The Cincinnati Bearcats travel down to Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville, Ark., for a 3:30 p.m. ET kickoff Saturday against the Arkansas Razorbacks. Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook‘s lines around the Cincinnati at Arkansas odds, and make our expert college football picks and predictions.
The Bearcats are coming off their best season in program history, becoming the 1st non-Power 5 program to reach the College Football Playoff in its 8-year history. Cincinnati fell 27-6 to Alabama for its only loss (13-1).
While QB Desmond Ridder and a star-studded defense (most of which are no longer with the program) played a large role, coach Luke Fickell has been the key component in their improvements.
As for Arkansas, it will be returning K.J. Jefferson, its starting quarterback from a season ago. He had 2,676 passing yards and a 21-4 TD-INT ratio. Jefferson is a redshirt junior.
Arkansas is led by Sam Pittman, who kicked off his career with the Razorbacks in 2020 with a 3-7 record and after going 9-4 in 2021 is looking to continue making major strides. Arkansas is 19th in the AP poll and was as high as No. 8 last season.
Cincinnati comes in at No. 22 and Arkansas No. 23 in the AFCA Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports.
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Cincinnati at Arkansas odds
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Thursday at 7:31 p.m. ET.
- Money line (ML): Cincinnati +210 (bet $100 to win $210) | Arkansas -260 (bet $260 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Cincinnati +6.5 (-103) | Arkansas -6.5 (-117)
- Over/Under (O/U): 52.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
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Cincinnati at Arkansas picks and predictions
Prediction
Arkansas 30, Cincinnati 20
Money line
PASS.
The only way to play this is Cincinnati to win at +205, but since I don’t think the Bearcats will come out on top, especially on the road, I’ll find a better value.
Against the spread
BET ARKANSAS -6.5 (-117).
The rationale is pretty simple here — the most important players on the field will be back for Arkansas, and I’d prefer to side with experience.
Also, while the home-field advantage is going to be huge, several of Cincinnati’s close wins last year (Notre Dame by 11, Indiana by 14, and Navy by 7) were on the road.
But without their returning quarterback, running back, cornerbacks, or top wide receiver, I’d prefer to bet on the side with a quarterback that performed very well last season coupled with a coach improving year-over-year.
Arkansas will have 2 wide receiver transfers, so the upperclassman have some experience. Jefferson, who led the team in rushing with 664 yards, and Raheim Sanders, who also received over 100 carries and had 578 yards rushing, will be back.
I would play Arkansas up to -9.5.
Over/Under
LEAN UNDER 52.5 (-110).
Arkansas will be returning its leading tackler from last season, LB Bumper Pool. He should bring some leadership that could thrive against an inexperienced Cincinnati offense.
The Bearcats line is basically the same, but they weren’t a great unit a season ago.
Cincinnati’s defense, while changed quite a bit because of the absence of CB Sauce Gardner, did not give 30 points a single time on the road.
Fickell is going to have his linebacker corps, which could be among the best in the nation, ready to limit Jefferson. Couple the Bearcats linebackers and lack of skill players offensively, and l prefer the Under 52.5 (-110) here.
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