Oddsmakers Continue to Give Cincinnati Its Respect

One thing that attracts many to betting on college football is the high scores that teams can run up on far lesser teams. One game, in particular, stands out as we head into Week 9 that could be a very high-scoring game for the favorite. 

That game is the Cincinnati Bearcats at the Tulane Green Wave going down in Yulman Stadium on Saturday at noon Eastern. This game not only has all the makings of a blowout but could be a very high-scoring day for the Bearcats. 

When I was looking at games this week that had big discrepancies between offenses and defenses, this game stood out among the rest. No. 2 ranked Cincinnati is a perfect 7-0 and is aiming to become the first group five team in history to qualify for the playoffs. So, even at 7-0, the Bearcats have a reason to run up the score as much as possible. And when you look at the spits between these two teams, it’s clear that the Bearcats will have little trouble lighting up the scoreboard at will. 

Cincinnati ranks sixth in the nation in terms of average points per game at 41.0 in front of other powerhouse programs like Michigan and Georgia. This is impressive on its own but, the Bearcats have averaged 45.0 points per game over their last three games so are getting stronger as the season goes on.

So, why is this important? It is because Tulane’s defense is 128th out of 130 teams in total points allowed this season. Tulane gives up an average of 46.0 points per game and, over the last three weeks, has been even worse with a 49.0 average. Even worse is that the Green Wave haven’t played a Top-15 team since a Week 1 loss to the Sooners. So, Tulane has one of the most scored upon defenses in the nation because of games against teams like Ole Miss (61 points), and East Carolina (52 points), and SMU (55 points). 

Tulane is allowing opponents 539.2 yards per game and is particularly susceptible to the passing game. Cincinnati currently ranks third in the nation in points per play and I think the offense gets a lot of work this weekend in New Orleans. If there was a team to take chance on their team total this weekend, the Bearcats are a great choice.