This game is going to be huge, and that’s selling the game short, even. The No. 1 Houston Cougars, undefeated and all, will take on the Cincinnati Bearcats for the SEC title this coming Saturday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium down in Atlanta. Who’s going to come out on top? Check out our preview of this Houston-Cincinnati SEC title game preview below.
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Betting Preview for the Houston Cougars vs Cincinnati Bearcats NCAA American Athletic Conference Championship Game on December 4, 2021
Where: Nippert Stadium, Cincinnati
When: Saturday, December 4, 2021, 4:00 PM ET
Line: Houston Cougars (+11) vs. Cincinnati Bearcats (-11) – view all 2021 NCAAF lines
TV Broadcast: CBS
Betting on the Houston Cougars (+11)
Record: 12-0 Overall / 8-0 Conference
Houston opened its season with a thud, as the Cougars lost to the Texas Tech Red Raiders in a neutral location way back in September. Since then, the Cougars have gone undefeated, winning 11 games in a row while dominating conference play. In their last game, the Cougars took down the UConn Huskies on the road, 45-17. Houston’s offense is getting much success from its passing game. The Cougars entered the UConn game ranked 25th in the nation with 273.7 passing yards per game. Junior quarterback Clayton Tune has impressed with his accuracy. In fact, he is tops in the AAC with a 68.9 completion percentage and no. 2 in passer rating. And then there’s Houston’s defense that is also among the elite in the AAC. In fact, Houston is second in the conference with just 19.8 points allowed per game, thanks largely to the Cougars’ pass rush that has 41 sacks on the season — seven more than any team in the AAC.
Houston is 5-2 against the spread in their last seven AAC games.
Betting on the Cincinnati Bearcats (-11)
Record: 11-1 Overall / 7-1 Conference
Cincinnati absolutely can’t lose this game if it wants to make the College Football Playoff. The Bearcats are undefeated, though, they only have one win against a ranked team this season. That was against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, who lost to Cincinnati in South Bend last October, 24-13. The last time they were on the field, the Bearcats showed no mercy to the East Carolina Pirates on Saturday, as they scored a 35-13 road win. Desmond Ridder tossed two touchdowns with two interceptions to go with 301 passing yards on 17/28 completions against East Carolina. On the season, he has 3,000 passing yards, 27 passing touchdowns, and eight interceptions with a 66.0 completion percentage. Those picks he threw against East Carolina didn’t look good on paper, but he really doesn’t throw a lot of them, so it’s not something to sound the alarm on for the Bearcats, whose defense is also going to be there to bother Houston.
Cincinnati, which is no. 1 in the AAC with 15.8 points allowed per game, has covered the spread in all of its last five outings against teams with winning records.
Writer’s Prediction
Cincinnati wins, 30-20.
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