2010 Sugar Bowl Cincinnati vs. Florida Start Time, TV Guide & Odds
New Orleans, LA – Tony Pike threw a few crisp passes to Mardy Gilyard on a cold, sunny afternoon.
The defense started getting ready to try to stop Tim Tebow and Florida in the biggest bowl game in Cincinnati's history.
After a tumultuous week, it all felt good.
The Bearcats (12-0) began practice for the Sugar Bowl on Thursday, one week after coach Brian Kelly told his players at their annual football banquet that he was headed for Notre Dame. The past seven days have been filled with anger, rumors and a lot of uncertainty.
Finally, they got back to football on Thursday, working out in front of Nippert Stadium's empty seats.
“This was kind of therapy for all of us - the kids included - to get back out here and do what they love,” said offensive coordinator and interim coach Jeff Quinn.
Mentally, they were aching for it.
Oddsmakers from online sports book SPORTSBETTING.com have made Florida -10 point spread favorites (View College Football odds) for the Friday, Jan. 1 game (Game Matchup). Current public betting information shows that 65% of bets for this game have been placed on Florida -10 (View College Football bet percentages).
No BCS bowl team had a worse week than Cincinnati. After taking final exams, the players got together for their awards banquet at a downtown hotel while hearing rumors that Kelly was leaving for Notre Dame. At the end of the evening, he told them the rumors were true.
Some of the players had tears, others wore angry expressions when the left their meeting with Kelly, who was introduced in South Bend, Ind., the next day. Cincinnati immediately started a search for his replacement, causing more rumors to fly.
On Wednesday, Central Michigan head coach Butch Jones agreed to a five-year contract, came to Cincinnati and met with the players before being publicly introduced as Kelly's replacement. Then he went back to Michigan, leaving it up to Quinn to start getting the team ready for its first Sugar Bowl appearance against fifth-ranked Florida on Jan. 1.
Jones plans to stay in the background leading up to the bowl, letting the players and coaches carry on the way they have throughout the best season in school history. Quinn, who was announced as interim coach the day that Kelly left, addressed the team after practice Thursday at the 30-yard line, nodding his head and pointing his finger to emphasize his points during his speech.
“It was just about getting back out here and putting everything that happened last week away,” Pike said. “It kind of stinks that the media gets surrounded with coach Kelly and the coaching stuff, and at the same time we just finished a 12-0 season and you don't hear much about that. It was about being able to get back to football and letting the business part of it go.”
Their focus isn't completely sharp yet. Senior offensive tackle Jeff Linkenbach acknowledged that the past seven days still seemed like a blur.
“A little bit, yeah,” he said. “And last week was finals week on top of that. So it was a little rough with that. Then we had some time off, time to refocus and clear your mind.
“It's a rough situation, but we're ready to move on and try to get ready to play Florida. Anytime you have change, it takes some time to get used to it. I think we've accomplished that in the week we had off.”
The Bearcats will practice through next Tuesday, take off for Christmas, then fly to New Orleans on Dec. 26 to get ready for the game.
Pike said the first practice without Kelly was sharp, an indication that the time off worked.
“I think guys had to get away for a few days,” Pike said. “The level of focus is where it was the last week of the season. From what I saw today, guys are locked in and ready to buy into what these coaches are saying.”
2010 Sugar Bowl
Teams: Cincinnati vs. Florida
Kickoff: Jan. 1, 2010 at 8PM ET
Venue: Superdome
TV: FOX
Odds:
Cincinnati +10 Over 55.5 (+340)
Florida -10 Under 55.5 (-475)
2010 Sugar Bowl Cincinnati vs. Florida Picks & Predictions
Two teams with some coaching turmoil will meet Friday at 8PM ET in the 2010 Sugar Bowl from the Superdome as Florida faces Cincinnati.
Florida is 12-1 on the year and 6-6 against the spread. The Gators won 12-straight to open the year and then lost the SEC Championship to Alabama. In the last week coach Urban Meyer has announced he will take a leave of absence from the Gators after the bowl game for health reasons.
