Cincinnati travels to Indiana for a game with Big Implications
The Cincinnati Bearcats travel to Bloomington to take on the Indiana Hoosiers in a critical game on Saturday afternoon. Cincinnati has been playing like a well-oiled machine early this season, while Indiana has struggled quite a bit. Cincinnati is currently the #8 team in the nation and has big wins over Murray State and Miami (OH).
Indiana is 1-1 and has fallen out of the polls after starting the season ranked highly. They lost their opener this season to Iowa 34-6 and then dominated Idaho in their second game.
Cincinnati has been really good on both sides of the ball to start the season, but you also have to understand that the competition they have faced this year has not been great. This season, Cincinnati has gained 466.5 yards on offense while only allowing 260 yards a game on defense. They have not had to play their starters the entire game yet this season, so we haven’t truly seen them in a game for the entirety. That will likely change this weekend.
Indiana has simply struggled on the offensive side of the ball this season. They are only gaining 285.5 yards of offense a game and have given up 282 yards per game on defense. Against Idaho, Indiana only threw for 159 yards.
While they didn’t need to throw often, that is still something that is a cause for concern. In the first game of the year, Indiana only threw for 156 yards and had three interceptions. Indiana does not have the running attack to offset a poor passing performance very often. The Iowa game would have been worse had Iowa not fumbled twice.
This game is going to be big for both teams for a few reasons. The Bearcats are looking to prove that they belong, and a win over Indiana would solidify their ranking. Despite being unranked, Indiana is a solid team that came into the year with high expectations.
Those expectations can still be met, but it will be a long season for them if they lose this game. This is an excellent game for Indiana to prove to the country that last year was not a fluke. There is a lot on the line for both teams in this contest.
Cincinnati is favored in this one by four points. I like that line to take the Bearcats as they are going to come out swinging. Cincinnati’s defense is outstanding, and I don’t think that Indiana will be able to do much on the offensive side of the ball.
The over/under is set at 50 points, and I think that is going to be a number that hits the under. Indiana’s defense is solid, and we at Insiders Betting Digest consider they will be able to hold Cincinnati down a little bit. Indiana’s offense is going to struggle this week, so points will be at a premium. Regardless, this is going to be a very good game.
