Bet Cincinnati Bearcats – Bearcats Fall In Big East Without Kelly At The Helm

2009 Cincinnati Bearcats Betting Recap

Online betting players watched Cincinnati rolled through the Big East in 2009, starting with a 47-15 demolition at Rutgers. The Bearcats brushed aside Southeast Missouri State with a 70-3 rout, followed by tough road wins at Oregon State, Miami (OH) and then-No.21 South Florida. Beatings of Louisville and Syracuse followed, with the win over the Orangemen coming on the road, before they had to survive a 47-45 win at home over Connecticut in which the Bearcats almost lost a 40-24 lead in the fourth quarter. Cincinnati then had to tough out a 24-21 win over then-No.25 West Virginia before a 49-36 shootout win over Illinois in their regular-season finale. But the highlight of the season came in the de facto Big East championship game at Pittsburgh, when the Bearcats staged their own comeback by erasing a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter, stunning the Panthers with a 45-44 victory. However, the Bearcats were overmatched against Florida in the Sugar Bowl, falling 51-24 to the Gators behind a record-setting day from Tim Tebow.

The Bearcats were 11th in the country in offense, including the eighth-ranked aerial attack, and even when Zach Collaros stepped into for the injured Tony Pike in the South Florida game, the offense never missed a beat. Pike would return in the Illinois game, and he masterminded the Pitt comeback, so he’ll go down as a legend at Cincinnati. Mardy Gilyard and Armon Binns were as good a receiving duo as you’d find in the country, while the Bearcats were also 10th in sacks allowed. The defense was decent, coming in 67th, and they were 78th against the pass. The awful loss to Florida showed that the Big East was clearly a level below the likes of the SEC and Big 12 as the Gators weren’t even a passing team, yet racked up 482 yards through the air, and the offense had nothing for the speedy Florida defense.

2010 Preview To Bet Cincinnati Bearcats

NCAA football betting odds should have the Bearcats at or near the top of the list in the Big East once again, even if they’re going to Butch Jones from Brian Kelly, who jumped ship to Notre Dame (ironically, Jones replaced Kelly at Central Michigan when Kelly left for Cincinnati). There are eight starters back on offense, and that’s not including Collaros, who had a baptism of fire last year. Only Gilyard is gone from the receiving corps, but don’t be surprised if the Bearcats run the ball more than last year. Isaiah Pead should get some more carries in a new system installed by Jones. The defense returns six starters, but they’re going back to a 4-3 style of play, they’re not that deep and they are questions in the secondary, which is a problem as it was bad last year as well.

The non-conference starts off alright with road games at Fresno State and North Carolina State sandwiching their home opener against Indiana State, and then the Bearcats will welcome Oklahoma to town in a game that will show them how they stack up against the elite teams in the country. That kicks off a string of four home games in five outings for the Bearcats, as they follow Oklahoma with Miami (OH), South Florida and Syracuse, with a trip to Louisville in there for good measure. The Bearcats have tough road games at West Virginia and UConn down the stretch, along with home games against Rutgers and the finale against Pitt, who will be out for revenge.

Cincinnati will battle with Pitt again for Big East supremacy, but they’ll fall short in 2010. They have to learn new schemes under Jones, which will be drastically different than the ones Kelly ran. Jones led Central Michigan to success after Kelly left, but while the Big East isn’t a great conference, it is a step up from what Jones is used to, and teams like Pitt, UConn and West Virginia have improved. Even though their sports betting odds should be good, stay away from the Bearcats in the Big East this year.