Oklahoma Sooners at Cincinnati Bearcats, Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati, OH
Saturday, September 25, 2010, 6:00 pm EST, TV: ESPN2
Opening Line: Oklahoma -18
Current Line: Oklahoma -13 1/2
Opening Total: 52
Current Total: 52
Money Line: Oklahoma -525 / Cincinnati +425
College Football Betting odds from above taken from Bookmaker Sportsbook, a great spot for college football wagering.
Coach Bob Stoops takes his Sooners on the road for the first time this season to take on Butch Jones’ Cincinnati Bearcats. The line started off at Oklahoma -18 but has dropped to 13 points in some places. This is mainly due to Oklahoma barely winning against inferior opponents Utah St and Air Force. Yes, the Sooners destroyed Florida St 47-17, but with Texas coming up next week, bettors think the Sooners will overlook the Bearcats. Also Oklahoma lost 5 games on the road last year. The game is technically at a neutral site, as it is being played in the Bengals home stadium rather than the Bearcats on-campus stadium which is could be why we have seen a tick down from 18 to 13.5 on the college football betting lines, in addition to Oklahoma appearing to be a tad overvalued by oddsmakers.
Oklahoma defeated Air Force last week 27-24. Oklahoma was up 27-10 in the 4th, and Air Force scored 2 late touchdowns to make the score appear closer. The Sooners are not too concerned about giving up 351 yards rushing to the Falcons, as most teams have no way of dealing with the Falcons option attack. They will never play an option team again this season, so the Sooners didn’t even look at the game film. The Sooners have been brilliant on offense led by quarterback Landry Jones, running back DeMarco Murray, and receiver Ryan Broyles. Jones has throw for 851 yards, 7 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions. Murray has rushed for 369 yards and 6 touchdowns. Murray also has 9 catches for 90 yards and a touchdown. Broyles has caught 31 balls for 382 yards and 3 touchdowns. The Sooners haven’t been sharp on defense, giving up over 400 yards a game, but they have forced 8 turnovers and 8 sacks. The Sooners defensive line and linebackers are licking their chops at the prospect of facing the Bearcats offensive line who has given up 15 sacks so far in three games.
Cincinnati is 1-2 this season, and the win came against lowly Indiana St. They were dominated in two losses to Fresno St and North Carolina St on the road. The problem is the offensive line can’t protect quarterback Zach Collaros, and the running game has suffered as well. Collaros has thrown for 659 yards and 6 touchdowns with no interceptions. however, he has been sacked 15 times, so he is running for his life. The running game has been ineffective as well, gaining only 353 yards in three games with 4 rushing TD’s. Collaros has two of the rushing touchdowns. Darrin Williams is the leading rusher with 144 yards. The Bearcats defense isn’t bad giving up only 347 yards a game. They only have 3 turnovers and 6 sacks.
Oklahoma could certainly look ahead to Texas next week, but it would be a mistake to overlook this still dangerous Bearcat team, who is hungry for a win before Big East Play starts. In order to win, The Bearcats will have to play much better on offense, and try to contain Oklahoma’s offense. It won’t be easy, but 50,000 screaming Bearcats fans will help. The play here was Cincinnati +17 or better but that number is long gone and this game looks lined properly at this point. Much better opportunities in our opinion on the Saturday card if you are wagering. Which brings us to the 7 Saturday college football picks we have on tap. Currently on a 18-6 pick run for our clients, dont miss any of the week 4 college football winners.
