, 151; Anthony McClung, 101. The talented quartet of receivers will pose a lot of problems for the Redhawks, whose secondary has struggled all season against better teams.
There’s no reason to expect a nail biter in this one because it just doesn’t seem like Miami of Ohio can muster the defense to stymy the Bearcats. As far as Cincinnati covering the spread, it will just be a matter of how much Butch Jones feels like running up the score. Considering that the Bearcats face two inferior opponents after this in Fordham and Toledo, it seems quite likely that Jones just puts the ball down the throats of Miami and takes this one out of control by at least two touchdowns, as college football oddsmakers have predicted them to.
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