The No. 3 Cincinnati Bearcats (9-0, 5-0 AAC) are on the road to face the South Florida Bulls (2-7,1-4) Friday. Kickoff from Raymond James Stadium is set for 6 p.m. ET. Below, we look at the Cincinnati at South Florida odds and lines, and make our expert college football picks, predictions and bets.
Rankings courtesy of the AFCA Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports
The Bearcats enter this American Athletic Conference game as heavy favorites. They were recently dubbed No. 5 by the College Football Playoffs committee.
The QB Desmond Ridder-led team barely edged Tulsa at home last weekend, so they need some style points with a win Friday.
South Florida has struggled this season but is coming off a competitive game with Houston, the team with the best conference play record in the AAC.
The Bulls have proven they can hang with opponents, meaning plenty of people will bet this enormous spread.
Cincinnati at South Florida odds, spread and lines
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Thursday at 10:40 a.m. ET.
- Money line: Cincinnati -1600 (bet $1600 to win $100) | South Florida +800 (bet $100 to win $800)
- Against the spread (ATS): Cincinnati -23.5 (-108) | South Florida +23.5 (-112)
- Over/Under (O/U): 57.5 (O: -108 | U: -112)
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Cincinnati at South Florida odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
Cincinnati 35, South Florida 24
Money line
PASS on the money line.
Betting Cincinnati at -1600 makes no sense unless you’re just banking on a straight favorites parlay. The Bearcats have nearly lost in two straight games, and I wouldn’t even get close to them outright at this value.
Against the spread
BET on SOUTH FLORIDA +23.5 (-112) as the best value in this game. The Bearcats need style points, and they know it. However, they recently have found themselves in uncharacteristically difficult games.
The Bearcats gave up 13 points to a top-ten Notre Dame team earlier this season, but more recently they’ve allowed 20 to both Navy and Tulsa, winning each game by just one score.
Ridder hasn’t been as dominant, and he’s thrown a pick in three straight games.
Considering South Florida has kept it close with Houston and Tulsa, it should have the talent to hang with Cincinnati, at least by fewer than three scores.
QB Timmy McClain has taken over as the heart and soul for this offense and the Bulls should easily cover the spread if he can find his groove.
Over/Under
“LEAN” to the OVER 57.5 (-108) as Cincinnati has shown an electric offense. With Ridder and shifty RB Jerome Ford, the Cats have averaged almost 39 points per game, good for 13th in the NCAA.
They run a quick-paced, dynamic offense. South Florida isn’t half bad as well. It averages 24.8 points per game.
Taking the combined average, this Over would hit. Obviously, you can’t always do that, but with South Florida topping 30 points in three of their last four games, they should be able to get plenty on the board.
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