Cincinnati is 12-0 this season and 7-5 against the spread. The Bearcats lost their head coach, Brian Kelly, to Notre Dame. Their current coach, Butch Jones, left Central Michigan to coach Cincinnati, but will be watching from the stands on Friday. Friday’s bowl game coach, Jeff Quinn, has already taken the head coaching job at Buffalo, and will leave to coach the Bulls following the bowl game.
Oddsmakers from online sports book SPORTSBETTING.com have made Florida 12.5-point favorites over Cincinnati on Friday night. The over/under total for this game has been established at 57.
Florida is scoring 34.7 points per-game and racking up 442.4 yards per-game on offense this year. Tim Tebow has thrown for 2,413 yards and 18 touchdowns while rushing for 859 yards and 13 scores in 2009. Cincinnati is giving up just 20.8 points and 350.3 yards per-game on defense.
Cincinnati is scoring 39.8 points per-game and racking up 464.3 yards per-game on offense. The Bearcats have one of the top passing attacks in the country behind the combined play of Tony Pike and Zach Collaros. Pike has been the primary starter, throwing for 2,350 yards and 26 touchdowns, but Collaros has thrown for 1,434 yards and 10 scores while rushing for 344 yards and four scores in a few starts. The Gators are giving up just 11.5 points and 252 yards per-game on defense.
This game should be interesting as Alabama provided a blueprint of how to beat the Gators, and the Cincinnati offense has much more fire power and explosiveness than the Tide. The key will be for Cincinnati to be able to stop the Florida offense, which has struggled at times. Cincinnati doesn’t have a really strong defense, but the Bearcats have been able to force turnovers. With all of the storylines, people are forgetting how angry Cincinnati player are at Brian Kelly and how that anger can be used as motivation to prove that Kelly wasn’t the only reason for Cincinnati’s success. Florida also has motivation to play well for Meyer and Tebow in their final games for the foreseeable future. Trends do not favor Florida this year as they are .500 against the spread, so we suggest taking the Bearcats with the points.
Our Sugar Bowl Free Pick for this matchup is: Cincinnati +12.5 and UNDER 57.
College Football Bowl Season Betting Trends
FLORIDA is 17-8 ATS (+8.2 Units) in all games over the last 2 seasons.
FLORIDA is 17-8 ATS (+8.2 Units) in all lined games over the last 2 seasons.
FLORIDA is 17-8 ATS (+8.2 Units) as a favorite over the last 2 seasons.
FLORIDA is 11-3 ATS (+7.7 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 2 seasons.
Cincinnati is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
Florida is 3-5-1 ATS in its last 9 games
Florida is 22-1 SU in its last 23 games
Bowl Season College Football Injury Report
CINCINNATI
No significant injuries.
FLORIDA
[TE] 09/14/2009 - Desmond Parks out for season ( Undisclosed )
[WR] 09/08/2009 - Andre DeBose out for season ( Hamstring )
[WR] 11/09/2009 - Carl Moore out indefinitely ( Back )
[LB] 11/10/2009 - Brendan Beal out indefinitely ( Neck )
[FS] 09/08/2009 - Dorian Munroe out for season ( Knee )
- 10/07/2009 - Matt Patchan out for season ( Knee )
[CB] 10/29/2009 - Moses Jenkins out indefinitely ( Concussion )
[LB] 12/06/2009 - AJ Jones is "?" vs Cincinnati in the Sugar Bowl ( Knee )
[DE] 12/18/2009 - Carlos Dunlap is upgraded to probable vs Cincinnati in the Sugar Bowl ( Suspension Served )
[KR/WR] 12/21/2009 - Brandon James expected to miss Friday vs. Cincinnati U in the Sugar Bowl ( Foot )
Sugar Bowl Odds
Cincinnati Bearcats +12.5 Over 57 (+360)
Florida Gators -12.5 Under 57 (-525)