The Cincinnati Bearcats will be the favorites of fans betting on college football when they when they visit the Purdue Boilermakers at Ross–Ade Stadium at West Lafayette on Saturday, September 10th. These are the NCAA betting odds:
Cincinnati U -6½ (-110) 62½ (-110) -250
Purdue +6½ (-110) 62½ (-110) +210
The Bearcats opened their season with a 28-7 victory over the University of Tennessee at Martin Skyhawks on September 1st. While it wasn’t the rout that most would have expected, UC’s problem is – or based on the evidence was – defense and the offense. The Bearcats ranked 124th of 127 teams nationally with a turnover margin of -19 in 2015.
They had three turnovers in the first half against the Skyhawks, but none of them led to points. On the other hand, they forced three turnovers of their own. On offense, sophomore quarterback Hayden Moore threw 21 of 34 for 260 passing yards and one touchdown with one interception. He also fumbled once when he was hit in the sack. Make that hit on a sack. Additionally, running back Tion Green gained 97 yards on 16 carries, and wide receiver Devin Gray caught five passes for 111 yards.
The Boilermakers also debuted with a win, beating the Eastern Kentucky Colonels 45-24. Purdue post its best offensive total in 12 months, and put up its highest total yards (512) since last season’s opener against Indiana State. Running back Markell Jones showed he might have another gear than that which he displayed as a freshman – when he broke the program’s rushing record.
Sophomore quarterback David Blough was hit-and-miss, completing 25 of 43 passes for 245 yards and a 35-yard touchdown pass to DeAngelo Yancey. All things considered, though, all of this helps the Boilermaker to gain momentum for their first true test of the regular season against the Bearcats, when many questions will be answered for the benefit of fans who like betting on college football. Such as, what is a Bearcat, anyway; is it some sort of Dr. Moreau experiment?
If Purdue were to win this Saturday, they would be matching their win total from last year, and indeed they look like a better team than the 2015 iteration. However, UC head coach Tommy Tuberville and Co. have had more success in recent seasons, while Purdue head coach Darrel Hazell is on the proverbial hot seat, being 7-30 in his first three seasons, including a mere three wins over FBS teams. The last time these two teams played each other in 2013, the Bearcats routed the Boilermakers 42-7.
Whether we’ll have a repeat of that depends on what Cincinnati offense shows up, and more specifically which Hayden Moore will show up. Versus the Skyhawks it was a tale of two halves for the offense, but as mentioned above, the defense came through big time keeping UTM scoreless after their first drive and returning an interception for a touchdown to secure the victory. Fans betting on college football should go with UC for the win.