Cincinnati Bearcats vs. Murray State Racers Betting Preview

The Cincinnati Bearcats will be taking on the Murray State Racers on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. EST at Nippert Stadium for the Bearcats’ second home game in two games. Both teams are coming into this game 1-0 as Murray State beat Mississippi Valley State last Thursday 35-0, and the Bearcats took care of the Miami Redhawks 49-14.

Murray State Overview

Murray State will look to continue their running success as they were able to run all over the spotty Mississippi Valley State defense on Thursday, going for 307 yards. Cortezz Jones led the way for the running backs with 107 yards of his own with 1 touchdown. Quarterback, Preston Rice, went for 116 yards in the air with one interception and zero touchdowns.

The defense looked strong, not giving up any points and getting a couple of takeaways. Mississippi Valley State finished the game with a total of 162 yards. Jacobi Hearn led the defense with five tackles, and Quinaz Turner was able to help the defense with an interception.

Cincinnati Overview

Desmond Ridder looked like he didn’t miss a beat from his phenomenal 2020 season. He went for 295 yards with four touchdowns and one interception. Jerome Ford had 121 out the 247 rush yards with one touchdown for the Bearcats.

The Cincinnati defense was unphased against the overpowered Miami Redhawk offense giving up 278 total yards. Deshawn Pace had an impressive 8 tackles in the contest. The defense looked solid but are still adjusting to a new defensive coordinator.

They will have another chance in Week 2 against the Racers before their non-conference games against Indiana and Notre Dame.

Odds

The Bearcats are heavy favorites in this matchup, with a line of -35.5 in their favor. The over/under is set at 51.5.

Expected Outcome

The Bearcats will take care of business against this Murray State team, who will, much like Miami, be overpowered by these talented Cincinnati Bearcats. If the Bearcats defense can stop the running game for the Racers, then they should have no issues. The Murray State passing game will not hurt the Bearcats. The firepower of the Bearcats offense will likely, continue its production, so it all depends on if the defense can build on its Week 1 performance.

Cincinnati moved up one spot to No. 7 in the AP poll this week and will look to build on that momentum with another win in Week 2. They are working to legitimize themselves in the upcoming weeks to be in the college football playoff conversation. Murray State has faced five total AP Top 25 teams in the past 15 years and have lost all five of them. This will be another loss for the Racers.