The Cincinnati Bearcats just need to win out to make the College Football Playoff. Can they prove to the world on Friday Night that they belong? For your NCAAF picks, read my prediction below.
Cincinnati Bearcats vs. South Florida Bulls
Friday, November 12, 2021 – 06:00 PM EST at Raymond James Stadium
The Cincinnati Bearcats are undefeated after another “yeah, but” performance against Tulsa last week. The Bearcats were one yard away from potentially going to overtime late in the fourth quarter last week. Instead, Cincinnati did exactly what good teams do. They found a way to get the job done despite not looking their best.
In the Bearcats defense, most teams at the top of the rankings didn’t look all that well last weekend. Georgia started slowly against Missouri, Alabama almost lost to LSU, Ohio State almost lost to Nebraska and Oregon won a close game against Washington.
Meanwhile, two undefeated teams between Michigan State and Wake Forest lost. That should give the Bearcats some hope of playing in the College Football Playoff moving forward.
Now Cincinnati will take on the South Florida Bulls, who are 2-7 on the season, on Friday night. The Bearcats have a chance, on national television, to show just how good they really are.
Enough of the “yeah, but” wins. The Bearcats need to blow out the Bulls in this game on Friday. That’s what I’m expecting.
The Bearcats are led by Desmond Ridder who has 20 passing touchdowns to his name and just 5 interceptions. He’s dominated alongside running back Jerome Ford, who has 15 rushing touchdowns on the year. Unfortunately, Ford is questionable for this game after sustaining an injury last week against Tulsa.
The Bearcats average 38.6 points per game while allowing just 14.9 points per game. Meanwhile, USF is giving up 34.3 points per game and only scoring 24.8 points per game.
Ford and the entire Bearcats rushing attack is extremely solid, averaging 169.8 yards per game. Meanwhile, South Florida is allowing 213.6 yards per game this season on the ground. The Bulls are giving up nearly 500 yards of offense. It’s just been a brutal season on the defensive end, especially with tackling.
Meanwhile, the Cincinnati defense should be able to get plenty of stops against USF. The Bulls are averaging 176 yards rushing per game while the Bearcats are allowing 157.1 yards per game on the ground.
Still, the Bearcats are very capable of getting stops in the run game and that shouldn’t be a problem knowing how incapable the USF offensive line is at blocking.
Prediction
The Bearcats are 23.5 point favorites at the best online sportsbooks, on the road against USF. And yet, I still think they’ll cover this at the NCAAF odds. Last weekend was a disaster and the Bearcats almost found a way to lose against Tulsa.
Now, on national television, this offense should be able to score on every single drive against USF. The team should at least score in the ’40s against the Bulls.
If that’s the case, the Bulls will have no chance at covering this game against an elite and consistent Bearcats defense.
NCAAF Pick: Cincinnati -23.5 (-110) at BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review)
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.
