1. Houston at Cincinnati
LINE Cincinnati -10.5
ATS PICK Houston
Yes, I know, I’m a Cincinnati denier.
I know, I’m a Power Five snob, who spent the better part of the season honking at a Bearcat schedule with one great win and a slew of scrimmages.
I know, I picked East Carolina to cover last week, if not win outright – stupid blocked field goal – however, I’ve been consistent in saying for more than a month that Cincinnati will – probably – be in the College Football Playoff.
I know, Houston’s schedule is even worse than Cincinnati’s, but …
This game is way too scary straight up, much less to give away 10.5 points.
If you’ve noticed, there’s a slight theme among most of these championship picks – disrespect.
Whether it’s Alabama as an underdog, Oregon after the first loss to Utah, or the Oklahoma State and San Diego State defenses that weren’t their normal selves for stretches last week, now that they got over their respective humps and are here, look out.
Of course, no one is being disrespected more than Cincinnati from the elitist faction of the college football world – admittedly, hand raised – but it is No. 4 in the College Football Playoff rankings. There’s a decent amount of love out there for the Bearcats.
Houston? Oh it’s ranked, but it’s somewhere in the low-rent 20s district – it’s 21st, by the way.
The team is on a roll of ten straight wins, it has a phenomenal defense that’s the best Cincinnati has seen by far outside of what it dealt with in South Bend, and it knows how to control the clock.
I won’t go so far as to suggest that +350 on the money line is something to think hard about, but …
Yeah, Cincinnati is really, really good.
It’s been able to get through the grind, and it appears to be one of those teams that can rise to the occasion. However, 10.5 is a bit too rich against Dana Holgorsen’s bunch.
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