Who wins more regular-season games — Cincinnati Bengals or Cincinnati Bearcats?
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Caesars is currently offering 10 head-to-head matchups — Pittsburgh Panthers against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Kansas City Chiefs vs. the Ohio State Buckeyes, LSU Tigers against the New York Giants, etc. — for its one-of-a-kind promotion. For the full list, check it out here.
But we're going to dissect one of the matchups not listed above: the Cincinnati Bengals against the Cincinnati Bearcats. Why? Because both teams significantly exceeded expectations last season.
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The Bengals made it all the way to the Super Bowl and the Bearcats went undefeated in the regular season and advanced to the College Football Playoff a year ago. Both were preseason longshots last year, but that's not the case this season. But can both teams replicate their success for a second straight season? We're not so sure both can.
Before we get started, let's establish some things first. Most NFL teams are favored over the college teams simply because the NFL regular season consists of 17 games, while the NCAA regular season consists of 12 games. The bet is strictly based on regular-season games, not playoff games. Again, advantage to the NFL team. And lastly, the college football season (FBS) starts on August 26, while the first NFL regular season game is on September 8. Why does that matter? Because the line could change if a college team wins or loses their first couple of games.
But back to our Bengals vs. Bearcats matchup. The Bengals (-125) are favored over the Bearcats (-105) in the head-to-head matchup, and they should be. The Bearcats had the third-most players taken in the 2022 NFL Draft with nine — including fifth overall pick Ahmad "Sauce" Gardner and quarterback Desmond Rider — and open the season against the SEC's Arkansas Razorbacks. Not exactly ideal for a mid-major team that lost a ton from a year ago.
The Cincinnati Bearcats should still win the American Athletic Conference (AAC), but they're going to have to do it with a lot of unfamiliar faces. And that nonconference schedule is no cakewalk after a Week 1 matchup against Arkansas. The Bearcats host the Big Ten's Indiana Hoosiers, travel to Tulsa and host Navy later in the season. Cincinnati beat Indiana by just 14 last year, and defeated Tulsa and Navy by only one score. There's no guarantee they win any of those four games. So, that means we've got Cincinnati with eight wins.
Meanwhile, the Bengals bring back just about everyone from a year ago. Plus, the Bengals just might have the best QB-WR duo in the NFL in Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase. The scary thing is Burrow and Chase could be even better this year. That's saying a lot for a receiver who led the AFC in receiving yards and a QB who completed over 70% of his passes and threw 34 touchdowns last year.
The AFC North will be competitive, but maybe not as much as in years pasts. The Steelers are still searching for their starting quarterback following the retirement of Ben Roethlisberger, and the Cleveland Browns are still waiting to see how many games Deshaun Watson is going to be suspended for. And the Bengals should have little trouble with the New York Jets and Atlanta Falcons. So, if the Bengals finish .500 against the AFC North, and win three more nonconference games outside of the Jets and Falcons, that puts them at eight wins, which gets you a wash. That shouldn't be a problem for an offense that finished in the top 10 in scoring and passing yards. That's why we live the Bengals to finish with more regular-season wins than the Bearcats.
The Bet: Cincinnati Bengals with more wins than the Cincinnati Bearcats (-125)
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