The No. 24 Virginia Tech Hokies are entering the Military Bowl Presented by Northrup Grumman as underdogs as they prepare to take on the Cincinnati Bearcats. This daytime game is scheduled to get underway at 12:00 p.m. ET and fans can view the action live on ESPN.
Cincinnati Bearcats vs. Virginia Tech Hokies Betting Preview
In this early-week game, Cincinnati is getting picked as the favorite and is currently giving up 5 points. The Bearcats are also receiving -220 moneyline odds while the Hokies are +180. Should one side can get out in front early it will generate a reasonable betting scenario in-game. Oddsmakers have set the over/under (O/U) at 53.5 points.
The line opened at -6 while the over/under hasn’t moved after it was set initially at 53.5.
Each of these teams has been profitable this year as the Bearcats have recorded 11.0 units and the Hokies are up 3.0 units.
The Bearcats have gone 10-2 straight up (SU) in 2018 while the Hokies are 6-6 SU.
The Bearcats are coming off a resounding 56-6 win over East Carolina on November 23. The passing game was on point as the Bearcats completed 25-of-40 passes for 394 yards and five touchdowns. Desmond Ridder went 20-for-29 for 335 yards and four touchdowns while Hayden Moore completed five-of-11 for 59 yards and one touchdown. Tavion Thomas (106 yards on 26 rush attempts, one TD) and Charles McClelland (114 yards on eight carries, one TD) mounted the running attack while Kahlil Lewis (nine receptions, 203 yards, three TDs) and Josiah Deguara (five catches, 64 yards, one TD) shared the receiving duties in the win.
Virginia Tech just earned a 41-20 win over Marshall. Ryan Willis completed 18-of-26 passes for 312 yards and four touchdowns. Steven Peoples (78 rushing yards on 14 attempts) mounted the running game while Dalton Keene (five receptions, 20 yards) and Eric Kumah (four catches, 63 yards, one TD) led the pass-catching attack in the win.
Cincinnati has run the ball on 62.3 percent of its offensive possessions this year while Virginia Tech has an overall rush percentage of 54.4 percent. The Bearcats have produced 238 rush yards per game and have 34 scores on the ground this year. The Hokies are logging 170 rushing yards per game and have 17 total rush TDs.
If the results so far this season can translate to this game, then it appears the Bearcats ought to have the advantage in terms of RB efficiency. Their running backs has logged 5.1 yards per carry while their defense is allowing a YPC of 3.2 to opponents. The Hokies have ran for 4.3 yards per carry and allowed 5.3 YPC to opponents.
The Bearcats offense has logged 220 yards per contest through the air overall and has 21 passing scores so far. The Hokies have put up 257 pass yards per contest and have 27 total pass TDs.
Cincinnati seems to have the upper hand in both areas of the defense. The team has let opponents run for an average of 104 yards and throw for 188 yards per game. The Virginia Tech D has allowed 230.3 yards per game to opposing passers and 206.5 yards per game to opposing runners. The Bearcats are allowing an adjusted net yards per pass attempt (ANY/A) of only 4.69 to opponents, while the Hokies have given up a 7.00 ANY/A.
Offensively, Ridder is up to 2,232 passing yards this season. He’s connected on 179-of-278 attempts with 19 passing scores and only five interceptions. He’s got a 7.70 adjusted net yards per pass attempt, including 8.88 over the last two outings.
Ryan Willis has completed 179-of-300 passes for 2,298 yards, 21 TDs and six INTs for Virginia Tech. His ANY/A sits at 7.21 for the season and 7.71 over his last two games.
NCAA Tip: Cincinnati Bearcats at Virginia Tech Hokies
SU Winner – Cincinnati, ATS Winner – Cincinnati, O/U – Over
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Notes
Betting Notes
The Bearcats offense has recorded six pass plays of 40 or more yards, while the Hokies have put up 11 such plays.
The Cincinnati defense has allowed nine pass plays of 40 or more yards, while Virginia Tech has given up 10 such plays.
The Cincinnati offense has created 27 rushing plays of 20 yards or more, while Virginia Tech has created 20 such runs.
The Bearcats defense has allowed eight rushing plays of 20 or more yards, while the Hokies have given up 25 such runs.
The Cincinnati defensive unit has sacked opposing quarterbacks 30 times this year. Virginia Tech has registered just 24 sacks.
Cincinnati has rushed for 5.1 yards per attempt across its last three contests and 5.4 over its last two.
Virginia Tech has averaged 4.4 yards per carry over its last three matchups and 4.8 over its last two.
Cincinnati has won five of its last six games SU, with a 25-point loss to UCF on November 17th accounting for the only slip-up over that span.
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