College Football Picks: Cincinnati at North Carolina State

This Thursday the Cincinnati Bearcats will travel to Carter-Finley Stadium to take on the North Carolina State Wolfpack. Cincinnati was able to bounce back from a tough loss at Fresno State in week 1 with a nice 40-7 win over Indiana State on Saturday. The Wolfpack pushed their record to 2-0 with an impressive 28-21 win on the road over UCF. The game this Thursday will be the first meeting between the two schools. Taking a look at the college football lines, the oddsmakers have the Bearcats 1-point favorites over the Wolfpack.

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Cincinnati finally got things going on the offensive side of the ball in their win over Indiana State. Quarterback Zach Collaros threw for just 130 yards, but had two passing touchdowns and scored another touchdown on a 2-yard run.

With starting tailback Isaiah Pead nursing a knee injury, sophomore Darrin Williams stepped in and ran for 117 yards on 13 carries. backup John Goebel added another 75 yards for the Bearcats, including two short touchdown runs.

Wide out Armon Binns made the best of his chances when he got them, as he hauled in three passes for 59 yards and two touchdowns. DJ Woods was also a factor in the passing game, as he caught a team best five passes for 46 yards.

The Bearcats were once again very strong against the run, as they allowed Indiana State just 93 yards rushing, after only allowed Fresno State 49 yards on the ground. The defense also produced a safety and forced a fumble that eventually led to a touchdown.

North Carolina State got a lot of help from their defense in their win over UCF last week, as the defense created five turnovers, including an interception for a touchdown by sophomore corner C.J. Wilson. Two other turnover led to touchdowns for the Wolfpack.
The offense wasn’t exactly pretty, but it didn’t turn the ball over and was able to take advantage of the strong play by the defense. Quarterback Russell Wilson completed just 10 of 30 pass attempts for 105 yards, but did manage to hook up with Darrell Davis for a 26-yard touchdown strike. Freshmen running backs Mustafa Greene and Dean Haynes combined for 104 yards on the ground, and each back was able to score a touchdown.

Looking at the Odds: The Wolfpack are 9-3-1 ATS in their last 13 home games, but are just 2-5-1 ATS in their last 8 vs. Big East opponents. The Bearcats are 28-13-1 ATS in their last 42 road games vs. a team with a winning home record, but are 0-5 ATS in their last 5 non-conference games.
Pretty easy to see why the oddsmakers had a hard time giving one team the advantage in this one. There are a few other key factors that will likely decide who wins this game. If you are looking for some help on who to take in this one, check out my 4* CFBALL BOOKIE BREAKER!

For more help with your college football betting this season, check out what the rest of our expert college football handicappers have to offer in their weekly college football picks.