Fenway Bowl Betting Odds: Cincinnati vs Louisville

The Fenway Bowl became more interesting Monday, Dec. 5, when when Louisville coach Scott Satterfield was announced as Cincinnati’s new coach. He won’t be coaching in this game but it adds to the intrigue of former conference rivals battling it out. This is the first time the teams have met in a bowl game. Get your best betting mode on. Get our Fenway Bowl Betting Odds analysis. No regret at Point Spreads!

Little Line Movement

Fenway Bowl Betting Odds

They haven’t moved much since they were released. The Cardinals opened as a 2-point favorite and the number has been holding steady. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see the number come down slightly.

The betting public may be likely to back a 9-3 underdog against a 7-5 favorite

Fenway Bowl teams

They can both play defense so the total has moved from 45 to 44.5. Certainly not huge movement but an indication some bettors respect the stop units of the two schools. Louisville was a good under team all NCAAF season, going 4-8 in totals and 1-5 when favored.

The Fenway Bowl betting odds on the moneyline have also shown little movement. The Cardinals are -130 and the take price on the Bearcats is +110 Louisville was 4-2 straight-up when favored, including a 2-0 mark when favored by 3 or fewer points. The Bearcats were 0-2 as an underdog.

Cincinnati Bearcats

The Bearcats aren’t getting a lot of respect here and one reason is they didn’t play the toughest of NCAA college football schedules. The Sagarin ratings have Cincinnati as having played the 75th-toughest schedule. That’s the lowest-rated schedule of any team in his top 45 and a big reason why the Fenway Bowl betting odds have Cincinnati as underdogs.

The Bearcats averaged 31.1 points per game during the season. That isn’t as impressive as it sounds when you consider Cincinnati’s opponents allowed 31.8 points per game. Despite their high-scoring ways, the Bearcats are pretty average offensively when you factor in the opposition. Cincinnati is well-balanced offensively, throwing 34 times a game and rushing for 32.

Ben Bryant is a good quarterback who threw for 21 TDs and was intercepted seven times. He’s not very mobile and the Bearcats allowed 31 sacks on the season. Charles McClelland was the team’s leading rusher with 840 yards but he tailed off at the end of the season. He gained just 107 yards over the last three games. Tyler Scott is the team’s big-play receiver, hauling in nine of the team’s 21 passing touchdowns.

The Bearcats are solid defensively, holding teams to 20.3 points, which is 6.9 fewer points than opponents averaged. Cincinnati is tough to run against, allowing just 3.4 yards per carry against teams that averaged 4.2 yards. The Bearcats allowed more than 200 rushing yards four times this season and lost three of those games.

Louisville Cardinals

The status of Louisville quarterback Malik Cunningham is going to be a big factor in this game. He has been injured several times this season and played little in Louisville’s last game against Kentucky. The Cardinals are a different team when Cunningham is under center. He’s a strong two-way threat and led the team with 12 rushing TDs and threw for eight others. If Cunningham gets ruled out or announces he won’t play, expect the Fenway Bowl betting odds to see a change in the favorite.

Running the ball is the strength of the Louisville offense, with the Cardinals gaining 5.0 yards per carry against teams that allowed 4.0 yards. But Cunningham’s ability to run made it a bit easier on the running backs. Jawhar Jordan and Tiyon Evans will see the bulk of the carries from the backfield. The two combined to rush for 1,225 yards and eight touchdowns. Tyler Hudson is the team’s go-to receiver, with 69 receptions for 1,034 yards.

Louisville’s defense held teams to 20.2 points per game, which is 8.8 fewer points than their opponents averaged. The Cardinals were strong against the rush and the pass and recorded 42 sacks on the season. Louisville held teams to 5.3 yards per play and got stronger as the game went on. The Cardinals allowed 11.7 points in the first half but just 8.5 points in the second half of games.

Can Cardinals Ground Out a Victory?

There are plenty of unknowns heading into this game, how Louisville will react to its coach leaving, Cunningham’s status and more. But there is one thing that’s pretty much a given, the Cardinals are going to need to run the ball to win. That’s their strength but rushing defense happens to be the strong suit of the Louisville. Whoever wins the battle in the trenches has a good shot of winning the game.

The Fenway Bowl betting odds suggest a close, hard-fought game. It’s hard to disagree with that, as these two teams match-up well against one another. For an early bowl game, this one is pretty appealing.

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