Cincinnati Bearcats (4-3 SU, 3-4 ATS) vs. Tulane Green Wave (2-5 SU, 3-4 ATS)
College Football Week 10
Date and Time: Friday, October 31, 8:00pm EST
Where: Yulman Stadium – New Orleans, LA
TV:ESPN2
by Bob, Football Handicapper, Predictem.com
Point Spread:CIN -4/TUL +4
Over/Under Total: OFF
This Friday night, after you take the kids trick-or-treating, sit down, relax, and tune into ESPN2 to watch the Cincinnati Bearcats take on the Tulane Green Wave. This is an American Conference showdown that I believe will be a much better game than most people think.
Cincinnati will travel to New Orleans and take on the Green Wave in Yulman Stadium. The Bearcats appear to be the much better team on paper, but they are only favored by four points as we speak. Both of these teams are equally the same playing against the spread. Cincy and Tulane are both 3-4 overall against the Vegas spread. Let us take a moment to break this game down and see where we stand on this small spread.
Like I already mentioned, Cincinnati enters this game as a four point road favorite. At 4-3 overall, the Bearcats are coming in after winning back to back games. After starting 2-0, they dropped their next three. In many cases in college football, a team that loses three straight packs it in and calls it a year. Not this time. Cincinnati has battled back to get themselves back over .500 and a 2-1 record in their conference. The Bearcats offense is actually pretty good. Led by quarterback, Gunner Kiel, Cincinnati ranks 12th in the nation in passing yards. Through seven games, Kiel has already thrown for 2,049 yards and 20 touchdowns. Statistically, it appears that the Bearcats do not run the ball well, but they actually do. The load has been shared so far this season by Mike Boone and Rodriguez Moore. Ever since Boone has began getting more carries, he has shown he is ready for te big time. On just 27 carries, he already has 244 yards and 2 touchdowns. Cincinnati is a pass first team, but if they need to run it, they can. The key to this game for Cincinnati is to play better defense. Coming into a road game in New Orleans, the Bearcats do not want the Tulane crowd to get up and excited early. Cincy is ranked 95th in the nation is scoring defense.. this has to improve if they plan on getting out of Yulman Stadium with a win.
It is hard to find any reason to think that Tulane may win this game. They are 2-5, and to be honest, other than the two wins they have, they have not been too competitive in 2014. All five losses have been by at least a touchdown, and that includes a 35-20 loss to Southeast Louisiana and a 31-6 loss to Rutgers. This team is not very good. Offensively, the Green Wave is one of the worst teams in FBS. They are ranked 100th in passing and 119th in scoring. Defensively, Tulane is a tad better, but with an offense that bad, a 79th ranked defense will not win games. The key to this contest is to get the offense clicking. Cincy can be scored on, so if Tulane can get into the 20’s or 30’s, they could win this game.
Bob’s Pick to Cover the Point Spread: Many bettors are out there licking their lips on this one. Cincinnati is a much better team on paper and are favored by only four points. It seems too good to be true…right? One thing I have learned about betting: If it seems too good to be true, it usually is. I would think the Bearcats, even on the road, should win this game by 10-13. But they are favored by four? Nah, I’ll pass. PICK THE TULANE GREEN WAVE +4 POINTS
