For the first time in its brief eight-year history, the College Football Playoff (CFP) includes a team from a Group of Five conference, with Cincinnati running the table and having other circumstances go in their favor to secure the fourth seed out of the American Conference.
Although 12-1 Alabama began and ended the season on the top of the college football rankings, there was some drama and uncertainty along the way.
While the Bearcats are newcomers to the CFP, Alabama is making its seventh appearance with three national championships, including last year when they rolled over Ohio State 52-24 to win the title.
Cincinnati will be taking a big step up in class, and the most compelling story of the playoff will be how they handle the challenge.
Cincinnati vs Alabama Stats
Looking at the Cincinnati stats
Cincinnati’s defense is ranked seventh in the nation in total defense and tied for fourth in points allowed, but that came against a schedule that was 71st in the FBS.
Despite doing what they had to do in going 13-0 and winning the American Conference title, the Bearcats underperformed in the middle of the season, failing to cover the spread against four consecutive league opponents.
On offense, Cincinnati is led by quarterback Desmond Ridder, who tossed 30 touchdown passes to 12 different players and ran for six more while throwing eight interceptions. The Bearcats also were aided by Jerome Ford’s 1238 yards and 19 touchdowns on the ground, with an average of 6.2 yards per carry.
Looking at the Alabama stats
Even though the Tide plays in what is considered one of the top two divisions in college football in the SEC West, they ended up with the eighth-ranked defense and sixth-ranked offense in the nation.
The fourth highest-scoring team in the FBS is led by Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Bryce Young, who threw 43 touchdown passes with only four interceptions while completing 68% of his attempts.
Defensively, even though Alabama was stingy with yards, they gave up over 20 points a game which was only 18th in the country and allowed 41 points in their lone loss to Texas A&M and 35 in a one-possession victory over Arkansas.
Will Anderson jr. leads the defense with 15.5 sacks and 29 tackles for loss, with the Tide sacking opposing quarterbacks 46 times.
Betting Trends for Cincinnati vs Alabama
- Cincinnati was 8-5 against the spread
- The Bearcats were favored in all 13 of their games
- Alabama was 7-6 against the spread
- The Crimson Tide won the only game where they were an underdog
- Cincinnati covered the spread in their final three games
Who to Bet Bearcats vs Crimson Tide
Spread: Cincinnati +14 (-110), Alabama -14 (-110)
Moneyline: Cincinnati +380, Alabama -565
Total: 58 (-110 o/u)
Alabama had some stumbles and close calls, especially down the stretch, but under head coach Nick Saban the Tide tends to elevate their game when a potential title is on the line.
Cincinnati’s signature win was 24-13 over Notre Dame, who, despite finishing fifth in the CFP, doesn’t come close to offering the same challenges as Alabama on both sides of the ball, so give the points and take the Tide to advance to their sixth CFP title game.