The Tulsa Golden Hurricane (3-5, 2-2 AAC) and No. 2 Cincinnati Bearcats (8-0, 4-0) meet Saturday at Nippert Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET. Below, we look at the Tulsa vs. Cincinnati odds and lines, and make our expert college football picks, predictions and bets.
Rankings according to the AFCA Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports.
The Golden Hurricane saw its modest two-game win streak snapped last week at home against Navy, 20-17. Tulsa is now just 1-4 ATS across the past five games overall, with the Over going 5-1 in the previous six outings.
The Bearcats opened the season No. 6 in the College Football Playoff rankings, a record for a Group of 5 institution. But UC still has work to do if it wishes to break into the College Football Playoff at the season’s end. A thrashing of Tulsa would certainly help while a close win could be damaging.
Tulsa at Cincinnati odds, spread and lines
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Thursday at 10:50 p.m. ET.
- Money line: Tulsa +850 (bet $100 to win $850) | Cincinnati -1800 (bet $1,800 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Tulsa +23.5 (-112) | Cincinnati -23.5 (-108)
- Over/Under (O/U): 55.5 (O: -108 | U: -112)
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Tulsa at Cincinnati odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
Cincinnati 35, Tulsa 14
Money line
Cincinnati (-1800) will cost you 18 times your potential return, or just a $5 return on a $100 wager. There is no just value there, and it’s a poor long-term betting strategy.
AVOID, and look to the spread instead.
Against the spread
TULSA +23.5 (-112) has already made one trip into the Buckeye state, and it suffered a 41-20 loss to Ohio State as 24.5-point underdogs for the cover and Over result.
The Golden Hurricane are just 1-4 ATS in five games since, although Tulsa has won three of those outings outright. The Golden Hurricane have managed 436.6 total yards per game to rank 39th, and their primary way to move the ball is through the air.
Cincinnati -23.5 (-108) opened 5-1 ATS in the first six outings, but they have averaged just 29.0 PPG while allowing 16.0 PPG across the past two contests, coming nowhere near covering.
Over/Under
UNDER 55.5 (-115) is the lean here. The Under has cashed in the past two for UC. The defense for Tulsa has been awful all season, with the Over 5-1 in the previous six.
However, it did a great job shutting down Navy’s tricky triple-option rushing attack last week, yielding a season-low of 20 points against any FBS opponent.
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