3:35 pm
September 3

#23 Cincinnati @ #19 Arkansas

Who will WIN this matchup?

#23 Cincinnati Bearcats (0-0)

@ #19 Arkansas Razorbacks (0-0)

 

Current odds:

Cincinnati Bearcats: (+209)

Arkansas Razorbacks: (-263)

 

• The spread for this game is Arkansas by 6.5 points.

• After becoming the first Group of Five program to reach the College Football Playoff, No. 23 Cincinnati suffered a series of losses in the offseason. The Bearcats aren’t shying away from Power Five competition, though. They will travel to Fayetteville, Ark., to battle No. 19 Arkansas in both teams’ season opener Saturday.

• Gone is four-year starting quarterback Desmond Ridder, who won 44 career games at Cincinnati and led the Bearcats to two straight undefeated regular seasons and American Athletic Conference titles. Coach Luke Fickell is not likely to reveal whether redshirt senior Ben Bryant or redshirt sophomore Evan Prater will start under center against Arkansas. Arkansas coach Sam Pittman said he wouldn’t be surprised if Cincinnati played both quarterbacks on Saturday.

• Other key departures for Cincinnati included star cornerback Sauce Gardner, who went fourth overall to the New York Jets in the NFL draft, and leading rusher Jerome Ford. The backfield figures to remain a strength, as Charles McClelland, Myles Montgomery and LSU transfer Corey Kiner all could see carries.

• The Razorbacks have designs on a big season of their own. Last year’s 9-4 record (4-4 SEC) was a clear improvement in Pittman’s second season. They even kept their visit to Alabama to a one-touchdown game, a 42-35 defeat.

• KJ Jefferson will start at quarterback after leading the team in both passing and rushing last season. He completed 67.3 percent of his passes for 2,676 yards, 21 touchdowns and four interceptions while adding 664 rushing yards and six scores on the ground.

• Cincinnati has beaten the likes of Notre Dame, Indiana and a ranked Army team over the past two years, but each of its past two seasons ended with losses to SEC opponents. The 2020 Bearcats lost to Georgia on a last-second field goal in the Peace Bowl, and last year they fell 27-6 to No. 1 seed Alabama in the CFP semifinal at the Cotton Bowl.

• This will be the first meeting between Cincinnati and Arkansas.

5/10
Confidence
StreakSmarter Pick
#19 Arkansas Razorbacks
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