Cincinnati Bearcats vs Indiana Hoosiers Prediction, Odds and Preview - 09/18/2021

Game Time: 12:00 pm ET, Saturday, September 18, 2021

Venue:  The Rock Memorial Stadium, Bloomington, IN

Where to Watch:  ESPN

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Bearcats -3.5, Hoosiers +3.5; Over/Under:  50.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  Bearcats -3.5, Hoosiers +3.5; Over/Under:  50 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Bearcats -3.5, Hoosiers +3.5; Over/Under:  50 points

 

Cincinnati Bearcats:  2-0 (3rd place, AAC)

Indiana Hoosiers:  1-1 (7th place, Big Ten East)

 

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Cincinnati Bearcats:  won 2

Indiana Hoosiers:  won 1

 

 

 

This season the Cincinnati Bearcats are averaging a 68.6% completion percentage, 278 passing yards, and 1.5 touchdowns per game through the air. They also average 188.5 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns per game on the ground. The Indiana Hoosiers were averaging a 50.9% completion percentage, 157.5 passing yards, and 1.5 touchdowns per game through the air. They also averaged 128 rushing yards and 1.5 touchdowns per game on the ground.

 

 

This season the Cincinnati Bearcats are allowing teams a 45.6% completion percentage, 129 passing yards, and 0 touchdowns per game through the air. They also allowed 131.5 rushing yards and 1 touchdown per game on the ground. The Indiana Hoosiers are allowing teams a 53.7% completion percentage, 170.5 passing yards, and 1 touchdown per game through the air. They also allowed 111.5 rushing yards and 1 touchdown per game on the ground.

 

Cincinnati is coming into this NCAA football game with a 2-0 record overall, this will be their 3rd non-conference game in a row now. They beat the Miami-OH RedHawks in their first game of the college football season and beat Murray State in their last game by a final score of 42-7. Desmond Ridder had a good game as he completed 14/22 passes for 243 yards and 2 touchdowns. Evan Prater even threw a touchdown in that one. Jerome Ford had a great day in the run game with 113 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns on 18 carries. No one else really did much in the running game though besides him. Tyler Scott led the team in receiving with 74 yards and 1 touchdown on 4 receptions while Michael Young was not far behind him with 67 receiving yards. Darrian Beavers led the defense with 5 solo tackles and 2 assisted ones, he and Joel Dublanko also recorded a 0.5 sack each. Arquon Bush, Ja'Von Hicks, and Ahmad Gardner all had 1 interception each in that one. Cincinnati's offense has been averaging 466.5 YPG in their 2 games this season so far. They have also scored at least 42 points in each of their games, albeit against some weaker competition. They have not had trouble moving the ball or scoring all season though. 

Indiana is coming into this game with a 1-1 record overall and a 0-1 record when playing in conference games. The conference has been shaken a bit with the Ohio State Buckeyes losing to Oregon this past week, Illinois in 1st place with a 1-2 record. They lost their first college football game of the season against the Iowa Hawkeyes but won their last game against Idaho 56-14. That 34-6 loss to Iowa in week 1 does not look as bad now though as Iowa is ranked number 5 on the AP poll after the last batch of games. Michael Penix Jr. did not do much at the quarterback position in that big win as he completed 11/16 passes for 68 yards and 2 touchdown passes. Jack Tuttle also completed 2/4 passes for 91 yards and 1 touchdown. The running game carried a lot of weight as Stephen Carr rushed for 118 yards and 1 touchdown on 22 carries. He got most of the rushing work in that game though. None of the receivers had a big day either as AJ Barner led the team in receiving yards with 76 yards and 1 touchdown on 1 reception. Tiawan Mullen led the defense with 7 solo tackles and 2 assisted ones. Cam Jones and Micah Mcfadden both recorded 1 sack each as well. In their 2 games this season, Indiana's offense has been averaging 285.5 YPG. They have scored 62 points on the year but 56 of them came against Idaho. They do not really move the ball too well and they struggle to score when going up against some decent defenses.

Cincinnati has already shown that they can score a lot of points and they have a pretty good defense as well. Indiana can score against bad teams but this will be a big test for their offense moving forward this season. The college football odds on the total at most online sportsbooks is pretty low here so there is some value for a bet on the over as both of these teams could end up putting up a lot of points. 

 

Bearcats Hoosiers Prediction:  Our NCAAF Pick for Saturday, September 18, 2021 (12:00 pm ET start time) is Bearcats 31 Hoosiers 21.

Don't miss our champion handicappers insights, free picks and expert football picks today.  And if you enjoyed this Cincinnati Bearcats Indiana Hoosiers prediction, be sure to drop by every day for our weekly NCAAF predictions and previews.

 

 

Cincinnati Bearcats: 5-2 ATS as a favorite of 3.5 to 10 points. 16-10 ATS in all games. 

Indiana Hoosiers: 8-2 ATS in home games. 11-3 ATS after 1 or more consecutive straight up wins.

 

 

Cincinnati Bearcats:  None

Indiana Hoosiers:  D. Matthews (DB) Ques Sat - Upper Body injury. J. Williams (DB) Ques Sat - Undisclosed injury. D. Williams II (QB) out for season - Knee injury.

 

 

Cincinnati Bearcats: Desmond Ridder is one player to watch in this game. He has been leading this offense in all the right ways so look for him to make the big plays to lead his team to a victory here.

 

Indiana Hoosiers: Ty Fryfogle is one player to watch here. He leads his team in receiving yards with a team-high 113 receiving yards. If they are to get anything done in the passing game it will be through him so watch for him to make some big catches down the field.

 

"I didn't really know who I was as a leader. Maybe I'd been around Coach Tressel, that's really it, or Coach [John] Cooper. I hadn't really spent that time to say, 'OK, what would you do? How would you do it?' I worked hard, I cared, I trusted, but nobody really knows. The first time being a head coach, it's like being a pilot. Or are you ready to be a father? Well, no. You can take all the classes you want, but until you actually do it, you don't know." - Luke Fickell on his short stint as an interim in OSU back in 2002.

 

 

"Yeah, he's back, so that's good. He's had a really good week, and he'll be a part of those five (offensive lineman), so you guys will see that on kickoff on gameday. Bottom line is we're just trying to get our best five guys on the field. He's healthy and back now, and we got other guys that are going to be competing to play and will play in the game on Saturday." - Tom Allen on having Luke Haggard back in the lineup.

 

 

WR Pierce, Alec 

WR Scott, Tyler 

WR Young Jr., Michael 

TE Whyle, Josh 

QB Ridder, Desmond 

RB Ford, Jerome 

RB      McClelland, Charles 

 

WR Marshall, Miles 

WR Fryfogle, Ty 

WR Matthews Jr., D.J

TE Hendershot, Peyton 

QB Penix Jr., Michael 

RB Carr, Stephen 

 

Passing: D. Ridder (538)

Rushing: J. Ford (234)

Receiving: T. Scott (155)

Touchdowns: J. Ford (4)

Sacks: A. Bush (1)

Tackles: J. Dublanko (6)

 

Passing: M. Penix Jr. (224)

Rushing: S. Carr (175)

Receiving: T. Fryfogle (113)

Touchdowns: S. Carr (1)

Sacks: R. Anderson (1)

Tackles: T. Mullen (10)

 

Coaches:

Cincinnati Bearcats: Luke Fickell (6th season)

Indiana Hoosiers: Tom Allen (6th season)

 

82 degrees F mostly sunny, 73% humidity, 0% chance of rain, up to 6 mph wind speeds S.