In a big game in the Big East first-place Rutgers visits third-place Cincinnati Saturday afternoon (noon ET, ESPN3).

In early betting the Scarlet Knights, at 4-0 in conference play, were early six-point underdogs vs. the Bearcats, who are a game back at 3-1.



View Rutgers vs Cincinnati Odds and Stats.

Betting Line: On the Sportsbook line for this matchup, the Bearcats sat as 6.5-point favorites, according to Sportsbook. The total, meanwhile, had not been posted early in the week, so check the lines pages for the latest.

Power Rankings / Prediction: According to the Power Rankings here at OddsShark it's the No. 32-rated Bearcats and the No. 37-rated Scarlet Knights in this matchup. Predictive formulas point to a 39-36 win for the Bearcats on Saturday.



How They Match Up:
Offensively, the game matches up Cincinnati's No. 35-ranked offense (34.2 PPG) against a Scarlet Knights defense that ranks No. 5 at 13.4 PPG. The Bearcats passing attack has averaged 228.8 yards per game, more than the Scarlet Knights give up through the air (199.4 YPG on average).

Defensively, the Scarlet Knights feature the league's No. 6-rated road run defense, allowing 73.8 yards per game. Cincinnati, meanwhile, ranks No. 14 in rushing offense at home.

In their last action, Rutgers was a 28-7 Sportsbook at home against Army. They covered the 17.5-point spread as favorites, while the combined score (35) was profitable news for UNDER bettors. Rutgers cruised to victory in its last outing, as they ran up a 28-7 score against Army at Rutgers Stadium.

Cincinnati was a 34-10 Sportsbook in their most recent outing on the road against Temple. They covered the 8-point spread as favorites, while the total score (44) made Sportsbooks of UNDER bettors. Temple didn’t make much of a game of it last time out, losing to the Bearcats as Cincinnati blasted them 34-10 in Week 11 action.


Rutgers Scarlet Knights Trends:
When playing in November are 5-5
When playing on turf are 8-2
After being outgained are 4-6
When playing within the conference are 7-3

Cincinnati Bearcats Trends:
When playing in November are 6-4
When playing on turf are 8-2
After outgaining opponent are 8-2
When playing within the conference are 7-3

A few Scarlet Knights at Bearcats trends to consider:
Rutgers is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games on the road
Rutgers is 9-1 SU in its last 10 games
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Rutgers's last 10 games on the road
Rutgers is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Cincinnati
Cincinnati is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
Cincinnati is 10-2 SU in its last 12 games
Cincinnati is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing Rutgers


Next up:
Rutgers at Pittsburgh, Saturday, November 24
Cincinnati home to South Florida, Friday, November 23