Louisville Cardinals vs Cincinnati Bearcats Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 12/17/2022

by Rod Pearson

Monday, Dec 12, 2022
Game Time: 11:00 am ET, Saturday, December 17, 2022
Venue:  Fenway Park, Boston, MA
Where to Watch:  ESPN

 

Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Louisville PK, Cincinnati PK; Over/Under:  43.5 points
Bet365:  Point Spread:  Louisville PK, Cincinnati PK; Over/Under:  43.5 points
BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Louisville -1.5, Cincinnati +1.5; Over/Under:  42.5 points
 

Season Record

Louisville Cardinals:  7-5 (4-4) (5th place, ACC Atlantic)
Cincinnati Bearcats:  9-3 (6-2) (2nd place, AAC)
 
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Louisville Cardinals:  lost their last game on the road against the Kentucky Wildcats 26-13.
Cincinnati Bearcats:  lost their last game at home against the Tulane Green Wave 27-24.

 

Louisville Cardinals vs Cincinnati Bearcats Preview and Analysis

 
Louisville is entering this Fenway Bowl game with a 7-5 record overall to end their college football season and they will be playing their 1st neutral site game of the season here as they are 0-0 in those games this year. They lost against the Kentucky Wildcats in their last game on the road 26-13. Brock Domann started that game at QB and he completed 14/21 passes for 129 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception. Jawhar Jordan led the team in rushing with 145 yards on 22 rushing attempts. Tyler Hudson led the team in receiving with 83 yards and 1 TD on 6 receptions. Jarvis Brownlee led the defense in that game with 6 solo tackles and 2 assisted tackles. Ashton Gillotte and YaYa Diaby each led the defense in sacks with 1 while no one on the defense came away with an interception for them in that one.
 
 
 
Cincinnati is entering this Fenway Bowl game with a 9-3 record overall to finish their college football season and they will be playing their 2nd neutral site game of the season as they are 1-0 in those games this year. They lost against the Tulane Green Wave in their last game at home 27-24. Evan Prater started that game at QB and he completed 10/26 passes for 102 yards and 1 interception. Ryan Montgomery led the team in rushing with 95 yards and 2 TDs on 17 carries. Will Pauling led the team in receiving with 41 yards on 2 receptions. Jaheim Thomas led the defense in that game with 5 solo tackles and 6 assisted tackles. Eric Phillips led the defense in sacks with 1 while no one on the defense came away with an interception for them in that one.

 

Louisville vs Cincinnati Prediction

The current betting odds have Louisville listed as a PK in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. Cincinnati finished their season with a much better 9-3 record overall than Louisville did at 7-5. Louisville was not playing very well in a lot of their games down the stretch and they will likely be without their starting QB here who is banged up right now. Cincinnati put together another great season despite losing their starting QB to last year's NFL draft and they lost their last game of the season which just left them out of their Conference Championship, but they have to be feeling demotivated in this game after their head coach announced his departure for Wisconsin ahead of this game. The Cincinnati players really have nothing to play here while Louisville is coming off a terrible season and will be looking to end it off on a good note at least. Louisville will have more motivation to play in this game. The best way to place a bet here is on Louisville to cover the spread in this game.
 
Louisville Cincinnati Prediction:  Our NCAAF Pick for Saturday, December 17, 2022 (11:00 am ET start time) is Louisville 28 Cincinnati 17.
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NCAAF Betting Trends

 
Louisville Cardinals: 10-5 ATS after 1 or more consecutive losses against the spread. 8-4 UNDER as a neutral field favorite. 11-6 UNDER after 1 or more consecutive straight up losses.
Cincinnati Bearcats: 6-12 ATS in a bowl game. 11-18 ATS off a home loss against a conference rival. 21-8 UNDER off a home loss.
 

Key Injuries

 
Louisville Cardinals:  T. Evans (RB) Ques Sat - Undisclosed. E. Conley (QB) Out indefinitely - Hip. D. Wiggins (WR) out of season - Toe. J. Lole (DL) out for season - Elbow.
Cincinnati Bearcats:  E. Wright (RB) Ques Sat - Undisclosed. B. Bryant (QB) out for season - Foot. D. Hightower (LB) Out indefinitely - Arm.
 

Notable Quotes

 
“Malik comes in and not fully healthy, but I felt we needed a spark. I appreciate the effort and the toughness.” - Scott Satterfield after his team’s loss against Kentucky in their last game.
 
 
“I thought Evan did a great job. I didn't look at the stats just yet. I know he's heartbroken. He's crushed. ... we talk about taking care of each other but putting him in a situation with a minute-30, a minute-40 and no timeouts is not taking care of him. He played with poise. He played with a lot of confidence.” - Luke Fickell after his team’s loss against Tulane in their last game.
 
 

Starting Lineups

 
Louisville Cardinals
WR Hudson, Tyler
WR Huggins-Bruce, Ahmari 
WR Smith, Braden  
HB Ford, Marshon 
QB Domann, Brock 
RB Jordan, Jawhar 
 
Cincinnati Bearcats
WR Mardner, Nick
WR Scott, Tyler
WR Pauling, Will 
TE Taylor, Leonard
QB Prater, Evan
RB McClelland, Charles 
 

Statistical Leaders

 
Louisville Cardinals
Passing: M. Cunningham (1562)
Rushing: J. Jordan (700)
Receiving: T. Hudson (1034)
Touchdowns: M. Cunningham (12)
 
Cincinnati Bearcats
Passing: B. Bryant (2732)
Rushing: C. McClelland (834)
Receiving: T. Scott (899)
Touchdowns: T. Scott (9)
 
Coaches:
Louisville Cardinals: Deion Branch (Interim)
Cincinnati Bearcats: Kerry Coombs (Interim)


Rod Pearson

About the Author:

Rod Pearson has been a rabid sports fan his entire life.  He grew up in Ontario, and was skilled in both hockey and baseball, and pitched in an elite baseball league for many years.  In 2022, Rod decided to hang up his glove, so that he could write about the sports he loves -- but from a gambling perspective.  Join Rod every day as he breaks down the games to find the best betting value.

All photographic images used for editorial content have been licensed from the Associated Press.

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