Game Preview: West Virginia at Cincinnati

Game Preview:  West Virginia (7-2) at Cincinatti (9-0) 8:00 PM Friday

I love mid-week football.  Thursday night is great and Tuesday and Wednesday are really fun.  But I am not sure how I feel about Friday night.  The matchups are usually not that great and there is something that just doesn’t feel right.  Nevertheless there is a game this Friday, a critical Big East tilt with BCS implications between West Virginia and Cincinnati.

West Virginia enters the game at 7-2 but with only one loss in the conference.  I am not a math major but this keeps them alive for the time being but they can’t really afford to lose another game if they want to be BCS bound.  They have no signature wins this year to date and have generally been underwhelming as evidenced by their 2-6 ATS record.  Essentially they win but not as impressively as we would like.  Jarrett Brown doesn’t have the magic of Pat White and turns the ball over too much.  Meanwhile jitterbug Noel Devine is having a great year.  They are both banged up but will they be enough to stop the undefeated Bearcats.  Probably not.

This is because the Bearcats are clicking at an amazing pace.  When Tony Pike went down Zach Collaros stepped up.  He has thrown 10 TDs with only 1 INT and had gaudy yardage stats to match.  It seems unlikely that the West Virginia defense is going to slow him down.  But…who will start on Friday?  As of this moment it is a bit unclear.  Coach Kelly has said that Pike is his starter…when he is ready.  We will have to monitor this one closely before making any wagers.  Right now the spread is -9 which might be a bit high if Pike plays and is rusty.

Game Prediction: It certainly appears that Cincinnati is this year’s team of destiny.  They are part of that second tear of undefeated teams but none of the others have been doing it with their second string QB.  They should notch another win this week but I think it will only be by a TD.  My gut says Pike will play and look pretty good for a guy who has watched from the sidelines for a month.  The shifty West Virginia offense will have some answers but come up a score short.

Score Prediction:
Cincinnati – 35
West Virginia – 28

If the line goes up during the week then play the underdog West Virginia.

News/Notes
- Cincinnati has covered last 2
- Road team has grabbed last two contests
- Bearcats are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games after allowing more than 40 points in their previous game.  They tighten up on D after a poor performance.