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| Cincinnati Bearcats | Houston Cougars |
| 8-2 | November 23, 2013, 12:00 | Reliant Stadium | 7-3 |
The Cougars will do battle with the visiting Cincinnati Bearcats on Saturday, looking to bolster their record and fatten the pocketbooks of bettors who back them.
The Cougars sport a record of 7-3 and 9-1 ATS heading into this matchup, while the Bearcats sit at 8-2 and 5-5 ATS on the season. The over under records are 5-5 for the Cougars and 6-4 for the Bearcats.
View Cincinnati Bearcats vs Houston Cougars Odds and Stats.
Fans backing the Cougars here saw them open at Sportsbook as -2.5-point favorites in this college football clash. (Check back shortly for Sportsbook totals at sportsbooks tracked by Odds Shark as none was available at the time this preview was written.)
This game matches up the No. 21 (Cougars) and the No. 37 (Bearcats) teams in the league, according to our current NCAAF Power Rankings at OddsShark. A 41-38 result in favor of the Bearcats is predicted by handicapping models.
Last time out for Cincinnati, they were a 52-17 Sportsbook as they battled Rutgers on the road. Cincinnati covered in the match as a 1.5-point underdog, while 69 combined points moved the game OVER for totals bettors. Brendon Kay led his team to victory last time out, throwing for 405 yards Saturday as the Bearcats downed the Scarlet Knights 52-17 at High Point Solutions Stadium. The Cougars suffered a Week 12 loss against Louisville in their last game, falling 20-13 at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium.
How They Match Up:
Offensively, the game matches up Houston's No. 29-ranked offense (35.6 PPG) against a Bearcats defense that ranks No. 11 at 18.6 PPG. The Cougars passing attack has averaged 291.9 yards per game, more than the Bearcats give up through the air (207.4 YPG on average).
In comparing defenses, the Bearcats own the league's No. 12-rated front 7 in terms of stopping the run, allowing 105.8 yards per game when on the road. Houston, on the other hand, rates No. 93 this week in generating rushing yards at home.
A few Bearcats at Cougars trends to consider:
Cincinnati is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Cincinnati's last 5 games
Cincinnati is 9-4 ATS in its last 13 games on the road
Cincinnati is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games on the road
Houston is 11-1 ATS in its last 12 games
Houston is 8-3 SU in its last 11 games
Houston is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games at home
Houston is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games at home
Next up:
Cincinnati home to Louisville, Thursday, December 5th
Houston home to Southern Methodist, Friday, November 29th
