Cincinnati Bearcats at Indiana Hoosiers September 18 Betting Preview

Cincinnati Bearcats at Indiana Hoosiers September 18 Betting Preview

Tyler Vaysman
3 years ago
2 min read
Cincinnati Bearcats at Indiana Hoosiers September 18 Betting Preview

The No. 8 ranked Cincinnati Bearcats will travel to Bloomington, Indiana to take on the Indiana Hoosiers for their first away game of the season at noon EST on Saturday on ESPN. 

Cincinnati comes into this game perfectly so far facing some easy opponents in the Miami Redhawks and Murray State Racers in their first 2 weeks. Indiana got blown out 34-6 by now ranked number 5 Iowa in week 1. They were able to get back on the right track against Idaho as they easily took them down at home 56-14.

This will be Cincinnati’s toughest game thus far, especially with it being on the road and against a team that was ranked at the start of the season. They will get a bye week next week leading into their hardest game of the season against Notre Dame in South Bend in week 5.

Cincinnati will need to take care of the Hoosiers first if they want to remain a legitimate contender looking towards the end of the season.

Odds

Cincinnati is a 3.5 point favorite on the road with odds of -105 with that spread. The Hoosiers’ odds to cover that spread at +3.5 is -115. The over/under for the game is set at 49.5 with the odds to bet the over is -105 and the under is -115. The Moneyline for the Bearcats and Hoosiers at -170 and +150, respectively.

Cincinnati’s Keys to Victory

The Bearcats’ defense comes into this game ranked 18th in total defense in college football, only giving 3.74 yards per play and 3 touchdowns in total. The main thing they need to worry about is Indiana’s running game.

Michael Penix Jr. has struggled with his passing, who has already thrown 3 interceptions. This Bearcats defense needs to get some takeaways to win this game on the road and take the crowd out of the game. The Bearcats offense has been consistent and will need to continue its production in this game behind quarterback Desmond Ridder and running back Jerome Ford.

Indiana’s Keys to Victory

Indiana’s rushing success has been relatively successful behind starter Stephen Carr averaging 4.3 yards a carry. They will need to have a strong rushing performance by Carr to win this game. Michael Penix Jr. needs to improve on his 53.2% completion rate in his first 2 games to give the Hoosiers a passing threat.

The Hoosiers’ defense needs to prevent the big play. If Cincinnati can produce any big magic, this game could get out of hand for these Hoosiers who need this win.

Game Prediction

Both of the teams need this win for different reasons. The Hoosiers would love to get a quality win at home to strengthen their non-conference resume going into their conference games. If the Bearcats want to be considered a legitimate college football playoff team, they need to win these tough games on the road.

The Bearcats will come into this game ready to play and will have too much talent on both sides of the ball for the Hoosiers to keep up. They will get the win and prepare themselves for the biggest game of the season against the Irish.

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