Cincinnati Bearcats vs. Miami Ohio RedHawks September 17 Betting Preview

The Cincinnati Bearcats will take on the Miami of Ohio Redhawks in a battle for the Victory Bell at Paycor Stadium in downtown Cincinnati on Saturday afternoon at 12:00 p.m.

 Miami and Cincinnati are tied in this historic series, with both teams winning 59 times and seven ties mixed in. Cincinnati has won the last 15 matchups between these two teams.

Cincinnati is 1-1 on the year with a loss to Arkansas in Week 1 and a Week 2 win at home against Kennesaw State. The Bearcats were able to avenge their loss to Arkansas by blowing out Kennesaw State by a score of 63-10.

 It was a consistently good game for the Bearcats as they more than doubled their opponent’s total yards, 525 to 253.

The Redhawks are also 1-1 with a loss in their first game with a tough matchup against Kentucky. They were able to bounce back in their second game with a commanding win against Robert Morris where they won 31-14. 

The Redhawk defense held their opponents to only nine first downs and 3/14 on third downs in that game.

Let’s look ahead at this matchup between these two Ohio teams and what the key to the game is for both teams if they want to come out on top.

Odds

Cincinnati is the expected heavy favorite at -22 with odds of (-113). The Redhawks have odds of (-108) at +22. 

The over/under for total points expected to be scored in the game is set at 50.5 with odds of (-110) to bet the over or the under. The Bearcats have a 94.2 percent chance to win the game on Saturday.

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Key To The Game - Cincinnati

The Bearcats main key to the game is to score early and often. Even though the defense will be important for the success of Cincinnati overall, the Redhawks will not be able to keep up with the Bearcats if they put up big numbers on offense.

Ben Bryant was an efficient 17/20 in the matchup against Kennesaw State where he had 201 yards and added three touchdowns through the air. 

The best thing about Cincinnati’s win last Saturday was that eight different offensive players recorded touchdowns. The Bearcats will need this production again from this offense to give them the easy win against Miami.

Key To The Game - Miami

The obvious key to the game for Miami will be their defense. As stated before, the only chance Miami has of winning this game or keeping it close is for the defense to prevent Cincinnati from doing what they want on the offensive end.

The Miami defense has been at their best on third down, where they have held their first two opponents to 5/22 on third downs this season. 

They need to find a way to get the Bearcats offense off the field and give the Miami offense good field position to work with to keep them in this game until the end.