Cincinnati Bearcats vs. United States Naval Academy Betting Preview

The Cincinnati Bearcats will go on the road to face the United States Naval Academy on Saturday at noon EST for an American Athletic Conference showdown. The Bearcats moved up to #2 in the latest AP Top 25 Polls at a perfect 6-0. The Navy Midshipmen are 1-5.

Cincinnati is 2-0 in the conference after beating Central Florida last week 56-21. Navy has struggled this far by going 1-3 in conference play and lost to Memphis last weekend by a score of 35-17.

Odds

The Bearcats are the heavy favorite in this one. They are at -27 with the odds of -110. Navy, at +27, has the same odds to cover at -110. The game's total for the over/under is 49 with odds of -110 to bet the over or the under.

The Bearcats and their opponents have combined to score more than 49 points in five of their six games this season, and the Navy and their opponents have combined in four out of six to score more than 49.

Cincinnati is 5-1 against the spread and has covered once when favored by 27.5 points or more. The Navy is 3-3 against the spread this season and has scored 3.8 more points on average than the Bearcats normally give up.

Keys to a Cincinnati Victory

The Cincinnati Bearcats have more to play for than the Navy in this one as they have a legitimate chance to make the College Football Playoff if they can win out. They will not want the Navy to be the team that knocks them out. This is another game, along with the others, that everyone will be waiting for the Bearcats to slip up.

Cincinnati's offense is led by Heisman contender Desmond Ridder who has thrown for almost 1500 yards in just six games, including 13 touchdowns and only two interceptions. His leadership and the consistently solid defense with 18 takeaways on the season will be tough to beat.

Keys to a Navy Victory

The task for the Navy is a big one. One good thing going their way is that they will be at home and will be able to try to disrupt the Bearcats' rhythm by making them travel to Maryland. The Navy focuses greatly on the run and will hope to wear down the Bearcats on the ground with their average of 216.3 yards per game which ranks 15th.

The defense has been average, which doesn't bode well against the prolific scoring of the Bearcats offense. They will need to send pressure early and often if they want to win this game.

Expected Outcome

The Bearcats will win this game easily, and I think they will cover as well. Cincinnati looks determined to be the first team to make the College Football Playoff outside the Group of 5. I expect things to be business as usual as they take down another American Athletic Conference opponent.