No. 25 Cincinnati Bearcats vs. Temple Owls November 19 Betting Preview

The Cincinnati Bearcats will travel to Temple to take on the Owls on Saturday at 4 p.m. The Bearcats returned to the Top 25 in the College Football Playoff Rankings with a ranking of 25. 

Cincinnati is looking to be the best team in the Group of 5 but will need to pass up both UCF and Tulane who are 20 and 21, respectively.

The Bearcats are coming off a close but important win last week at home versus East Carolina last Saturday by a score of 27-25.

Ben Bryant completed 14 out of 30 passes with two touchdowns and one interception. Despite winning the game, East Carolina outgained the Bearcats in both passing and rushing yards.

Temple picked up their seventh loss of the season with a 43-36 loss at Houston. They have lost five out of their last six games. 

Temple Quarterback E.J. Warner completed 42 out of 59 passes with almost five hundred yards and three touchdowns. Temple was able to get the best of the Cougars through the air, but the Owls could not hold Houston in the end.

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Odds

Cincinnati is a 17-point favorite on the road with odds of (-110) at that spread. The Owls, at +17, have the same odds of (-110) to cover the spread. The total points expected to be scored in the game is 51, with odds of (-110) to bet the over and under.

Keys To The Game

As shown by the line, the Bearcats should have a relatively easy win on the road on Saturday. They need to be aware of having a major slip-up that would cause major issues to their bowl projection.

The Cincinnati offense has struggled to put up consistent points all season. They rank 52nd in points per game which is not the worst but has room for improvement as the No. 25 team in the country. 

The Bearcats have and will need to rely on their defense to stop the owls. Temple loves to use Warner for his throwing skills, but luckily for the Bearcats, they rank 8th in opponent completion percentage and 9th in opponent yards per pass.

On the other side of things, Temple needs to utilize their offense to overpower the Bearcats at home. Sixty percent of their offensive plays are through the air, which ranks 8th in the nation. This translates to about 40 passes and 256 passing yards per game. The key for the owls is to keep scoring and force the Bearcats to match their intensity on the offensive end.

Expected Outcome

I expect the Bearcats to win this game on the road, but I would not bet on them to cover the spread. I have yet to see a Bearcats’ team this season that is showing that they deserve to be in a major bowl conversation. 

They are going to need a commanding victory to motivate them before a crucial season finale against Tulane at home next weekend.