Houston vs. Cincinnati Pick
The third week of the college football season kicks off on Thursday with a big AAC clash as Cincinnati hosts No. 6 Houston at 7:30PM ET on ESPN.
According to oddsmakers at BetDSI, Houston is favored on the road in this game, as the Cougars are getting odds of -8 points against Cincinnati. The over/under total for the game is currently listed at 64 points. Cincinnati has won five of the last six in this series and the Bearcats are 6-1-1 against the spread in the last eight against Houston.
Houston is off to a 2-0 start overall thanks to wins over Oklahoma (33-23) and Lamar (42-0). The Cougars are 1-1 against the spread and 2-0 with the under. The main concern for the Cougars right now is the health of Greg Ward Jr., the quarterback. He had a shoulder injury against Oklahoma that forced him to miss last week’s game with Lamar. He is expected to play this week, however. Ward threw for 321 yards and two touchdowns against the Sooners. Houston has put up a great rushing total thus far, putting up 470 yards as a team. Three backs already have over 100 yards.
Cincinnati has defeated Tennessee-Martin (28-7) and Purdue (38-20) thus far in 2016. The Bearcats are 1-1 against the spread and have split the total in the two contests. Cincinnati is putting up 456 yards per game on offense thus far, but allowing 413.5 yards per contest. They have given up 273 passing yards per over two games, which should lead to big things for Ward. Hayden Moore has led the offense with 510 passing yards and five touchdowns while Nate Cole has three touchdown receptions.
NCAA FB QUICK LINKS: Scores & Matchups | Injuries | Odds Comparison | Betting Trends | ATS Stats | Standings
For doing what it did to Oklahoma, Houston isn’t being given much respect against Cincinnati. The Cougars have plenty of talent, especially on offense. Look for Greg Ward to have a big day throwing the ball against this Cincy defense. While the Bearcats may move the ball somewhat, their offense isn’t capable of keeping pace with the Cougars.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL WEEK 3 PICK: HOUSTON -8