This is probably my favorite game for the weekend at least at this point. 5-1 Cincinnati gets the bye week they desperately needed after injuries to their QB, top WR, and top RB. The Bearcats struggled 2 weeks ago vs a weak USF team because of it. They secured a win by relying on a career high performance from Charles McClelland of 179 yards and 2 TDs. Based on the reports, the Bearcats should be returning their starting QB, top RB, and top WR(Bryant, Kiner, and Scott) to help boost their offense who struggled in their last game and get back to their average of 38.2 points per game. Their Defense has been the strength of the team all year, ranking 19th in total yards allowed(312.3 yards per game), 3rd in sacks, 46th vs the pass allowing(186.3 passing yards per game). They're going against a 3-3 SMU team that just got a 40-34 win over Navy. SMU has been struggling defensively in the last 4 games allowing over 6.5 yards a play, 38ppg, and over 449 yards a game a minimum. Their air raid offense has kept them alive being 4th in passing yards and 8th in total offense but this will be the first time they face a top 50 passing defense. In my opinion the bye week should do wonders for the Bearcats injury problems. Bringing back together a strong offense backed by an even better defense to put up a statement win vs the Mustangs.
Some important betting stats:
- SMU is 0-5 ATS in the last 5
- SMU is 1-6 in the last 7 conference games
